Does Leslie Alexander deserve an apology in terms of the D'Antoni hire?

I was on board with MDA. Was tired of seeing ISO ball as our primary go-to play.
Loved the movement and cuts and screens with MDA's system. He gives a green light to 3 point shots
and that was our forte.
I also knew he was hampered by Kobe and Melo in LA and NY.
They want to be the star and get all of the shots and glory. He got a raw deal.
GSW has done phenomenal with a similar system. Just need the right personnel
Go Coach!

 

MDA is certainly an upgrade over McHale/JB, but still too early to declare victory. We are 26th in defense, that will have to improve if we want to make it past the 1st round.

 

After twenty games?

 

As someone that was in favor of the MDA signing - I am glad Les put his foot down and got the guy he wanted. He should have done it before we hired that crappy McHale.

DD

 

I would say that Les agrees and the proof is that he has kept him around.

 

Yes, not an improvement, but most on this BBS predicted no better than a 1st round exit, so....

I mean, if you don't get a #6 or better seed, how many teams can beat GSW or SAS in a 7game series. Not many here predicted we'd get a better seed than that.

Of course, they were all underrating James Harden !!!

 

I thought this team would be good all along, maybe even win 50 plus games and get home court. I also figured we would be a complete non threat in the postseason because of our terrible defense.

I hated this move because if always felt like trying to be fun and good to sell tickets and not trying to compete for a title. The season is playing out exactly like I thought it would, so I don't feel any different about the hire than I did when it was made.

 

Look, outside of Marion (way undersized at the 4) and Raja Bell, how many above average defenders did D'Antoni have in Phoenix? He certainly had two horrible ones in Amare and Nash. It certainly made sense to double down on our strength (i.e., Harden), with the hope that we can eventually surround him with above average to plus defenders who fit the system. Beverley and Ariza fit that bill, and Capela's close. D-Mo, if he can match or surpass his 2014-15 defensive output, is another. We're already the third best offense in the NBA, with potential for growth on D.

I'm liking the hire a lot. Though I didn't have any real issues with hiring in the first place.

 

I'll walk back a bit and say an improved record and more entertaining to watch mean something. But even if we win the title, I dont think an apology is in order. More like congratulations.

 

It was a great move. It gave us an identity and a superstar to build around. Short of the imagined glories of tanking and trading Harden for "young players and picks" it was the way to go. By the end of last season we had reached the point in which it was no longer possible to attract high level free agents. Now it looks like this will again be possible even if we cool off a bit.

 

Les got lucky but it is too early to tell.

 

I wish the Texans had an aggressive owner like Les

 

You can't apologize to a super rich billionaire. They should apologize to us for kicking the ladder.

 

I don't think D'Antoni was luck. Les wanted him over a lot of other candidates. I will say that Bazemore and a few other free agents passing on the Rockets(assuming we really wanted them) was luck since Anderson and Gordon seem to be perfect fits for a D'Antoni offense led by James Harden.

 

Les >>>>> Bobby MacNair
Mike Anthony >>>>> Billy o Byran
James Harden >>>>> JJ Fatt

Houston Rockets >>>>> Egg texans

 

Les...wait.

 

I've ragged on Les for a long time, but at least he seems engaged in what's going on with this franchise. I think he's misguided when it comes to how to build a long-term contending team, but he wants to win. I'm just grateful that the NFL has always ranked a distant third to the NBA and MLB for me as a sports fan, so I don't get too worked up over the perpetual mediocrity that is the Texans organization.

 

Agreed. I don't care about Texans one bit but it is funny to see so many worship a very mediocre team that has done nothing and does not care about winning right from the top.

Rockets have always put winning and entertaining of paramount importance and as such deserve a lot more support than the crappy Texans. But then again eggball fans (those who put Texans above Rockets) are known to have lowest IQ amongst all sports fans.

 

Nope. Mike did well on his own I admit but he is still not the best choice. Probably won't make the team great again.

 

Watch kung fu panda 3. Mda plays to Harden's strengths.

It's all about being the best you that you can be. Harden is never going to be a defensive specialist (though he can stand to shore up in that area).

Having a great offensive minded genius as coach was a brilliant and gutsy decision by the management.

Harden is the best player in the league right now.