I vouch for mcahle, I cant really judge him fully until he has a playmaker on bench and a PF somewhere in the lineup who can set picks hit a jumper, or stretch the floor from 3. hes done a great job with making howard happy here giving him his touches. Giving harden the keys/green light even through sticky ball which turned him into an all nba player.
Chemistry really just happens. Coach Pop really puts it on his team to coach themselves and run the offense. He knows the plays and defense and just holds them accountable for their lapses. More than anything, i see the rockets trusting themselves and holding themselves accountable.
I've watched every single rockets game since Mchale became the HC. And i am very impressed by his improvement in these two games. Firstly I love the mix of set-plays and isolations. McHale is doing the right thing in getting Dwight involved early in quarters to put teams in the bonus. There is not a big-man in this league that can guard Dwight without fouling. Also the out of bounds plays are terrific. I distinctly remember one from last night that got Kostas his fourth three. Harden gets the ball after setting a brush screen for Kostas causing confusion freeing Kostas for an open dagger three. Another play that some to mind is the high post action to dwight. Dwight was being fronted and as a result the play called for terrence to flash to the elbow and throw an alley oop to dwight. This is a wrinkle that i didn't see last year and is devastating when used. One criticism i do have is that the players need to get into the sets quicker. I think this will come with time, however i already see the effects of veterans on this team. Often last year parsons and lin would make some questionable plays because they would try to do too much. This year we have Ariza and Terry who know exactly what to do to keep the ball moving and into the hands of harden and howard.
While I'm disappointed too, I can understand giving Terry the minutes at the backup 2. I've noticed that Terry has been providing some much needed leadership both on and off the court. He's been quarterbacking the perimeter D. Adding both him and Ariza has increased our defensive IQ and teamwork tremendously.
McHale isn't a bad coach despite all the numerous threads and posts that I have read on here. It isn't his fault Bev gets injured, or that Harden is lazy and had no desire when it comes to D!!!! He has a few better coaches in his staff this year and adding Ariza was a smart move!! He is fine and most to ALL the players love if not like him!!
McHale was pushing big time this off season for veteran players and Morey went out to got him some with Ariza and Terry.
And just who was it supposed to put in, the ghost of christmas past ?....geez maybe it was the players that blew the lead not the coach ?.........
I would like to see more D-Mo but, in my opinion, he has to be a little more consistent. He continues to be in poor rebounding position and let shorter opposition play larger than him. I'm not sure if he needs to gain a little more weight or is it about desire, or maybe coaching?
Well DMo better get out there and earn his minutes. The opportunity is there for the takings, so it's all up to him snowconeman
