ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Celtics 1/13/2014

someone pointed this out earlier and is still the sole reason, imo, for the short leash - lin's playing style.

in general, mchale likes lin pushing the pace and he does a very good job at that. but along with that, he also sees lin as a gambler (both on offense and defense) and that just doesn't sit well with him. he'd rather have harden do the gambling instead of lin, and you can't have two gamblers on the court at the same time. i really think it's a matter of playing style, and mchale is probably a very conservative player by nature, coaching a team playing a very aggressive and gambling style. and that's reflected on the team at times. that's why we sometimes see the fast paced offense resort to very conservative iso offense when the game gets tight.

in football terms, mchale would rather punt on 4th and 2 with 4 min on the clock and play D, then go for the first down to seal the game. he plays not-to-lose, rather than play to win. this has frustrated me over the past two years and one reason i attribute to our late game collapses. and i'll stop now because i'm getting off tangent...

 

So you don't agree that Harden should be treated the same as Kobe?

 

Your question does not make sense in the context of what he said. Vlaurelio can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think his point is that in most systems, a star/franchise player will generally get a longer leash than a role player. Were Kobe and Harden on the same team, most organizations would prioritize Kobe's happiness/satisfaction over Harden's. Hierarchies are inherent to the league, for the most part.

 

JR Smith, Nate Robinson, Marshon Brooks, the list goes on- all role players and none do what you say. They're all there to score.

 

And I'm ok with that but when Bev gets a longer leash than Lin- that's wacked!

 

Interesting observation and I can definitely see that as a possibility. But I see Brooks and Bev make horrible plays and turnovers on the offensive end and they still don't get yanked the same way as Lin in my opinion. But Lin is getting a shot at really running the point now and I think our team looks better as a whole and hopefully he gains the trust of his coach and teammates.

 

So its Rivers turn tonight. Great.

 

I've always thought this as well. Harden and Lin are "relatively" comparable when you talk about play style. Attacking, scoring and taking chances. McHale has hitched his wagon to Harden and doesn't prefer another gun slinger sharing the court. Hence, Beverley.

 

I feel for you - I've been jonesing for a NBA franchise to come to Seattle for a while now. Thank goodness there's still Rockets in HTown.