I think they are just trying not to bash JB as a first timer and going easy on him. Wouldn't look good to bash him
I don't think it's denial. James & Dwight can hate each other, and JBB can also not be a good coach. Both of those things can be true at the same time.
Terry said. “I just think they’re two different styles. They just couldn’t coexist to have success this year. … Chemistry was a big issue for us all year long. We just didn’t have it.” I do think Morey don't understand the team's chemistry. If I was GM, I had traded Howard at this season's beginning. It's just chemistry
I can't remember, did Kobe and Shaq like each other? Did Dream and Mad Max ever get into a fight? Teammates don't get along all the time. Good coaching and winning can overcome that.
Yeah, but you've also to keep in mind that personalities come in play here, Dwight just seems to be a guy which turns his back and doesn't face problems...James probably says "ok, fine then...", so it's not always that easy...at this point i'm not sure what to think about Harden, but Howard is surely not a guy who likes to take the challenge, other people say "not a winner"...i fell bad in saying this because overall i like Dwight (as a person) but yeah...at least that's what it seems to me, so, not sure even a great coach could've make a good run out of this situation.
A coach is a dad, an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, marriage counselor, a priest, and anything else in between. Case in point, look at what Monty Williams did for Ryan Anderson. That's a good coach if you ask me.
Fair enough, but i think this is another kind of situation, if we stay on basketball eh...i'm not sure a Jackson/Riley could've done more than JB at this point...i may be wrong but yeah, not sure.
Just want to say, if it's absolutely true that these two guys personally hate each other, then I give JB Bickerstaff a lot more credit than I have been giving him.
You're confusing coach with mentor. Now, don't get me wrong, great coaches usually are great mentors as well, but the two are certainly mutually exclusive. For instance, Bill Belichick (at least from the outside looking in) does not seem like a great mentor.....but he's a hell of a good coach. On the flip side, by all accounts, Kevin McHale was a fabulous mentor.....but obviously very shaky as a coach. It works both ways.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A long summer with lots to contemplate awaits James Harden, who remains a brilliant individual force offensively but must be a better leader</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/725758225488834560">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ESPN sources say Harden, for example, frequently skips the team bus to road games, not just in this series as reported by our Calvin Watkins</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/725759101691518978">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Harden is a loaner type dude, but I mean if they are not winning, he has to do what he has to do to get better team chemistry. Hope the right coach kind of forces him to do so. Only coach out there he would respect is probably JVG
No it cannot. You folks blaming JBB for not fixing this are missing the point entirely. JBB DID NOT assemble this roster - that was Morey's idea to build a roster with two so-called "star" players who exhibited zero leadership skills and surround them with streaky, one-dimensional players. When things started going south this season, both Harden & Howard retreated into their shells and let everything fall on JBB who did his best but he could only use the players on the roster who obviously weren't good enough to succeed.
People learn leadership skills. I've pointed this out before, but it bears repeating, JB played it far too safe this season. He focused too much on being a mediocre team that could slip into the 4-6 seed rather than risking it all to break down the destructive culture. JB was getting fired at the end of this season, he should have viewed it as if he is playing with house money here. There was no way Rockets management were going to fire him mid season. JB should have shook things up, sat Harden, bench Dwight, made Ty a ball boy, the list goes on. He tried not to rock the boat. He tried to be Kevin McHale lite. That doesn't work. If you sit the MVP from last season, or move him to the bench unit to make a point, he might just fall in line. Hell, maybe other players will fall in line too. Instead, JB just did more of the same. We lost to the warriors the same way this year too, 4-1 with bitter defeats all the way.
I think there needs to be balance between the two. True, there are coaches that are horrid mentors (if I recall, Phil Jackson was rather blah at being a mentor). There are also great mentors that are horrid coaches. This team needs equal parts coach and mentor. Maybe HC is more of a coach, and his lead assistant is a mentor, or something like that. What irks me is that if you are a coach, and see that something is broken, how you can just leave it be hoping it fixes itself.
I agree with tweet 1, but I believe another poster said the team has multiple buses that go to the stadium from the hotel and Harden tries to get there as early as possible. If he's going to get more work in you can't knock him for that.
I mainly see JB get blasted for having garbage rotations, no plays and playing players (like Brewer) that clearly weren't producing. That has nada to do with Howard or Harden.
We finally have a chance to rid ourselves of Dwight, unfortunately i think it will be too late when we realize Harden is never going to change and before we can trade him for anything he will leave to LA. At best, we will be forced to trade him that Dec. deadline before his contract is up for peanuts because of no leverage. I don't know how it isn't obvious with Hardens personality and love for LA that many haven't started panicking yet. Dude's a goner. 2 seasons with this giant mess that Les and Morey have created? No way is that enough time to get back to the WCF with GS and SA dominating.
