The team has major issues on both sides of the ball but have been embarrassing on the defensive end so a defensive minded coach would be my first choice. I think JVG is unrealistic as he is entrenched in broadcasting so I would like Thibs with Battier as an assistant.
Its improved because the roster has improved every year. I dont know how much of that improvement you attribute to milk hair but for your sake, I hope its not much. It is humorous that a lot of people wanted him fired and now want him back but I see it as a why not situation. He is available and he has no offensive strategy. Well, neither does milk hair but JVG has one thing milk hair will never and thats defensive structure. So who would you rather have as a coach? One with no defensive structure and no offensive schemes or the one with a defense and no offense. Pretty simple if you ask me.
How about Daryl Morey rolls up his sleeves and start coaching? May be he gets tired of his puppets who are not using his "system". I am all for "Morey the coach". Pop did it. After all "Coaches don't make much difference" anyway Btw, what happened to his other puppet - Chris Finch?
JVG!!! I have never seen an NBA team as well prepared as a JVG team He didn't always have the talent on his teams required but they were so well prepared.
This is the example we need to think about here. McHale might be Mike Brown in LA bad, but Les & Morey are not Jim & Jeanie (trust fund baby) Buss. Good leadership doesn't make major overhaul changes without assessing the Risk, timing, and opportunity. Making a coaching change in November checks all three boxes of what good leadership does NOT do. Only cases where its okay to do so are in complete failure modes. Like bankruptcy or not a company not being able to pay their employees type of situations. Maybe a scandal that has potential to harm the overall brand. If the Rockets are below .500 in January, then we can talk. Because in NBA terms, that's pretty much a catastrophe for a team in the luxury tax with two superstars who might leave or want out due to the team being that bad. Your product is essentially bottoming out.
dobro, I am worried we will lose another season probably and exit in semi finals. Then some might think, oh semifinals? thats great right? no, I think this team has been adjusted for a while now by Murray and to me looks like a championship roster. MilkHair cant make simple changes and I dont see that changing anytime soon. We'll have another year pass by and have this same discussion next year around May. Why actually not change the coach right now or by EOY and adjust accordingly before next season. Dwight might have one or two more great years and than we probably best of dealing him. James is in his prime and IMO needs to win a title within the next 2-3 years. Lets not waste anymore time. Change is needed asap
I'm realistic enough to admit that McHale likely isn't going anywhere until after this season unless the team REALLY struggles early on. Which is a distinct possibility BTW given they've already lost at home by 20 to the Nuggets and by 8 to the previously winless Nets. But if/when McHale is fired, should his replacement be an established head coach with prior experience, I'd want either JVG or Thibs. Someone who has a proven track record of instilling discipline in his players and getting them to show up at the defensive end every night. Shoot, if this team right now had the defense that those Van Gundy clubs did a decade ago, they'd probably have no more than 2 losses. If we're going with a newbie, I honestly don't know who I'd get. Mario Elie does have assistant coaching experience, including under Pop in San Antonio. But has he expressed interest in being a head coach? Shane Battier has championship experience, but has he even had an assistant coaching gig yet? Like I said, I'm not sure who I'd go with if it was someone without any experience. But odds are they'd still be more competent than McHale.
There was another thread like this a couple of weeks ago. I said Battier then since we can't get Ollie or any other college coach right now. I like JVG and I believe he would be an upgrade but his offense is just like Mchale's. So probably Thibs if not Battier. Battier knows defense and he knows the princeton offense. We can get him a couple of ex head coachs as assistants and I think that would do it.
I certainly don't want to offend Amel. So don't take my response the wrong way please, but I shouldn't have to go this much in detail of why its a bad thing to change in November but here goes... Changing a coach in November, is a bad, bad, bad idea and is almost never a good idea. What's going to happen if that was to happen is Les, Morey & co. will look at their alternatives, and will probably come to the conclusion that for the rest of the season its best to promote from within with Bickerstaff or Finch. In that case... what's the freaking difference between McHale, JB, & Finch vs. just JB & Finch when so many players actively speak about how much of an influence McHale makes on them like Capela, D-Mo, etc. that have said before that he's been great for them. That's one less person helping in preparations, and one less leader in practices keeping players in line, and being able to catch & correct. The system will not change. The practices will not change, and 2 of the 3 voices will not change. Nothing will change other than the fact that one guy will talk more than he used to, and maybe it scares people into trying harder to keep their jobs or to not get traded? Is that really a great way to lead from the front office? The other alternative is to hire a new head coach? What then of the rest of the staff. You are talking about what... 10 to 20 people in supporting positions? Maybe more if you are including D-League coaches reporting up, and player development/film guys? All of which do not know his/her system, have to learn it on the fly, and might very well have personality conflicts, and disagreements on very basic philosophical basketball or personality disagreements. The last option is the fire everyone, and let the new head coach build out his/her unit under him. With no Summer to prepare, training camp to institute, and preseason to experiment/get to know players first hand, do you really think this is setting up success from a leadership perspective? Do you think Mike D'Antoni in LA that first year was setup for success? A mid-season coaching change is bad, and super risky. If the Rockets are seriously looking at this option in mid-November its because of utter catastrophe... Again the Rockets just won 4 out of the past 5 games. Obviously there is something left to look at over a little more time before completely overhauling their staff like this, and sending the franchise in a tailspin. *Before you label me a MOF - I personally believe that McHale should have not been extended and should have had to re-apply again last Summer with coaches such as Thibs, Gentry, etc. available FYI for what its worth. I've been accused of being a McHale apologist before, but nothing can be further from the truth. I really think he's a poor coach in preparing his team, and I expected more diverse sets to eventually be added in over time which he seems to get... well lazy... in not putting in more offense in practice time, and his players are way too un-disciplined on defense. BUT.... I do NOT believe in changing the coach in November... especially when your team is still at .500 or better and shown signs of coming back eventually.
You have to nip the problem in the bud before it gets worse. If we wait until mid-season it'll likely already be too late and we've just wasted another season.
