Bull Session: Matt Bullard goes one-on-one with Rockets Head Coach Kevin McHale

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/matt_bullard_goes_oneonone_w_2011_12_07.html

"HOUSTON - One of the more intriguing season-long storylines surrounding the Rockets this year promises to be the impact made by new Head Coach Kevin McHale. He’s wasted no time making it abundantly clear that he wants his club to be more physical, while also emphasizing improved defense, rebounding, spacing and ball movement. He hammered home those points last week during a Q&A session with the media and it seems a safe bet to believe we’ll be hearing much more on those topics throughout training camp and the upcoming season as well.

There are, of course, myriad other matters to discuss with training camp a mere two days away, and Coach McHale was kind enough to take time out to discuss some of those – as well as the aforementioned talking points – with Rockets broadcaster Matt Bullard this afternoon. The entire interview is chock-full of insight into the mind of McHale, and what follows are but a few of the highlights.

We hope you enjoy.

On what the offense will look like this year:

“Will we have some of the same action they had last year on the offensive end? Yeah, because I like that action and they ran it pretty well … We’ve looked at that and we’re going to modify it a little bit but there will be some of that action and there will (also) be some of the action that I like.

“Having a guy like Kyle Lowry, let’s get him in pick-and-rolls, let’s get the floor spaced early, let’s get the drag action, get it in there to our bigs – getting him in space where he can turn corners and make some moves early in the clock. I thought most of the pick-and-rolls and most of the action I saw last year was very late in the clock and it was kind of like, ‘We’ve got an 8-point lead, we’ll have Kyle dribble the ball ‘til there are five seconds to go and then make a play.’ That’s really hard to do as a point guard, so we have a lot of stuff that we’re going to put in.”

etc

 

What a great interview!
Revealed several things about the team.

-Leaders: Lowry, Scola, Martin.
-Scola gets a lot of love from coach. Massive FiO2 capacity confirms why he has the best motor in terms of big men.
-Pace is going to slow down as less leaks-out and more focus on defensive rebounding
-Playing time will determined by defense/rebounding. Bad sign for Chase and a hint for Hill/Thabeet to step up.
-Thinks Lowry broke away from the "good player" pack and is at the cusp of being a really good player.
-Offense will be more traditional (p&r) with less read/react. Which means low IQ players will pick it up easier.
-McHale is such a likeable guy, but he is definitely someone who will get on you professionally if you don't do your job.

 

You can have your wings leak out if you have 2 great rebounding bigs that will gobble up everything and are able to throw good outlet passes (see Love). However, the Hayes/Scola combo are not dominant enough rebounders to do that and therefore the Rox gave up a lot of 2nd/3rd chance opportunities. Like Kevin says, there's no use playing good initial defense and making the other team miss if you can't corral the rebound and change possessions.

As for the option plays off the elbow, Rick's offense was catered to Hayes' ability to direct offense from the top of the key. That's why we were most successful offensively when he was on the floor. I don't think our personnel this year is best suited for that. It doesn't mean we'll throw it away, but use it more to keep defenses honest rather than it being a main staple. The best offenses are the ones that utilize the players' strengths. Lowry/Scola pick and roll+pop is a pretty good option with Martin coming off picks for open shots.

The offense will be centered around the strengths of Lowry, Scola and Martin. Read and react is not the best option for those 3.