So McHale thinks our bench can overcome a 17 point deficit against Memphis' starters?

The starters got benched to send a message, not to win the game. If you think it was a poor decision, it's probably because you are predisposed to thinking McHale is a bad coach. If a coach you respected made the exact same decision, you'd probably talk about how smart it was.

 

I felt like they let a winnable game slip away just like you. But Mchale purposely did what he did. It's done now. How the team responds will tell you not only if he knows what he's doing but what kind of players this team has. Whatever helps you sleep man it was an unusual game to say the least.

 

One big problem is that he's not Popovich. No where near the caliber of coach Popovich is.

 

it's still not too late to miss the playoffs with these inexperienced young players.
McSuccess wins! in your face Morey!

 

Point is that it was the exact same coaching move. You can't say coach A is a moron for making X coaching move and coach B is a genius for making X coaching move. It's the same move.

 

So is 'Akeem the only player that is ever allowed to pull off a Dreamshake? It's a great move if executed under the right conditions (not double or triple teamed, wide open cutter in front of you, etc). If D-mo were to pull off a Dreamshake should we just claim that he should stop being like Olajuwon because he isn't?

It's a coach Pop move, and we shall see if it will end up being as effective as one. I would reserve judgement until we see how the Rox perform tomorrow. Or in my analogy, if it the dreamshake shot ends up going in or being the correct move.

Just becomes someone doesn't have that great of a trackrecord yet doesn't mean that person can't make perform to a higher level. Let's see how this bold move plays out. I'm sure when Pop was a newer coach and wasn't winning yet people were slamming his stern choices pretty hard.

 

I'm gonna go ahead and defend the decision by McHale to bench the starters.

Rockets were down 9 and had three chances to cut it to 7 or 6 with about 6 minutes left (we missed three straight wide open shots).

Regardless, the starters sucked ass tonight and their effort left a lot to be desired. If I were the coach, I would have benched them too. They did not deserve to play with the type of defensive effort they were giving.

 

were you not watching the game? how many points did Parsons contribute before he was out the rest of the game? There's NO doubt the starters could've gotten us closer, with a better chance.

 

Did you watch the game? The starters were the reason the Rockets were in the hole to begin with. I think the game ends in a blowout if the starters stay in and McHale wastes an opportunity to send a message to the starters. I support the decision.

 

This pretty much sums it up best. Lets face it, it was going to take a miracle to take a steamrolling Grizzlies team last night regardless. McHale trusted his bench to deliver a miracle more than his starters through their energy and hustle they displayed early in the 4th.

McHale decided to live or die with the results of his bench brigade, REST his starters for a huge game tonight against a team that will be playing their 4th game in 5 nights, and in the meantime send them a huge message that they can be replaced in the NBA very quickly if you dont bring it every night. Big freakin deal.

Sometimes, coaches have to put aside the thought of pissing off players and fans in the short term to keep the long term goals at top priority. I think the starters got the message, and this will overall have a positive impact on the rest of the season where they should be desperate to get their freaking act together for this finishing playoff run.

If they dont learn from this and get their act together, we might see yet another late season collapse... Lets just hope McHale got his message across to the players that are going to bring this team home to the finish line at the end of the day.

 

You're not resting players by cutting their minutes less a little bit. The back to back is about the traveling and the lack of preparation. But with McHale there is never preparation anyway.

In other words, the players will be more bothered by the lack of minutes than fatigue from playing.

 

Look, you guys are acting like McHale had nothing to do with the loss and it was all on the starters. If I recall correctly, the slide started when he slid Delfino into the four for small ball and Z-Bo and Gasol feasted.

The game was still close at half time. Heck I remember looking at Lin and Harden's stat line at halftime and thought they were doing okay.

Memphis adjusted. McHale didn't. I think hes been doing as good a job as he knows how but its clear he screwed up this game. Some accountability on his part would have been nice.

 

Did you disagree with the decision to bench the starters?

 

I don't think we would have won the game so it hardly matters.

 

This is playoff time.... if you need McHale to dress up as Bozo the Clown in the locker room, and give lollipops to the players to make them happy enough to play well, you are seriously out of touch with the reality of professional sports dude. Its time to sack up, and bust your A#$.[/QUOTE]

haha, it's hilarious that you make yourself out as r****ded as you seem to be. it's funny how you totally left harden out of your little rant.

as to teaching your starters a lesson? perfect timing with the end of the season right here and you were within 9 points. would've made a lot more sense to "teach" them this lesson a few months ago. maybe if he commanded the respect he thinks he deserves, then we might not be in this pridicament. i'm assuming you watch basketball but you've never really played it in a competive realm or else you'd actually know what you're talking about.

you pay your starters millions for a certain reason. don't go and interview about how your players shouldn't be tired to suit up and get paid if you're either trying to save them for the clippers game or trying to teach them a lesson. He's a cop-out and needs to man up as one.

I'm positive myself and the rest of the Rockets organization did not see this unnoticed. This doesn't bode well for Mchale.

 

Maybe McHale should take a look at the standings and realize that we haven't clinched a playoff spot yet. This is not the time to bench your best players in the 4th! I don't know if he was resting them or trying to send a message, but that was one of the worst coached games I've seen from him! When your fighting for a playoff spot, you gotta play your best players!

Also, don't make freaking Delfino try to guard one of the best low post scorers in the league, all he can do is foul him and ZBo is a pretty decent FT shooter!

I'm pretty neutral with McHale. I don't love him or hate him. But this game is on him!

 

Good coaching might arguably entail sending a message to the starters. BAD coaching UNQUESTIONABLY entails playing exhausted players against fresh ones. Anyone disagree with that? Can anyone defend that?

 

I get sending a message or resting players, IF its either much earlier in the season or you already have a playoff spot locked up. Neither is the case for the Rockets right now. We were down 9 with about 7 min left, you can't convince me Harden didnt have a run in him if McHale put him back in...

 

Hmmm I'm also pretty sure he wanted to rest his starters for the second game of a back-to-back. The Clippers are just as tough as the Grizzlies if not more so.

 

Hindsight's 20/20, if we pull an upset tomorrow, then suddenly benching our starters will "be the greatest coaching decision ever made".

Did anyone catch the shot of Parsons and Lin joking with each other during the 4th? Perhaps McHale caught that and that also played a role in keeping his starters on the bench.