Watch this ship sinks season after season. Select new alternate team to cheer for until the Rockets (if ever) become right again.
I concur. And, frankly, D'Antoni might not be the worst coach for that type of team. Although you'd still want a coach who could actually f'ing gameplan.
Hey, I'm disappointed like everybody else. But McHale's hiring was just as bad if not worse considering previous success and I don't remember the board being this bad. This place is just a mad house. I wonder how many were warrior fans were upset at the warriors for replacing Mark Jackson with Steve Kerr. Or Scotty Brooks with Billy Donovan. There are so many factors involved that it is dumb to doom a season based on so many unknowns. We don't have nearly enough information to start the witch-hunt and threatening to move to another team. Let's be honest, being a fan of a basketball team is a privilege. I'll enjoy the ups with the downs. And if you choose to consume less, like I have this past season, so be it. Your money and time is better spent on something that actually makes your life better.
Don't despair. Many of us have survived seasons with less than 20 wins. Hold tight, save on league pass, pay attention to the draft class, enjoy the NBA as a fan, while not worrying about the Rockets. The Rockets will take care of themselves in a few years. Les may sell the team, Mike may leave. We don't have to worry about Harden either. He will be sure to leave and join another team. So 2 years of mediocrity before a rebuild, then 3-5 years of rebuilding, and then maybe a return to the playoffs with an exciting young team, a great coach, and maybe if we can dream a less meddlesome owner who knows his limits. So guys, it's going to be a long 5 years. the other forums on here will give you a place to "hangout" until the dark ages have passed. May the clutch be with you.
No it wasn't as bad or worse because of the state of the team. Granted, the team after this disaster of a season isn't much better record wise, but perception by me and the rest of the fans out there is that decisions made right now can meaningfully impact how close we are to championship contention immediately vs. more of the same. With McHale, it was just getting a guy in who might work well with our scrappy team. And with that, there weren't a lot of people thrilled with the McHale hiring. It was just a meh hiring. Nobody was thinking we just found the next great coach. I think both organizations and fanbases were on board with those moves. Brooks especially. Jackson because of him more so than the teams on court performance, but they were appreciated moves, that in both cases resulted in HC hires that were at least logical, if not inspired. Even if it works perfectly, yes we do have enough information. Because if it works perfectly, it will be a case of EXTREME luck. Because what we do know, fact-wise, is this has been a disaster of a process: - A Rockets squad that improved a bit offensively but were horrendous defensively - A GM who plain as day said they'd address that side of the ball with their HEAD COACH hire - A team that was first to fire their coach, first to not renew their interim coach, yet took the longest process by far - A process that seemingly (this isn't fact, but seems obvious and true) pitted the owner and the GM against each other - An owner who is making hires based on guy's he just "likes" - A coach that has never run a successful defense - A coach who has never run a championship level offense without a prime Steve Nash - A coach who many players have noted isn't great at gameplanning - see the Jalen Rose comments for example - A coach that has clashed with his last couple of star players, who just so happen to be in mold's similar to the Rockets star player - A commitment to pairing him with great defensive assistants, when that process has already been tried with MDA twice, and failed - A star player who just had a historic offensive season yet failed to receive any accolodes because of what is viewed as, and often is, horrendous defense, being paired up with a coach allergic to that word The information we have is that this is a trainwreck we are watching live... What? Being the owner of an NBA team is a privilege. Having public funds to sponsor your investment and meaningfully increase its value is a privilege. Being a fan of an NBA team is super easy, and these days way way easy. My 6 year old watches whatever team he wants on League Pass. I'll enjoy the ups with the downs. And if you choose to consume less, like I have this past season, so be it. Your money and time is better spent on something that actually makes your life better.[/QUOTE]
When the Rockets hired JVG, he brought in "his guys"... players who were loyal to him and who Jeff trusted; same for when Rick was hired... I suspect Kevin Martin still holds a grudge for the Rockets not keeping Sleepy. I suppose you could even count Brewer as a "McHale guy". So, aside from Nash, which current players would be considered a "MDA guy"? Does this guy instill ANY loyalty in the players he's coached? http://www.si.com/nba/point-forward/2014/05/09/kobe-bryant-reaction-mike-dantoni-resignation
Can't help it he would help us so much, his shooting alone! Predicted Line up for the Italian Capella- Harrell- the corpse of Amare Beasley- Jones captures his heart- Ariza- Dudley- or go buy the best wing money can buy. Harden- point guard duties- Mcdaniels Sergio- plays off Harden- Beverly If we cant get Sergio they will kidnap Lin.
Coach: D'Antoni Starters as of 5/27/16: Beverly, Harden, Ariza, Motiejunas, Capela Bench: Brewer/KJ/Harrell/Dekker/Beasley/Terry Good Bye:Howard/Jones FAs (CONSERVATIVELY/FEASIBLY SPEAKING): Horford - "Horford is everything Howard isn't: a true professional with multiple offensive skills, a reliable jumper, keen passing intellect and the ability to excel on offense away from the basket. It's hard to imagine a center who would open up the middle of the floor for James Harden more effectively than Horford." B/R...a front court of Horford/Capela would keep the middle as open as possible for drive'n kick plays. It's the best case scenario of D-Mo/D-Ho, without Howard and without injury history. When Capela's out, Horford plays the 5 and Motiejunas plays the 4. This gives us so many options. Batum - "Fortunately, Batum performed at the highest level of his career last season. A good facilitator and ball-handler who also dramatically improved his off-the-catch shooting from deep, the rangy Batum pairs beautifully with shoot-first point guard Kemba Walker." B/R...sounds like a good pairing with the Beard, and we need another ball handler in the big picture. Could allow us to trade Ariza for picks or a few bench players. Conley - I don't see Bev being nearly as effective as Nash in the D'Antoni system (obviously), but Harden's assist game will grow. In that case we need someone at the perimeter who can knock down jumpers from all over. Conley is also playoff tested and older than Harden, so that's someone Harden can trust out there. Last season: 3PT%(36.3)/AST(6.1). The numbers get lower in the playoffs but at the PG spot Conley won't need big numbers to contribute, he's got Harden to defer. He can lob to Capela all day (a weapon he didn't have in Memphis -did he play with Stromile Swift?). Where does Bev go? To the bench I say! Gar! Terry may be back, but Bev's a HUGE asset. He makes 6.5ishM/yr. Brew Makes 8.3ishM/yr. That's an expensive bench, which is why we need KJ/Dekker/Harrell to pay off. Only Horford FA: Bev/Harden/Ariza/Horford/Capela Terry/Brewer/Motiejunas/Beasley/Harrell KJ/Dekker Only Conley FA: Conley/Harden/Ariza/Motiejunas/Capela Bev/Terry/Brewer/Beasley/Harrell KJ/Dekker/ Only Batum FA: Bev/Harden/Batum/Motiejunas/Capela Terry/Brewer/Beasley/Harrell KJ/Dekker/? Best Case - Horford/Conley: Conley/Harden/Ariza/Horford/Capela Bev/Terry/Brewer/Beasley/Harrell KJ/Dekker BEST Case - Horford/Batum/Conley: Conley/Harden/Batum/Horford/Capela If we only got 1 big FA signing, I want Horford. Harden needs a big man that can step away from the basket. With Harden out Horford can draw his man outside and he can play the high-post which allows both outside and inside scoring. He's also big enough to handle the opposing big on defense, and with fewer of them out there that bang down low, Horford should be able to conserve enough on that side to still be potent on offense. tl;dr If Durant/Lebron doesn't sign with us, Horford is option 1a, then Conley, then Batum.
Very well said, sir. What I find to be the most damning is that with all of the coaching vacancies that were open, only Houston looked at D'Antoni. It's as if it's Enron all over again and Morey & Les have this belief that they are the smartest guys in the room. Their so-called "thorough" evaluation process was a farce. The only thing I'd add is that this trainwreck is going to go by in extremely sloooow motion which will make it seem like an eternity.
