Yeah.. McHale made some very interesting subs... But the fact is this.. The guys that are in the game need to step up... It doesn't matter who is and who is not playing.. NEXT MAN step up.. These guys are not rookies, their veterans.. Actually tonight the rookie was the only one playing like a vet... After every lost guys want too bump this thread and blame McHale no matter what... The players need to take responsibility and step up. T_Man
it seems like he was trying to keep players' legs fresh by giving them quick breathers early and often, because the team is obviously out of shape on the whole. brewer was a huge problem the first 3 quarters playing wildly out of control -- a good coach would have pulled him to let him calm down. but mchale is so stubborn he almost never strays away from his pre-determined minutes allocation for players. and he relies on the smallball lineup like a pathetic crutch. even when it clearly wasn't working against a long athletic nuggets team, he still kept going back to it. if the 3's aren't falling, instead of trying to get 35 3point attempts... -- post up harden -- go back to pnr with harrell -- run harden and lawson off double screens for FT jumpers (did harden take even 1 midrange shot tonite?) on defense instead of constantly gambling and trapping, he should have switched ariza to mudiay to stop their penetration and make them shoot over the top instead of getting 25 wide open 3's
agree the players aren't blameless for this ridiculous showing. but neither is mchale. aside from the obvious lack of preparation preseason and pregame, he could have coached much better in-game as well
Last season I thought McHale improved on some things, but man, the Rockets clearly went into the season opener severely underprepared and just not ready to play. No excuse, this was a failure of the coaching staff. Really need to minimize these types of games, he's got to do better.
I truly agree with you... But last night I watched a Golden State team without their head coach just dismantle a Pelican team... True that the Pelican's were short handed, but the fact that their veterans and their mvp stepped up big time. So yeah the Coach could have done a better job, but if Harden truly wants to be a mvp then step up.. The vets should also step up... Tonight was a play ground mess... T_Man
You better believe Kerr was working the phones and had a plan in place. They also already have the benefit of his system already installed. Our system is give it to Harden. If Harden isn't in the game shoot three. We used to complained about iso Harden but then Harden got scary good at iso Harden so everyone cooled off. When Harden doesn't have it (Which is rare) we look awful especially when Dwight is out and no one can hit a three.
Coaching makes all the difference in the post season. Tonight it was all on the players...It starts with James Harden, Trevor Ariza and TJones first. They have the most time together and have the most experience together. Dwight suspension should NOT be an excuse. The Rockets have to address the fact that they could very well have a terrible defense this season, but that was semi expected. Being ice cold offensively should NOT happen. Not this team. Last random factoid, the previous 11 season...No NBA champion has LOST game 1. Losing to this Denver team at HOME is a terrible start.
on defense there was little or any effort tonite and that starts with the players (although i'm not too confident in the defensive sets that are being drawn up as well). on offense however, the team had no discipline no structure no common sense. ariza has a 3 on 1 fastbreak and pulls up for a 23'9" elbow 3 instead (brick). we took 35 threes, despite the fact that we were bricking hard since the first quarter. coaching staff needs to vary the shot selection in that case and get lawson or harden midrange looks. run picks to get switches for mismatches. run cutters and loop arounds. set back picks in the lane. there are 50 other plays to run besides drive & dish + hot potato for the open 3.
Missing two starters does that. They are going to have a rough beginning but they will be ready in April. Top 4 out of the West. Calling in now.
I'm grown to hate MilkHair Why is he trying to play everyone and test every different lineup? Didnt you have the preseason for it? Holy **** at underutilizing Lawson. Dude should have the ball and dish it out on a regular basis. Our offense still consists of running around like chickens. There is absolutely no game plan, no set plays, nada This fukin guy is a terrible coach. I only blame him for this loss. He should have had this team ready and he failed
while you're emailing this to mchale, i suggest you cc mr. morey. morey-ball is becoming trendy now, especially with the success of gsw last yr. but i am not totally sold. any theory/style of play can look pretty on paper, even backed up by stats and numbers, and achieve various degrees of success in actuality. but in the end, you need the right players and the chemistry amongst them to get to the ultimate success.
Do you ever get anonymous hate-rep remarks when you criticize McHale? Sometimes I inspired real vitriol. Hope they share the love with you, too. I'd swear the dude has family on the board.
