MCHALE FIRED!!!!

(I drafted this the day after the Portland game, but didn’t get a chance to post it. I have left the time references as is/was.)

Most of the stress and heartaches in life come, not from our success or failure in performing a task. It comes from the image we have of ourselves that the performance of that task holds in the eyes or opinions of others, whether that be father, mother, brother, spouse, children, or co-workers. It falls under the category of what we term human relations. We even have created so called HR departments in businesses. When I first saw the news that Kevin McHale was fired I felt sick. If ever this was a failure in human relations, this is one.

When the pre-game broadcast began last night before the Portland game I was not in a mood to “enjoy” a Rockets game. But I wanted to see what the media presentation of the event was going to be. There were 3 comments that stood out to me.

The first was Matt Bullard’s reference to the firing of Dick Chaney, a “coach of the year” caliber coach the previous year. The general manager at the time was Steve Patterson. Bullard said that Patterson came into the locker room and said to the players, “You just got a good coach fired.” That’s how the players found out.

The second was Daryl Morey’s explanation (or rationale) for the firing by saying “He (McHale) had lost the team. They weren’t responding to him.”

The third was Corey Brewer in the on-court post-game interview offering his unsolicited expression of love for coach McHale and how he would miss him. J.B. Bickerstaff, the new head coach also expressed his love and appreciation for all Kevin McHale had done for him, and how long they had been together.

Matt Bullard’s made it very clear with that short comment what his view was. He saw the players as being responsible more than the coach for the bad performance of the team up to that point. Calvin Murphy was essentially saying that in his post-game analysis in previous bad games prior to the firing. He chose not to dwell on that last night because it would have probably been counter productive. Nothing said was going to change what had happened.

J.B. Bicerstaff, in the post-game news conference recounted that after the players had had their meeting on Tuesday, several of them go up when meeting with coaches added, and in turn made statements of how they felt they had contributed to the bad performance so far this season and how they intended to address it.

When children misbehave do the parents generally get “fired? “ In some cases, such as physical and/or mental abuse, children are taken from the parents, which is the same as firing the parents. But in most cases the perceived failure of parents is too simplistic to explain unwanted behavior in children. So when Morey used the rationale that McHale had lost the team, that they weren’t responding to coach McHale, I see it as tragically simplistic. He did say that everyone needed to look in the mirror. Well, one reflection I see is a glaring failure in management, not the coaching.

Corey Brewer’s comments were so genuine and heartfelt that it is hard to believe the players did not like Kevin McHale. So I wouldn’t have used the excuse for firing McHale that he had “lost” the players.

McHale was being ridiculed by some for saying the best way to fix the problem was to try harder – too simplistic for aficionados. Yet I would point out that one Moses Malone, whom ironically was lost earlier this season, built his HOF career on just that. When recounting what made him so good, friends and fellow players – Calvin Murphy being one – cited the fact that he just worked harder and was relentless. He plain just wore opponents out with that drive and passion, especially for rebounds. So scoff, if you will, at the simple advice of trying harder. I see this as partially generational. Books and articles have been written drawing the conclusion that with each generation in our history we have gotten softer with more of an entitlement attitude. Old school players like Malone and McHale played a different brand of basketball than players today. And the part of the problem that is generational, is that there is a tendency for players now to have tin ears for stories of “how it used to be.” It’s just old “grandpa” players reminiscing about a time that isn’t relevant to them now.

Well, Thomas Edison had the famous quote that genius was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I think the parallels to “work harder” are obvious and valid.

What I see as a massive and tragic failure in management here is common across sports. Coach firing happens every year in every sport. Using the parental analogy, the head parent is Les Alexander, or any owner. He is the true head of the team “family.” In almost every case like this, coaches get fired mostly because the owner is carrying the burden of the team’s failure to perform, as a personal indictment to his management ability. “Good” owners are supposed to supply the resources – good players, good coaches and good facilities – and then be “hands-off,” so they won’t be accused of being the problem if anything goes awry by being accused of micro-managing and tampering. That’s all well and good up to a point.

But when a team has success one season and little has changed from that season to the next, yet the team performs poorly starting the next season, it is just plain bad management to adhere to that philosophy.

Looking in the mirror, now in hindsight, Les Alexander could have tried harder along with the rest of the “family” to fix what was wrong. He didn’t. He shouldn’t just sit, figuratively, in the corner office and leave success or failure to everyone else. He is the true head of the family. If I were the owner, I would have taken the time to speak to all of the players, individually, to try to determine if there were/are any personality issues between players and the coach, between players themselves, or if they were at odds with what they were being asked to do, and try to find out how much any issues like that might be contribu7ting to the poor performance. I don’t know of any coach firing event when this sort of seeking took place by an owner – at least not beyond 1 or 2 players. And in those cases it’s usually a “star” player that can have his way if he doesn’t like a coach. That is totally illogical and totally unfair to the whole organization.

A good manager also has the back of good employees and first tries to resolve any personnel issues before taking the severe step of firing someone. Firing someone without making some kind of investigation is certainly within the right of the owner/manager, but, in my opinion, usually counter-productive and sometimes destructive to the intended goal. To me, clearly it is absurd to praise the job the coach did last season with all the inures and then fire him after a bad start without interviewing players, etc.

The team did not have the opportunity to have a shoot-around before last night’s game against Portland, so it is a bit unfair to note that the performance was similar to pre-Bickerstaff. Only a miracle shot by Brewer – the likely 1 out of 10 at best – got the Rockets into overtime.

To add insult to injury, in the post-game analysis what was said about how to build on the victory going forward? Just keep working hard and try to have better focus. I agree, but, Duh?? Wasn’t that what McHale was saying?

Many fans have posted here applauding the firing saying Alexander showed he means business, that it sends a message to everyone. Well, it didn’t make the first 3 quarters of the game last night much different than before. So if the message was partially to impress players to focus more, it didn’t seem to have that effect.

Calvin Murphy also used that term, focus, as an explanation for the performance at the end of the game. Well, that is the effort that McHale was talking about. Focus, energy, effort. All are pretty much the same when describing a good performance by a team. The plain fact is the Rockets haven’t been focused on defense and their shots haven’t been dropping. Inserting Terry into the starting lineup did have some rationale, but can also have fans wondering if anything has come from the effort of acquiring Ty Lawson.

The rationale that Bickerstaff used, without referring directly to it, was to imply having Lawson come off the bench was to help him get more acclimated to playing in the “system” and getting his “normal” game adapted to that, a la Josh Smith. Fine. But if that’s the case, I doubt if McHale was pushing for Lawson to remain a starter. Circumstance helped drive that. Harden asked for help during the off-season at the guard position. Morey got it. When is wasn’t working as intended why didn’t Alexander or Morey encourage McHale to have him come off the bench? Probably because it would have reflected too poorly on them to make that suggestion. What? It’s not working out? We got the resource. It has to work. So, now, the replacement coach can more easily make that move, contrary to the expectations of everyone, when Lawson was acquired. It can be done under the auspices of, “We will continue to make changes until we win.”

The other, seemingly, non-mentionable ingredient here is D-Mo. I have asked the rhetorical question in recent posts, “Why can’t fans be given a specific medical assessment of D-Mo’s status to explain to fans why he isn’t available? Why no timetable at all? D-Mo was crucial to wins last season that helped the Rockets secure the 2nd seed by the skin of their teeth. The Rockets managed to get to the WC finals without him or Beverly. It is amazing that the players were able to do so much with such an ineffective coach.

This is the way I see it. Others here will certainly disagree. You can applaud a management style that is typical in the professional sports world. It IS business as usual. I’m trying to say, business as usual does not mean it can’t be improved on.

Passing out mirrors at this point won’t undo the damage to everyone involved in the organization. I feel certain it could have been avoided. Bill Worrel made the comment at the start of the pregame, after Bullard made it clear that players are ultimately responsible for the effort they give, “Well, you can’t fire players, but you can fire coaches.” That’s just a poor way to look at managing a sports franchise. Star players seem to have the most power in the organization. Very good players can wear out their welcome and be traded or cut loose, without as much fan backlash. But if a coach’s contract can be bought out to relieve him of duty, the obvious sobeging way to get players attention is to remind them that they can ride the pine, or be traded to the equivalent of Siberia or end up riding the pine. I understand that no owner is going to give up a resource in that way unless there is just no other way. Star players can demand a trade. They can, essentially, hold a whole organization hostage to their demands. I’m not suggesting that any Rockets player did that in this situation, but it is within a star players power, due to the fear of losing a relatively rare resource. Doesn’t that also reflect on the owner and GM as being weak and/or helpless?

This “logic”(?) to coach firing is that it puts forward the case that the coach is replaceable more easily than the players are. The logical conclusion is the coach is less important than the players. Wouldn’t it be better to try to preserve what got the team to the WC finals last season, rather than firing a coach, just because it’s the quickest change that can make the owner and GM look like they are doing something substantive? And that gets back to the way this post started. Self-image is important to everyone. The best management seeks to support the self-image of everyone involved. When players are going through a shooting slump, you’ll hear veterans say, “You just have to keep working and making the effort. You just have to shoot your way out of it. Keep shooting and sooner or later the shots will start falling. Don’t get down on yourself. You have to remain confident.” I don’t hear any X’s and O’s there. I do hear the simple advice of a good ex-coach.

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...e-latest-dwightmare-victim-20151119-post.html

Spoiler

The word in Houston is that Kevin McHale “lost the locker room.” The real problem was what he found there.

Dwight Howard and James Harden, who are to coaches what Batman and Robin were to crime in Gotham City.

It’s not that they were arch-enemies of McHale. They’d just stopped doing things McHale recommended, like play defense, hustle and generally care about the team more than themselves.

At least Harden has an excuse. He’s gone Hollywood and hooked up with Khloe Kardashian.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that NBA players and Kardashians don’t mix. We can only hope Harden doesn’t end up like Lamar Odom.

Houston Rockets Fire Head Coach Kevin McHale
After a 4-7 start, the Rockets have fired coach Kevin McHale.
Of more interest around here is our old friend Howard. Orlando was the first NBA outpost to see how high maintenance and egocentric Howard can be.

The Lakers were next, and now Houston is in the early stages of Dwigtmare 3.0. When you build your franchise around Howard, you’re asking for the general manager to eventually hold a press conference and say stuff like this:

“We’re just trying to win. You have to have stars to win the in the NBA. We need everyone to respond. It’s not about stars. The team was not responding.”

So said Houston’s Daryl Morey Wednesday as he announced McHale’s axing. He was right about one thing – the team was not responding.

"Forget You" Dwight Howard (Cee-Lo Green song parody)
Dwight Howard's ex-Orlando Magic teammates channel Cee-Lo Green to deliver a message for their departed Superman and the hated Los Angeles Lakers. Produced by Rich Pope, Sean Pitts and Todd Stewart. Vocals by Len Xiang (http://lenxiang.com/), Jamaal K. Solomon and Don Hawkins.
He was wrong about another – the NBA is all about the stars.

And if the stars aren’t responding, it doesn’t matter if the coach is a combination of Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and James Naismith. He must go.

McHale led the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals last year. It was the best run for the Rockets in 17 years, and they rewarded McHale with a three-year, $12 million contract extension.

Then, 11 games into a new season, he’s Red Klotz.

What happened?

The Rockets decided they didn’t need to play defense, an aspect of the game that requires effort, interest and selflessness. Morey’s is Mr. Analytics and has put together a roster that statistically could win the NBA title.

What all that bloodless number-crunching can’t measure is a player’s attitude. Howard’s body is starting to creak like a geriatric but he retains the emotional maturity of a third grader. And in the NBA, adolescents don’t have to listen to their teachers.

“We’ve had more team meeting the past six weeks than in my previous four years here,” McHale said shortly before his firing.

Ty Lawson told the Houston Chronicle that players were blowing off the coaching staff’s instructions. The stars always set that tone, and you know what Howard was thinking.

He’s Dwight. It doesn’t matter that McHale is a Hall-of-Fame player, proven coach and highly respected throughout the league.

Dwight’s gonna do what Dwight wants to do, which apparently didn’t include following McHale’s orders.

“Coaches say, ‘Run this pick-and-roll coverage.’ We were calling something totally different,” Lawson said. “No matter what the coaches say, we need to do. We need to be on the same page.”

Not when Harden is more interested in being on the pages of US Weekly and Howard still patterns his life after cartoon figures. Now that the Rockets have run McHale off, they’ll probably buckle down and play up to their potential.

But the true character of a team wins out. When your primary character is Howard, it’s not just the locker room that goes missing.

The whole franchise eventually gets lost.

David Whitley can be reached at dwhitley@orlandosentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEWhitley

i hate these people

 

You got to be kidding.....So much fail in this post and the obvious one sided hating on Dwight. Yes, Dwight was the one that didn't listen to the coach.

 

Hello Morey, tell us what really happened.

 

lol. There is some truth to this sarcasm. I think the "McFail" narrative was overblown. I certainly didn't consider him a good choice when he was hired, but he did a pretty good job, especially when you consider the injuries and the player turnover. I'm glad he's gone because there are many coaches i'd rather have at the helm. But I think McHale's rockets legacy is a very positive one.

 

Here's a prediction: some of these "fans" are going to look back longingly at the good ole days when the Rockets overcame huge injuries, assimilated multiple players mid-season, and executed one of the greatest come backs in NBA playoffs history with a coach that had the guts to put the star on the bench during the most critical time.

Coach McHale has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

 

What absolute garbage. Unbelievable how toxic Dwight's reputation is with the media.

I know that Dwight is not the perfect teammate and have no doubt that he could have handled his exit from Orlando better. But the vitriol spewed at him is just ridiculous.

It's all about expectations. Fans and media expected him to be in the class of Shaq, Kareem, or Dream as a player and more importantly as a leader...he's just not. He is an elite defensive player that can finish well around the rim on offense, nothing more. He's an easy going guy that you shouldn't count on to get angry and motivate the rest of the team.

I think he's probably the most underrated player in the league outside of Houston because everyone is more focused on the narrative that he's some immature, selfish superstar ...I don't see it. He's stepped up when needed (playoffs), been as healthy as we could reasonably expect IMO, and I don't recall any loafing or pouting on the court or sideline.

Putting McHale's firing on Harden is fair, Dwight? Not so much IMO.

 

THANK YOU!

 

There was an old Minny player that played for him and pretty much said that they didn't run plays under him. Can't remember the players name but if I do I'll find the quote.

 

Naw, they'll say "Bickerstaff is McFail's baby! Why didn't Les fire McFail years ago like I told him to? Wish Cuban was our owner."

 

Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not Daryl Morey and wouldn't want to be in his shes in any way at this point.

The basic facts are that McHale was fired, the players were not told anything about it until it happened, meaning they couldn't have been interviewed for their input. Whether or not McHale was totally blind-sided by this or had had meetings with Morea and/or Alexander, we may never know. All in all, just handled extremely poorly... but typical of how coaches are fired.

 

When the going got tough McHale would just throw his hands in the air and pout.

As the losses mounted his only leadership "adjustment" was to pout to the interviewers in the pre and post game interviews.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but our team requires a leader who can inspire and show the way forward when the going gets tough. We have the talent but we sometimes need motivation. I wish it didn't but it doesn't.

It didn't help that the man who was supposed to provide the motivation and plan would just talk surly, sarcastic, and say things as if he was just as disappointed as the rest of us and couldn't wait for the players to do what they are supposed to do.

When your coach gives up on trying to adjust then I would expect nothing less from the players.

Harden isn't a diva, but he's not a finished product yet either. He needs a coach, like a Popovich or Mike Krzyzewski or even Brad Stevens it seems, who will help him find the way forward when he makes his mistakes.

 

I meant, "I wish it didn't but it does"

 

Anthony carter

http://www.slamonline.com/nba/tales-of-kevin-mchales-hilarious-coaching/#Iy3jAD8TWKsyCeoc.97

 

You guys are living your dream now!

 

If you fire the coach because the players quit on him, does it make sense to keep on trying to build around players who have proven they will quit?

 

This. Many people here don't seem to realize that the players are what's keeping us back, firing McHale accomplishes nothing.

 

Doubt if we even had steph curry, we would find a way to loose that Portland series with mchale. Like saying taking pop out and inserting mchale and they're still championship contenders

 

classic McHale response. I miss his sense of humor. The coaching, maybe not as much, but he definitely is a funny guy.