"When Tony first came to us at age 19 I was merciless with him because I wanted to find out very quickly if he was going to be able to run the show or not, and I wanted him to be thrown into the frying pan and just melt or be stronger. With someone else, I wouldn't do that. It depends on the player's personality and the coach has to figure out what buttons to push to make that person go." Parker confirmed the essentials when I brought it up with him later. "He was really tough," Parker said. "When a coach is really tough like that it means he really cares about you. I always knew, even if sometimes it was tough to handle, I knew he really cared about me." http://www.sbnation.com/2013/2/15/3994042/nba-all-star-2013-gregg-popovich-spurs
i am ok with mchale , he is better than punk sampson. Just imagine if Mchale goes, it would mean Sampson drama again = skid row, and major lin benching.
There is nothing wrong with yelling at your player for a dumb mistake. Of course, he can take the D'Antoni approach and say something like, "come on, you can do better than that. Sit down for a few, cool off, get your act together, I know you can do better," but there are just as many coaches who drill into players like Bobby Knight who used to kick his players, for crying out loud, lol. I think he even slapped a player out there for some lip, lol. And Pop's pretty tough, I hear. The point is, I don't think it is outside the boundaries of acceptable behavior by a coach. The problem is what that scene represented. There is already a train of thought out there that the Rockets coaching staff is not high on Lin, and that he's not being given a fair shake or the benefit of the doubt, nor any recognition of good play due to some strange sense of bias surrounding Lin. This is evidenced by the sometimes strange benching of Lin in the 4th quarter even when he's playing well for TD (I know NY is laughing at us for that, even the Lin haters) or in interviews like the recent one where McHale said " He is not that guy. (from Linsanity) He should be a singles and doubles hitter." Some of us believe that this lack of belief in Lin (such as not having him play the pg position) is hindering Lin's success and thereby the Rockets success, not because Mac is racist or cuz he hates Lin and wants Lin to fail, but because he just doesn't see Lin as a plus player for our team (edited). In that Clippers game, McHale quickly put Lin in the corner after the 1st quarter and had Parsons play the main role on offense relegating him to role-player status even with Harden gone. And even though there were turnovers and missed assignments all game by everyone, Sampson and McHale got most upset at Lin's mistakes, as usual. It was clear to me through their body language (I know I can't read minds, but may I have an opinion here?) I know everyone's sensitive and Rocket's writers are saying how this gets brought up again after every loss by crazy Lin fans then puts up a straw man saying that he can't play every minute of every game like the crazy Lin fans want, but that is not even close to what it is. It is completely off from any basis in reality. If Lin is playing bad, I've noticed that Lin fans get upset and angry just as much if not more than the haters. Now, has Lin earned the benefit of he doubt from anyone? Nope, maybe not. But has D-Mo earned a chance to get minutes this year. Nope, he wasn't even given the chance. Does he have to be given a chance considering we have plenty of more experienced pfs? Nope. But I can say that I disagree with McHale's decisions. I would have given D-Mo and TJones more minutes considering our needs for a pf that plays bigger. And I would've given Lin more reign and given him plenty of screens. And I would've played Bev more and less TD. And PPat more, and less Mook. Just my opinion, may I have one? There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the coach and all those who say that the coaches always know more than us are either not thinking it through logically or are being blinded in their crusade to convince everyone that Lin fans are delusional. And I respected McHale as a player. Top 25 of all time, imo!! In summary, NOONE is saying Lin is untouchable. NOONE is saying Lin should be playing 48 minutes a game. NOONE is saying Lin is playing star level basketball. But that, Mac's low judgement of Lin based on interviews, substitution patterns, etc is holding Lin back and thereby the Rockets. All I want from Mac in regards to Lin is: - For Lin to be allowed to play a dynamic point guard role, not as a spot up shooter - For Lin to be allowed mistakes without being yanked in the 4th (though it's been better lately) just as we allow Harden to lose the ball on the most bone-headed plays. Parsons and Asik should also be given leeway as well. They'll prove that it was the right choice in the long run, I know it. - For Lin to be allowed to play a longer chunk of time when he's feeling it. Other critiques not related to Lin are: - Play D-Mo and TJones (when he comes back) more, as we desparately need a pf who plays big. (btw, D-Mo is not soft.) - Bev is the better pg than TD, please recognize. - Play your starters in the 4th!! I see a carousel of Parsons, Asik, Lin, PPat, looking bummed out and not knowing if they'll be playing that day. Only Harden gets a pass, and while understandable, I completely disagree. - Please conserve Harden a bit more. Mac is way too enamored with Harden, although I can see how taking out our best player can be tough, it reeks of mistrust in our team as a whole other than Harden. Ill close by saying that everything I say is of course just what the TV shows, and I don't have access to the locker room nor can I read minds, etc., but I always watch every game twice and I do pay attention to it. Just my piece of mind, not gospel. And in answer to the title, no I don't think switching Mac is gonna do anything. That is unless a really good candidate can come along and give all the right answers on how he sees Rocket's basketball. But if Finch or Sampson or whoever also thinks we don't need a pg to play pg, I don't want them either. Mac's doing a good job, but there are clear deficiencies in his game that need to be addressed cuz they are hurting the team. Just like Lin needs to learn to be more aggressive, or like Asik needs to learn to catch the darn ball.
Well.....to that I would say that Lin isn't a great player. At least not now, why should he be treated like something he's not?
Perhaps I meant a potentially great player. Or a good player. Btw, I think of Parsons as a potentially great player as well.
Perhaps I meant a potentially great player. Or a good player. Or rather as a plus player. Btw, I think of Parsons as a potentially great player as well. But McHale/Sampson often doesn't treat Lin as if he was a plus player for our team. Yes, he has moments of ridiculous play where I would bench him as well.. But so does Harden, Kobe, Parsons, Asik, etc.. Mac/Sampson treats Lin as if they're not sure they want him on this team is what I'm trying to say. They seem to treat him as if they don't believe in him to be the answer at pg, whereas I disagree with them. I think Lin is a good pg who can be great, I think Harden is a superstar with defensive/to lapses. I think Parsons is the man and can be our SF moving forward. I think Asik is our second most important player but with many many faults to work on and can be our potential C moving forward. I think PPat is good, but that he doesn't play "big" enough, so we need another answer at PF. All that being said, even after Lin's first quarter against the Clippers, they got the ball to Parsons as the main guy, meaning the coaches don't think Lin can outperform even Parsons in controlling the offense! Parsons is great, but not cuz of his ability to break down the offense s the lead in an attack. He is the slasher, the cutter, the runner, the passer, the driver usually when the first breakdown has already been created. In that game, McHale believed that Lin couldn't perform that role and relegated him to the corner. Shoot, you can do that with ANY player. How is he supposed to flourish if he's not allowed to play to his strengths in what I'm saying. How can he prove that he is 2nd to Harden, when he's not afforded the screens, the pnrs, the faith to perform. Part of a coaches job is to see potential and bring it out. Not playing Lin to his strengths though he was very high upside is ridiculous in my opinion, just my opinion. Not playing D-Mo/Tjones is ridiculous considering what we need. Playing too much Delfino or Mook or TD when they are struggling is ridiculous in my opinion. I am just not a fan of McHale the coach personally, though I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt early. Woodson, btw, wasn't enamored with Lin either (it seemed) but he did a heck of a job last year and everyone will admit to that. McHale on the other hand does not pass the "instinct" test in my book, cuz his pulse on the game is sometimes off more that ours.
I think he was saying that DMo would improve even more after an offseason of training in Houston. Note that he wasn't with us last offseason due to his obligations overseas and with the contract. Yes, DMo has a great set of offensive skills. But a lot of those skills are still unrefined for the NBA game. That's something that he can certainly work on in the offseason.
But I just said that a couple of posts ago that screaming at a player for a bone-headed play is fine.. I have no problem with that whatsoever! The point of contention is that it is indicative of a larger lack of belief of Lin as our pg going forward which is making Lin play worse, not better. Lack of belief does that sometimes, strong-minded or not. I'd let Lin know, were I the coach, that he is our guy, our pg, going forward and instill that belief in him. McHale doesn't seem to think so, and it shows imo, not just cuz he yelled at the guy. I yell at son sometimes, doesn't mean I don't think he's gonna be the man someday. Then, there are players I get frustrated with and sit cuz he's not boxing out, and I don't think is a plus out on that court though I may get pressure from certain parents being out there. To McHale, Lin seems to be that guy! The guy who is not a plus out there. It's frustrating.
Sorry, I am not sure after Pop yelled/chewed/F...ked or whatever towards Parker, did he sit/bench him 10-12 mins. between 3rd and 4th Qs or even the whole 4th Q?, let alone when his pg performed well and didn't did any thing terribly bad, and the game in still on the line? Pop on Parker: "When Tony first came to us at age 19 I was merciless with him because I wanted to find out very quickly if he was going to be able to run the show or not, and I wanted him to be thrown into the frying pan and just melt or be stronger. With someone else, I wouldn't do that. It depends on the player's personality and the coach has to figure out what buttons to push to make that person go." http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=218754&page=108 (thanks Roxxy for the read) I am not sure what the bolded/italic sentence exactly means. If any one can explain, I'll appreciate. My interpretation is: "I threw him into the court to play through his mistakes after I chewed him up and see whether he melt or be stronger". Apologize if I am wrong.
It seems to me that Lin's game regressed or towards passive after excessively chewing/yelling. Should Mchale changes his tactics a little bit for his so called "tough love" approach? Yes, you can say Lin is weak if he can't take it. If the "tough love" approach doesn't work and Lin can not produce whatever the team or the true Rokcets fans here expected him to be, then its up to the FO to determine either Lin or Mchale should go, no? Having said that, we still have 27 games to go and me personally do hope that Lin can come through so that the team can go deep in the playoff, if they get there.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>McHale 4 Coach of Year: Rockets on 45 win pace&R least experienced team ever (~2000 min/plyr b4 season). Next 9 (~3000 min/plyr) win 30 gms</p>— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/302488254790397952">February 15, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
You gotta be f****ing kidding me. Is Morey clueless about Mchale or do we at clutchfans see some rocket science?
That's his personnel hire in the first place, he should be proud of him/it, would make him look good as a general manager/recruiter.
What you're discussing is a totally different thing. What makes certain Lin only fans absurd isn't that they feel McHale's handling Lin incorrectly, but that he's handling Lin incorrectly purposely out of spite/hatred/bias against undrafted players/racism/whatever. Is McHale's method correct? Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, I doubt the correct answer can be had 50 games into the season in which Lin's recovering from injury. What you're saying is akin to a statement "That mom is handling her son the wrong way by not allowing him to eat any sweets what so ever. That moderation is the better way to raise a child." LOFs statements are akin to "That mom is not letting her son eat any sweets. Therefore she does not love her son and is a terrible person." The 1st statement is reasonable opinion, one that may or may not be true without further insight into the kid in question. The 2nd statement, correct or not, is a ludicrous conclusion given the supposition.
But those r****ds can be counted on one hand. The vast majority of people who think Mchale is mishandling Lin do not think racism, hatred or a desire to see Lin fail has anything to do with it at all! Most only want to see Lin play a pg role and not a spot up shooter role, and be given screens and a higher usage rate because they believe it would help the team. If it's just to see Lin's numbers rise while the Rockets do not get better, that would be absurd. However, the problem is that due to the sensitivity toward Lin supporters, most on this board LUMP ALL LIN SUPPORTERS TOGETHER!! That's the problem. If you had a nephew who could play ball and can be a great post up player, but the coach keeps making him shoot 3s and sits him when he's thrown off his game and the fans keep thinking he's a loser because he's not a great 3pt shooter (though he's getting better), because you know and you've seen how great you can be in the post and how much he can help his team, you'd clamor for him to get some touches in the paint and not be relegated to the 3 point line. Not only as a fan of his game but because it can help the team win. It's the same thing. Now, if he starts trucking it out there when given the chance to post, nephew or not, you wouldn't have much to say. When Lin's been given the pg role with screens set and a higher usage rate, the Rockets, Lin, Harden, everyone benefitted. Then, a lazy game comes along (and EVERYONE has them! CP3 recently.) and the coach parks him in the corner again. It's frustrating. 50 games or not, McHale is misusing Lin, period. I'm not gonna shy away from that. He's barely allowed to play his game. But whether that makes him a bad coach for us or not, that's a different question depending on what other positive or negative influence he has on the team. Considering his misread (my opinion) of overplaying TD, playing TD over Beverley, not giving more time to D-Mo, mishandling of Lin, over-reliance on Harden (too many minutes when the game's in hand, etc), strange substitution patterns regarding Asik, Parsons, PPat, last game's trust in Mook over PPat, I don't think he's that great of a coach. On the other hand, we're a winning team, with a great philosophy, good culture, and Mac's been a big part of that so I would not say "fire McHale" but rather am hoping that McHale would improve his substitution instincts. Bear in mind that I have a pg mentality and that I'm partial to that position, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that not giving Lin tons of high screens or pnr plays, and playing TD as a pg pretty much tells me how Mac feels about Lin. Once again, just my opinion.
That's what I hate about LOH'ers they keep exaggerating things. I don't think anybody believes Lin should play 40 minutes.
