A dispassionate Assessment of Kevin Mchale's Resume' at the time he was hired

I'll say it again, he still practically drafted the failure that is Royce White for us. I don't think he's ever beared the responsibility for vouching for him.

 

Well, if you don't like my texts, maybe you'll like the data.

I'd rather explain my point of view, backed by data, than to just throw around this player sucks, that player sucks, or somebody had a better 4th quarter than somebody therefore rules, or this coach is great or this coach sucks.

If you look at the threads, the discussion were centering the same topic.

People think McHale did better as a coach than his predecessors on the Timberwolves. Clearly not the case.

And when people are confronted with data that actually obviously makes their arguments invalid, they'll go after the messenger.

 

I love the McHale hate around here. It's just like the JVG hate and the Rick Adelman hate. Coaches are dispensable, so why not fire the coach when a pseudo-star is not performing? It's easy right?! Get over yourselves. Changing of the guards will not have an impact on this team, this team needs time and some new pieces. McHale has dealt with the punches of constant roster changes quite well, and while he gets sassy about it from time to time he's been solid. Is he the best coach around? No. Is he at the level of a Rudy or Phil? No. Is he good for what we have right now? Yes. Spread your hate all you want, your tears and anger tastes so sweet. I love it!

 

http://www.82games.com/bestdraftingteams.htm

Thought it was an interesting read and breakdown of who drafts well, and who doesnt. NY sucks at drafting, PERIOD.

 

And got them to a record with the same group of players that was still .100 below the coach he fired achieved (and in the process missing out on the playoffs), and as the GM he was the one who created the contract disputes.

So create dispute, players disenchanted, fire coach, get players to play to a record .100 below the coach he fired -> bingo, GREAT COACH and GM!!! Success story we should all aspire to.


Can I say the word "COMPREHENSION" in addition to "CONTEXT"?

 

So the season he was 19-12 doesn't count. McHale was 39-55 as Timberwolvers coach. If your arguement is so strong, you shouldn't have to misrepresent the facts.

 

I especially like the part about how well Flip did in Detroit, where he took a Championship team and turned them into conference finals losers.

 

His 19-12 record is the 0.613 I mention below. To prop McHale, or just ignorant, most leave out the fact that Flip Saunders was .707 with the same group of players just the season before, but players tuned out of Saunders after 9 seasons and due to contract disputes (thanks to McHale).


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"In the 2004–05 season, the Wolves kept the same team from the previous season. The team was plagued with contract disputes and the complaining of key players Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell, and Troy Hudson. Coach Flip Saunders was replaced in midseason by GM Kevin McHale, who took over the team for the rest of the season. The Timberwolves finished 44–38, and missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years. They missed the playoffs by one game, to the Memphis Grizzlies."

First, it's not unusual for a head coach to lose its players after 10 seasons, like Flip Saunders did. Second, it was due to contract disputes and complaining of key players, thanks to McHale. Third, players play harder for a GM/Coach during periods right after 'contract disputes' ... because, well ... they want a better contract and it's easier when the coach is a 'GM/coach'. And fourth, McHale had a really small sample size there.

In 2004-5, with the same roster, Timberwolves finished with 44-38 record, and McHale 0.613.

In 2003-4, with the same roster, without the contract disputes etc, with Filp Saunders, Timberwolves finished with 58-24 record, 70.7% win record.

 

It will be interesting to see how the Rockets and McHale perform next season when they have a new point guard.

No excuses Kevin!

 

Because for some reason, fans like to be negative. They prefer to b**** and moan about things. They can't just be happy.

 

CONTEXT
Rasheed was 34, Chauncy 32, Rip 31. Pistons were ageing. Dumars could not provide fresh blood.

Taking over from Larry Brown, who should be a Hall of Fame Coach, isn't easy. Conference Finals weren't exactly a bad result. Franchise record for wins was set under Saunders. And Conference Finals lost to Boston, thanks to McHale gifting them Garnett. Flip Saunders was not fortunate enough to have Randy Wittman as his predecessor. McHale gave himself that gift.

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Saunders replaced Larry Brown as coach of the Detroit Pistons on July 21, 2005.[2] Under Saunders, the team set a new franchise record for wins during the regular season, finishing with a 64–18 record. Saunders coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas.
Upon entering his third season as Pistons coach, Saunders became the longest-tenured Pistons coach since Chuck Daly's nine-year tenure (1983–1992).
Saunders was fired June 3, 2008 after the Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals; Detroit president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said the team needed a "new voice".[3]

 

That's cause CAA drafts for them.

 

All the Mchail appologists are just unfurling believable, you know what, if you just keep doing what you are doing, if Mchale just be here long enough, you guys might just turn to 500$ per hr trial lawyers!

I don't need to read this piece from bleach to know Mchale was a horrible GM, if you follow NBA long enough, u just can't help knowing Mchale was the second worst GM in the league, right next to youknowwho in newyork, even if you have covered ur ears in everyother day.

And if you have followed this franchise long enough, it's as clear as **** that Mchale is that worse than JVG and A as a coach, a light year worse than Rudy.

 

It's no surprise Mchale had good record in the short run at Minn. His coaching style emphsizes shortened rotation, heavy minutes for star/starters and defense/rebounding. All of these are especially helpful in achieving short term success, and they are not complicated strategies to start with.

The problem is this kind of strategy increases the fatigue/injury risk and usually is not a good one for long term success. Most of our tough losses happen when the players are very tired or playing with minor injuries. I was predicting the late season collapse last year, simply because I watched all the games and noticed significant fatigue in our core players near season end.

 

The GARM is now either about McHale or Lin.

 

We need a perimeter-D player and we need to resolve the hole at power forward (sign someone and let Trob or Dmo develop, I guess).

These things would mask the smell of some of McHale's mistakes.

He's an adequate, stop-gap coach, more of a teacher than a leader. I'm sure his players like him.

Would he be the coach that leads us deep into the playoffs (not this year, of course)? Maybe. I mean, for all the Rudy T. worship around here, Rudy wasn't Mr. X's and O's. He was Mr. "Dump ball to Hakeem, if Hakeem finds 3 point shooter, he passes it out". But that was with a team built around Dream (and, later, Clyde; then add Charles Barkley).

The article from Bleacher Report has some validity but is definitely written by a poison-pen fan. I wish David Thorpe, who doesn't think much of McHale as a coach, would write an article about him. Then we'd have something written in a somewhat rationale tone.

 

And that's the ****ing unbelievable state of the GARM right now, that people will look past all facts and disregard all reasonable common sense and logic, to argue a point that is so laughable (that McHale is a decent GM and a good coach) jsut because some idiotic over-the-top LOFs crapped on McHale and therefore they think they need to take the other side of the argument.

There is NO ARGUMENT. McHale was one of the worst GMs (I'd put David Kahn in that top 3 group also), and his coaching turnarounds were basically fake turnarounds, the first one when he achieved a record .100 lower than the coach he replaced (with the same group of players), because there were contract disputes which came from the GM (him), and the second one because he hired possibly one of the worst coaches in NBA history and had the advantage of having roster improvements in Kevin Love who by the 3rd month of the season was already average 12/10 (53% FGs) and Mike Miller. And still .300 record.

And Morey put together a group of players that was a lot better than people gave them credit for.

I mean ... one to ten.

Is Lin (post injury recovery) better here or in NY?
Is Harden better after McHale's coaching or was he just underutilized in OKC? Just remember Harden's first two games as a Rocket before you answer
Did Parsons develop better 3pt shot and somewhat better handles as a result of McHale's coaching or work in the summer? He's still taking the same shots as he did last year.
Did 2Pat improve his low post or rebounding game? Or did he just go back to his efficient mid-range game (his healthy rookie season already shot 56/57% from 2ptFGs)?
Did Morris improve his game under McHale? Perhaps.
Did Asik get better under McHale or Dawson? Latter, we know it.
Did Delfino learn to shoot better under McHale? No, he just took mostly threes this year, and cut out the other parts of his game. And McHale's experiments with him running the fast break, creating or handling the ball wasn't too smart (judging by the GARM)
Did Douglas and Beverley get better under McHale? Did Douglas revive his career because of McHale, or was it because he was an undersized SG (that can't run an offense) that was a good fit with Harden.
Did DMo develop all his smooth moves under McHale? No, it was always there in Europe. Did he get stronger, a little bit, I doubt McHale fed him. Is his defense much improved? Maybe a little, but not much (judging by the GARM)

C'mon, it's so laughable to think McHale improved these guys (of any significance).

The only credit possible is our offense, and we know that McHale didn't play this style in Minnesota and even at the start of the season preferred to have big man to dump the ball in the middle to. It is obviously Morey's statistical-driven efficiency-focused offensive philosophy. Do you think Phil Jackson, Rick Adelman, JVG, Thibo, even Mike Brown, Dwayne Casey ... any coach really, has ever really changed their coaching philosophy significantly in their career?

And defense? Just bailed by Asik, no accountability on the star player. Overall bottom 10 (or worse) without Asik.


So stop taking the argument for McHale because some idiotic over-the-top LOFs crapped on McHale. Just use your common sense and logic, and look at the fact and data. And don't make a fool of yourself.

 

I guess Spo isn't a good coach either, since Lebron was Lebron before Miami, and Bosh was already Bosh, right?

I guess Scotty Brooks isn't a good coach too, since Kevin Durant is the 2nd best player on earth and Westbrook is a freak of nature, right?

I guess Phil Jackson was pretty meh since he had the GOAT, Pippen, Shaq, and the 2nd best SG of all time, right?

 

This is more telling of what he brings to the Rockets. Obviously we did hire him for his GM skills. I've heard similar accounts of his coaching style with the Rockets - the relying on assistant coaches, the lack of designed plays, so on.