Finally voted - I'm happy about the model of a figurehead/people manager coach with a crop of crackerjack strategists and developmental assistants under him. I'll cross my fingers that they'll salvage Williams and Hill. I'll put up with Thabeet polluting the roster for a year.
Damn I really think that McHale and his "A-Team" of assistants are going to be the new trend in the NBA. Mixing the strengths of each. There is no reason why we can't run a high post offense based on Rick's and a suffocating defense based on Thibs.
And it's not just Dallas either. Since that last NBA title in 1995 Dallas, Utah, SA, NO and now OKC have consistently moved ahead of the Rockets. Hiring McHale is DM's cute little way of tanking the next 2 seasons in order to attempt to secure a high lotto pick. This approach is being recited by Justice and the other Houston media synchopants as "Morey swinging for the fences". The problem with this approach is obvious: it doesn't really take much effort to turn a good (or average) team into horses**t but there are NO guarantees that DM and whoever is the HC by then will be able to quickly turn things around. Nor is there anything that says that DM is even the right person to execute such a risky strategy. I recall when CD made the McGrady trade in effect gutting the team by moving their starting PG, SG and PF just to get MeMac. The fanboys here loved that trade and shouted down anyone who was not onboard with teaming up Yao & MeMac. It was taken as GOSPEL that all that was left to do was to "surround" them with the right mix of role players. It was also taken as GOSPEL that CD was the right guy to pull this off and anyone who dared to question this was told to get the hell off Clutchfans because they couldn't be true Rockets' fans unless they were in total agreement with the organization. Well, we all know how that worked out yet here they are again asking long-suffering Rockets fans to walk down that road once again so you may understand my reluctance to repeat history. This could well be the start of another lost decade for the Rockets. I never thought I'd say or even think this but they are beginning to resemble Golden State and Washington - two teams that won NBA championships long ago but haven't managed to do nothing else in decades. Just think: In just two years, it will 20 years since the start of their first championship season (1993-94). That's an awful long time to wait for Uncle Les to get his act together.
Well, it was 51% Yes to 49% No just yesterday afternoon. Wonder what happened? Did McHale open his mouth?
i have to agree. people didn't expect amare to be as good as he is now around the time of the draft. many expected amare to be a project back in the day.
I'm glad you have been the lone sane voice against the tyranny that are Rockets fanboys. Indeed, if the Rockets organization wasn't an absolute piece of crap by doing things like trading for T-Mac, Steve Francis would have brought a championship to the Rockets. Lord knows T-Mac came in and the Rockets have since fell from the peak of their greatness. A disaster indeed.
You really need to work on your reading comprehension, meh. No where in my post did I say that the loss of SF3 the player was a mistake. Hell, SF3's level of play had already begun his steady decline. No, the mistake was trading your starting PG, SG & PF for MeMac, Tyron Lue, Juwann Howard and Reece Gaines. OK, let's take MeMac out of the discussion - it's what happened with the other positions that was a disaster. Now, at the time of that trade, the overwhelming consensus here on Clutchfans was that (a) we now had two "star" players in MeMac and Yao and (b) all that remained to do was to "surround" them with quality role players and we'd be championship contenders. Well, THAT NEVER HAPPENED. Sure, the official story is that this was a good plan that was derailed by injuries to Yao & MeMac but it (conveniently) overlooks the fact that they (Rox) never were able to execute said plan fully. And the Rockets, first under CD and then under DM, have been trying to do just that up until last year when Yao's latest injury proved to be the final nail in the coffin for that strategy. SF3, flawed as he was, was lightyears better than Lue and this team stumbled along looking for a PG until Rafer Alston showed up. Even then, the PG position wasn't addressed until last year with Lowery and that was what 5 years later? I will be the 1st to admit that Kelvin Cato was lump of human flesh. But he was tall and could play the 4-5 spots and that helped out Yao a lot. You replace a big body like Cato with: 6-9 Juwann Howard. Well, just how did that work out? Badly. It wasn't until Scola fell into their laps that they had a legit PF and even then, they never adequately addressed the issue of size on their front line. Yao's injury problems actually demonstrate this because he is their only big man and without him, they were just a bunch of 6-8, 6-9 guys with a 6-6 guy playing center the past 2 years. And then there's the Cuttino Mobley - Reece Gaines situation. Actually the less said about Reece Gaines (last seen somewhere in Europe) the better and would be fitting considering how it would match his level of contribution to the Rockets. The Magic had soured on Gaines after Jameer Nelson had rendered him obsolete and were more than happy to "dump" him on CD and the Rox. The result? Well, the Rockets really didn't get a legit "put points on the board SG" until they traded for Kelvin Martin and Gaines is not even an afterthought. The Rockets organization hasn't been crap but it certainly hasn't been a shining example of a smart, careful organization either. You look back over the previous 10 years and two critical decisions stand out: (1) The 2001 trade of 3 first round draft picks for the late Eddie Griffin and (2) the 2005 trade for Tmac. I have always maintained that both decisions were made for the wrong reasons - because the Rockets decided to gamble, in effect "to swing for the fences" (sound familiar?) - instead of building their team the right way with a coach and GM executing a shared vision based on their organization's philosophy. SA did just that and picked up three titles during the decade. The Rockets? I'd love for you to explain just what their organizational philosophy and team vision is or even if they have one. And so today at 10AM, it begins anew as we get to see DM "swing for the fences" as he & Les "gamble" that McHale's leadership and gift of gab can producing a winning NBA team from the B-level talent that is the current roster. After all just look at all of the other teams that have achieved success by following this formula (Hint: that was sarcasm). I realize that the upcoming media circus may actually inspire you and reinforce your belief in all things Rockets. If that is so, I wish you well as you continue to live the dream. I wish I could join you but to me, it's just GroundHog Day.
Yep, he opened his big mouth! "If the Rockets don't make the playoffs next season, it's on me!" - proclaimed McHale. Apparently, this is a total back-stabbed at the loyal Rockets fans here who where hoping the Rockets will tank and have a shot at #1 pick for the next 4 years.
I wonder what the break down of the poll would be. I wonder if those ok with the signing are younger fans or more recent fans? Rocket River
Open minded vs Closed minded Accepting new ideas vs Old and stubborn WHat?? No I'm not talking about McHale vs Adelman! Talking about the fans.
I find that a bit simplistic. I could say. . . . Thinkers versus Sheep. but .. why be insulting? Why are you out to insult those that don't think as you do? what is the point in that? Rocket River
I wouldn't be insulted by that. A Thinker can still be an idiot if his head is in the clouds. A Sheep can still be smart if he knows his Shepard is the right man to follow. I didn't mean to be insulting. And sorry if I was. But let's look at the facts regarding McHale's coaching tenure: there hardly are any. Which is why a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted for those who do not have full faith in the front office. However, given the lack of facts, for those already proclaiming this as a failure of a hire, and believe me there are plenty of those amongst you old timers(not you specifically), how is that anything besides close-minded?
