Which game are you referring to? Parsons was in the game to defend Kobe last night, and he was subbed out for FT shooting with 19 seconds left.
Last night, yes, but I have been in chat asking for that to happen all year, and he has not been doing it... Glad to see he is learning. Thanks. DD
Remember that Goran interview? They emphasize a buttload on defense and have more freedom in the offense. It explains a lot about our team's bball iq and chemistry. McHale just tidies up the defensive end of things and raises the morale and fight for the team.
I don't know which you game you have in mind, but Parson's potential poor free throw shooting in the final minutes of close games hasn't cost us any wins this year that I can recall. Only twice has he gone to the free throw line in the final minutes of a close game where the result was in doubt. Against PHO on 2/9, and against SAC on 3/36 (in OT). We still won both those games fairly comfortably.
I'll eat some crow. One game somewhere around 2008 or 2009 I watched Houston play Phoenix. Afterwards I was convinced. The worst player in the entire NBA, and someone who should not ever be given another chance even in backup minutes, played for them. I saw no potential for this guy, and I called him out on CF. Goran Dragic sucks. But here I sit, watching that man who is now making himself millions with each big game he has for the Rockets as their starting PG. I'll always be a Lowry partial. I just love his heart, his defense, how he improved his shot like Jason Kidd or Chauncey Billups. But if he's under contract for two more years, and a team will give up a buttload of "assets" (yeah I said it) for him while Goran would be willing to re-sign with us provided he has a starting spot reserved for him, then I could understand why the Rockets would trade Lowry away. Just please, PLEASE don't send him to LA for Gasol. I will always root for Lowry; it would just be really hard to do on a team like the Lakers, Jazz, Spurs, etc. It really doesn't matter who is better between the two. We can't go wrong either way. Goran is longer and does play good defense. He's a better finisher in the paint and perhaps has better court vision. Lowry is all about heart, incredible on-ball defense, all-pro transition defense, and the kind of physicality that makes him a triple-double threat every night. Their outside shots are both good now. They are both capable of running a championship caliber Rockets team. I would be sad if we let Goran go for nothing, since he is definitely going to get paid this offseason (7-10M per), but I would understand it also. Llull should be coming in next year; we'd have him for four years at a good contract, and he's got plenty of desirable qualities as well.
He has instilled a mental toughness that is nice to see. A lot of comeback wins, a lot of close wins, which is something we didn't see from Adelman as he stubbornly stuck with starters down the stretch whereas McHale had no qualms about playing the young guys to let them gain confidence. McHale is a great coach, glad to have him.
I am glad McHale is proving most experts wrong. I will have Rocket's sun glasses so no matter what I don't have to eat too much crow.:grin:
Who was guarding Ron Artest last night, did you see Patterson come in to guard him? Nope, why not? Because Artest was torching, Bud and Lee.....and our one guy that can match up with him didn't. Either way. McHale still has a lot to prove to me, a record of 5 games over .500 is not enough, my standards are higher. DD
No, but if you are not on top of that type of stuff it will hurt you in the playoffs. McHale is growing on me, but I am not there yet....I still don't think he manages rotations all that well. DD
Call me crazy but after last night I almost think we are better off with Camby/Bert/Scola than Nene/Gasol, especially at their price tags. Haven't seen Nene (I know he is hurt) lately but Gasol is playing like soft garbage. Camby is just so damn fun to watch. One of the smartest guys I've ever watched play. He just knows what he's doing on the basketball court.
I'm sort of in the same boat as DD, although I was actually somewhat okay with the McHale hire from the start. Looking past all of McHale's mistakes as a GM, he actually was a pretty good COACH in his two interim stints in Minnesota. My concern, though, was that the sample size was fairly small. I've always liked McHale's no-nonsense approach. I just wasn't sure he was going to be a good coach over an extended period. I'm glad to see that he's showing signs of being that. He's not quite where I'd like to see him overall, but I think that'll come with more experience on the bench. McHale's no Rick Adelman. That was an impossible standard for him. But he was a solid hire nonetheless.
I think it's been pretty clear that Chris Finch is largely in control of the offensive scheme. Complaints like leaving CP on the court on offense has lost a lot of steam considering the fact that he's been our best catch and shoot option for the last month now. That offense coupled with the toughness brought by McHale blends as well as the lemon and lime in my kool-aid.
Ludicrous DD statement number 8 of this thread... Seriously, you want to run a line up of PP, Scola, and Sam/Camby for pure defensive reasons? Well I don't even think we get the best of the PP/MWP match up on the offensive end and putting him in there to prevent MWP post ups is just begging for the lakers to spread the court and get in to defensive rotations to make our 3 bigs rotate and move. You let MWP score his if he wants to, we did what we needed to do to win: prevent a Kobe explosion, double down on Bynum (who can't pass out of the post to save his life), and allow the other people to beat you. Does anyone really cringe when it's MWP taking a late game 3 just because he's made some lay ups earlier? I don't want an in-rhythm Kobe taking those shots, anyone else on that team? Bring it on. As far as Chandler playing late game, someone already stated that it has not affected the outcome of a single game, and to the contrary Chandler has hit some big free throws in clutch situations for us. There is a difference between people that are clutch and thrive under pressure and people who wilt with the first frost. Collison is pretty good free throw shooter, and a bad late game performer, who let us back in that Indy game because he couldn't make the clutch FTs. Hindsight is 20/20 man and if you think McHale still has a lot to prove to you, then he's doing a GREAT job IMO.
