Yes he is a disgrace for letting our current superstar in progress put the game on his shoulders... Seriously, Harden one on one ain't that bad of a bet. If you want to sit here and argue that at the end of the game kicking it out to a 3pt shooter is the better option then fine. However, it wasn't McHale or Harden that cost us the game. The last 3 games have been close and could have been tilted by a few more Rocket free throws made or field goals made. It could have been ours with one more steal or two. Perhaps a combination of 2 more free throws made, 1 more offensive rebound, and one two-point field goal could have won us game 2 or 3. But it is not as simple as "der McFail". Now run along to momma.
Thunder are a good defensive team with length. They can take away options and disrupt plays with the best of them. No margin of error for our coaching staff and players at close, end game, playoff situations.
I like Harden but he has been showing down the stretch he has a looooong way to go and he or no one else is above the team. If he is hurting the team with "hero ball" the coach needs to have the balls to demand he move the ball, especially if he is off like he has been with his shot. Inexcusable. The fact is McHale has no real offensive plays and looks to Harden to bail team out no matter what. Other players tonight were stepping up and keeping Rox ahead. Harden almost lost the game when he insisted on playing hero ball down the stretch and team became stagnant. Bad basketball.
Durant hit 2 tough shots, turned it over twice, and completely broke down the final play. I don't doubt that he's a superstar, but it was his **** play and Ibakalol that saved us from Harden's missed shots.
Did you even see what Durant was doing all game?!?!?!? DUDE WAS INHUMAN LOL. Please don't compare the two.
I feel for Harden who did not learn anything else but play ISOs under McHale, and then has to shoulder all those blames.
Isos kill democratic ball. The coaching staff should not stand for it, unless it's one of those nights were harden isn't missing. "balls got too sticky."
Yeah let's fire McHale because he doesn't bench Harden asap and publicly humiliate him at what should be a celebratory post game press conference. Who gives a crap about human relations and keeping a player's confidence up, that is is just soppy "player coach" bs and only the imaginary X's and O's of the casual fan matter doncha know. If McHale had just tore into Harden then he would be enough of a true coach to keep the boo birds happy. If only we had Jeff Van Gundy acting morose and tortured after a win, or Adelman, or Phil Jackson etc. then we would have swept the Thunder and would be the favorite to destroy the Heat.
McHale is out of his element right now. Send him home before he costs us another close game. It's plain as day that Harden is gassed. A long season of carrying a team and playing heavy minutes for a first time starter it's a miracle that He's any sort of productive.
Not everyone who wants to run, will run well. Credit to McHale/coaching staff for putting together a system that works. http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....mework-figure-out-what-kind-of-team-they-are/ Because the past couple seasons they have looked like a collection of mismatched parts with no overarching plan. They have two ball-dominating backcourt guards (that when paired on the court had the team -2.7 points per 100 possessions compared to their opponents) and they threw J.J. Redick in the mix, but that mesh was up and down. The Bucks played fast but were a bottom 10 offensive team, it all didn’t work. My guess is they stay up-tempo (the Bucks played at the third fastest pace in the league). Once you pick a style, then get a coach that fits it — if that is a Jennings led up-tempo style Boylan is not your guy. Boylan took over the job mid-season after Scott Skiles left (they were .500 when he did). There are a host of good top assistants out there, each bringing a different feel and style to the dance (there is Mike Malone in Golden State, Brian Shaw in Indiana, but the rumor is the leader would be Kelvin Sampson of the Rockets).
For someone who is not that high on McHale, i thought his substitutions were spot on during the entire game. He has never substituted players in and out that well considering what he was up against with the fouls and all. He broke out the chessboard last night.
He was incredibly conservative which is what most coaches over their heads do when things are on the line. No minutes for T Jones or James Anderson. I think both of those guys could've given us a good lift.
Harden going ISO can beat some teams, but trying that crap late in a game against a team with one of the best (if not the current #1) wing defenders(Sefolosha), one of the longest and athletic forwards playing the SF in the NBA today (Durant) and one of the best shot blockers (Ibaka) on the court at the same time going against him, then maybe trying to go solo is not the best way to close out the game.
You really don't know what you are talking about. I'm not sure why people think we don't have or don't run plays.
Probably not, but that is part of the learning process for Harden, the players, and the coaching staff.
True, but sometimes you have to roll the dice if the coach you have isn't getting you where you need to go. Nobody had any idea how Woodson would turn out after D'Antoni left NY. However, given a choice between assured mediocrity and the potential for improvement sometimes you have to take the chance. And that said, there ARE NBA coaches out there that are highly probable to be better than McHale at least in principle. JVG and SVG come to mind. Doug Collins wouldn't be bad either. And there are no doubt others with even higher profiles (though unlikely we'll get them). Given a choice between 100% of McHale and a shot at JVG/SVG, Phil Jackson, or any number of others, I'd roll the dice.
