BS Bickerstaff has to have full authority over the team to really see how good of a coach he is. His ideas were implemented to a certain extent through Mchale. Now that he's head coach he has the chance to get this team over the hump... he at least deserves that chance. I don't believe he learned anything from Mchale regarding x's and o's coaching all that came from his father who coached in the nba. MCHALE WAS LEADING NOR TEACHING NOBODY!
it's hard for me to imagine another in-season coaching change. so yes, we likely will see jb the rest of the way for the season. and he shall have all the support he can get.
Is everyone forgetting he was the one who actually tuned our defense around last year? For ****'s sake, give hima shot you big name knob polishers.
Morey said he's not going all in with Bickerstaff this season. He'll still going to see what Bickerstaff has and if he doesn't work, they will search for a new coach. And to be honest I feel like if this happens they will go after Scott Brooks, because of Harden. I much rather have Bickerstaff than Scott Brooks. I'm rooting for Bickerstaff to win the job like it or not and I hope he works out because I can't stand Scott Brooks.
He deserves a shot. Rudy T was an assistant under Chaney. He wound up doing a much better job as coach. Van Gundy was an assistant under Don Nelson when Nellie suddenly departed the Knicks job. He wound up doing a much better job as coach. Just because the head coach was stinking up the joint with his performance, doesn't mean one of his assistants can't do a better job.
Bicker did a ok job when he filled in as head coach a few seasons ago during McHales's absence when his daughter died. Give him a chance. I really dont think he's going to make a big difference though. He really cant solve the Kardashian problem. McHale lived and died riding Harden , Bicker will experience the same fate if he does the same thing.
Bickerstaff will post Harden up more and will have the offense taking more effective shots in the offense. Mchale wasn't doing any of that. Without a practice he's already better than McCake.
I think you're headed towards dangerous ground if you scrap everything and start new. Which is what we would be doing if we dumped the whole staff. We were obviously doing some good things on the floor last season. The important thing now is to keep doing those thing while we add in Ty, and some new aspects to the offense. But, we need some of that continuity.
Incredible...well at least the Clippers Collapse last night against the Warriors took a lot of the National Media Sting out of the Rockets attention wise....maybe Bickerstaff will shock us...he's going back to the basics of what got them to the playoffs last season he said and put Lawson on the bench where he might turn out more effective...heck maybe we'll have a KJ sighting at some point. Having said all that, we know Morey has Thibbs and Scott Brooks in his back pocket...Brooks to lure KD I bet that's the only way I'd see that happening and it would probably have to be a behind the scenes 2 for 1 deal secured. Other than that, I wanna see what Bickerstaff can do before throwing him completely under the bus but I gotta say "well played" starting this thread ASAP LOL
Bickerstaff may be a good coach in this league one day, but I doubt he's going to be good enough to lead this team to the promised land within the next couple of seasons. Hope I'm wrong, but I think we will need a more experienced coach.
Lol, or that sure. But we don't have a natural leader on this team, so that needs to come from the coach IMO.
I see your point, but I believe that the team started the game not listening and then the players got on the boat towards the end. Tonight will be a better indicator and the clues I'm looking for will be how much energy they put into the defense in the first quarter and then how they respond to being slowed down offensively. In other words, when things go cold, how do they work to get easier baskets.
I'm going to try to take the next week off from posting. I just lost a lot of interest because of the way this was handled. (See McHale FIRED post for reasons.) The OP has some logic to it. But logic, can be like "on paper..." This has all the earmarks of a "shoot from the hip" reaction by Les Alexander. Shoot and ask questions later... or, actually, don't ask questions. Moreyball, as it is called here, will still be the overriding philosophy (but shouldn't be) going forward. There may be some tweaks, like putting Harden in the post more, as was done in the Portland game, but 3-pointers won't be minimized. No matter who the coach is, he isn't going to trump that unless and until the loss total gets, truly embarrassing, which is possible because the shooters the Rockets have don't really support implementing that philosophy. BUT, that philosophy may, indeed, be on trial now, too. You really can't fit a square peg into a round hole (unless the diagonal measurement is less than the diameter of the round hole. ) The Rockets ranked 5th or 6th in defense last season. Was that because D-Mo was playing? Hardly. Why the team started so lackadaisical this season is really a mystery. IMO it just flat-out wasn't a coaching issue. Bullard agreed with his statement before the Portland game. I know many here don't agree. But then what changed from the WC finals to now? The loss of Josh Smith and the addition of Ty Lawson?? Must be. If the integration of Lawson into the offense with Harden was a coaching issue, why move him to coming off the bench? The move has some merit, but is also driven by the fact that Bickerstaff has to demonstrate some differences from what McHale was doing, or else, Alexander would ask the obvious question of why change coaches if nothing really changes? Moving Lawson to coming off the bench reduces Harden to being subject to the same burden as last season, with the accompanying stretches of lack of ball movement and silly turnovers, which, for all his talent, he oddly demonstrates every game. To me, that's just lack of focus and being careless. Bickerstaff said in the post-game interview that he was told he has the job for the remainder of the season. And despite fans here thinking their thread to fire McHale was what moved Alexander to act, a thread like this won't influence decisions going forward. Certainly, the owner isn't bound by his own quoted promise. He can do anything at any time. But if he does make a change, countermanding his word to Bickerstaff, he really would start to look desperate and unstable. Sure, everyone wants wins, but he's made his choice at this point and he should have to live with it. If things don't improve to his liking, I just hope he doesn't suddenly start to, after the fact, seek out player input. He should have done that before firing McHale. I remember one of the reasons the players all liked Rudy T. was he very willingly would discuss with the players what to do in games, listened and go with their suggestions. He was by no means a dictatorial coach. If that's bad there are 2 championship banners hanging in Toyota center as a rebuttal to critics. And if you say, "Yeah, but he had a player named Olajuwon," you would make a very valid point. But then that gets back to the performance mainly being on the players plate. I don't care how you slice it and dice it, the bottom line is player talent and effort. Period.
Funny thing . . . 'Moreyball' kind of reminds me of the RUN AND SHOOT It is quite effective. Can Win alot of games. But can it win the championship? I think there will be elements of it into the league from now on but people may call it a 'failure' Rocket River
