Q&A with Kevin McHale part 2

That's the reason Tmac is a second round virgin. He only plays so hard, and has a built excuse whey he didn't make it.

 

Judging by their actions and poise with the media, i think we do have a "ride or die" group of rookies.
Royce and DMo have been the most interesting of the bunch.

 

I know its hard to win with rookies, and we've got a lot of rookies.

But, I wonder, if our group of rookies wouldn't play together harder, and more for each other, because of their common status.

 

I like this part better than the first, especially about what he wanted to implement from the RA offense and found it it didn't work with this group. That says a lot. Let's hope he can prove he can really adapt

 

He thinks NBA players are clowns.

 

Maybe we could run some of that high-post offense now that we have Royce.

 

This. Royce has been in trouble and has a child to provide for and I feel those two factors add to his maturity.

 

I really enjoyed this read and found it very enlightening. Coach mentioned James and had a good point because even in his seventh year he was still training and adding to his skill set with Hakeem. I feel he really got into the mindset of a champion.

 

To me, this is like interviewing McHale, the TV analyst. Any knowledgeable fan will tell you inside game will win games. That hasn't changed since the day Bball was invented. He knows it. Players know it. Other coaches know this too. Even with a roster full of rookies, McHale should have a specific set of plans with lots of alternate plans. Not this:

Players will become motivated playing for highly respected coach. Pop, Thib, and Doc seldom have problems getting 100% out of each player. They will never mention how some players aren't motivated. I mean for a HOF player turned NBA coach. That alone automatically earned respect from players. Why did McHale had problem with players such as Lowry? Because he is terrible at managing them.

For this season our rookies are the real coaches. McHale is the player in a game called "NBA Player Management 101."

Hope he looks real hard into the mirror and tells himself that he alone holds the key to the success of this team. Put himself wholeheartedly into coaching. We don't have to make the playoffs by the end of the season. But at least, I expect each one of them improves as a player, a person and a teammate, and our future looks bright with one year of valuable NBA experience under his helm.

 

Criticising McHale is getting a bit old, but with some of his comments I just can't help it.

A system predicated on the big man making plays not working without a capable passing big? Who would have thought!

 

Remember, Hayes' departure was not final until the season almost started (with lockout, Gasol deal, other FA moves and Chuck's heart drama). So they really did not know about not having Chuck during much of their offseason prep.

 

I found it interesting when he talked about guys only willing to work until it got uncomfortable. There are probably a lot of guys in the NBA who fans wouldn't even imagine are like that.

 

True though us rockets fans can definitely imagine guys like McGrady, Wafer, Dorsey, T-will, Martin, Budinger, Ariza and others were / are like that.

 

Preseason cannot start soon enough!

 

He's HOF. It's hard not to compare current players' workethics/attitude/habits to those of his young self.

so yeah, a large portion of them ARE clowns.

 

Yes, its kind of a silly quote taken out of context, but like Carl alluded to, they had to have been preparing for Gasol to be a Rocket up until the first day of training camp.

All the sudden no Gasol, no Chuck... and now you have to invision Jordan Hill running the high post.... ummm...yeah lol.

 

Good point. I didn't think of that. Having Gasol, Nene and Chuck on the team sure would have enabled us to continue running the corner offense, which certainly puts McHale's comments in a different light.

Still -- and I'm probably reading way too much into it -- I find it funny/curious how McHale phrased his it, as if he was surprised it didn't work without those guys.

I guess I just might be looking for things to criticize. Or am I? Maybe, maybe, no.

 

So maybe that's why McHale wanted Royce White so bad...so we could go back to running the corner series like we did under Adelman?

 

Funny that McHale is touting hard work/grind when Bird used to criticize him for not giving it his all back in the day. I guess he had a realization before he retired. McHale famously told Bird that he had a life while Bird's life is basketball - the difference maker in their careers/legacy.