[Sports-Yahoo] One person to blame for Rockets’ demise — it’s not Howard or Harden

Yeah he tried to correct things other people were bashing him for, and yet they crucify him when their corrections don't pan out. Some good life lessons right here.

 

It's Morey's fault in that he acquired players who sucked this year only in as much as it was his to his credit that he acquired those same players who did so well last year.

So basically, eh. Also I hate the lame, click-baity title.

 

I really don't get the argument that this year has been Morey's fault, as if he didn't have the exact same freaking roster and experienced a lot of success last season. If those criticisms are valid, then this team wouldn't have been successful last season either, because of the damn "moreyball" philosophy.

If you follow the team closely, you knew this wasn't going to be a great year even from preseason. And it wasn't because of the offensive philosophy.

Morey absolutely should be on the hot seat, and I would definitely can him if he doesn't right the ship next year. His biggest flaw is that he doesn't value coaching. His roster construction, at least until this season, has been excellent. It's crucial for him to make the right hire this summer.

 

The defense to this stuff not working (and Morey's work here) is that it got you to the WCF with it. Abandoning it would have not been logical. It's logical to think Capella & McDaniels would get better, a healthy DMo + Bev would move the needle, and Lawson + Thornton would fill needs.

Therefore the defense is pretty stout IMO. You forgive it, adjust, and continue to ride.

Criticisms are fair but overstated.

 

Lol 2.0

 

The decline was from what was built...by DM the GM.

Talk about the definition of chemistry, for its antonym.

 

I just have a hard time blaming DM for what happens on the court. DM can't control the energy and chemistry. The coaching staff and players are responsible for this mess.

 

bmd who was the person that hired the coaches?

 

Who hired the coaches?

 

He supported McHale as coach then fired him. He had the option to bring in a real coach after the Portland series. What we had last year was fool's gold. We had a smaller margin of victory than half the playoff teams in the West, and nearly everyone played better than their career averages would have dictated (Brewer/Smith). As someone theorized, we benefited from "cluster luck" - everyone got hot at the same time; game 6 vs. LAC was a microcosm of that. Morey had repeatedly devalued coaching, even if he's backed off that position recently. This disorganization is as much his fault as anyone else's. You can't math your way to a title - you need to establish a solid culture first and then find players who fit that culture. Hard work and discipline are lacking and Morey is at least part to blame for that.

 

Hasn't Morey said on numerous occasions that he takes responsibility for this season?

 

Les Alexander

 

The writer did say that over time other teams figured it out. Also, our offensive scheme led to defensive breakdowns directly. The extreme high volume of 3 points led to several long rebounds leading to easy fast breaks from the other team. When you look at who shoots the majority of these shots (Harden / Ariza), and how bad they are in running back, that had a huge influence on our defensive breakdowns.

The high volume of 3s just puts your bigs in an awful situation. They can't recover and run back fast enough. Last year, guys like Dmo / Black were great at it, but you can't expect guys like Dwight to run back to stop breaks after every 3. Especially when you don't shoot the 3 at a decent clip.

 

Lin fans think everyone hates Lin

 

I completely disagree considering the Rockets missed 1,655 three's this year, but missed 1,747 last year.

They missed nearly 100 more 3's last season yet their defense was 8th overall and their transition defense was good.

 

bmd their defense was obviously better last season but it was nothing great and not going to come close to winning them a championship.

 

They were a top-10 defense. 6th to be exact. And only a half point away from being 4th.

 

This.

 

Les hired a accountant ......not a GM.