LOL the difference is they won!!! So there's no 2nd guessing here. If they lost because they couldnt grab a big rebound down the stretch then people here would be in an uproar.
Lin was also averaging 22 points for the 5 games prior to the 17 minutes game. The opposing announcers even mentioned that Lin was playing so well prior to his 17 minute game that one would have to wonder why he was benched this game. Mchale could have had the knee jerk response that 8 minutes of below average playing and the player must be benched. Is that good reasoning? Look at Beverley last night . He had two points during the three quarters prior to the fourth, and he scored 7 of his total 9 points in the fourth. This powerfull performance was even mentioned by Clutch as one of the reasons we prevailed. Should Beverly have been taken out after his poor 3/4performance? After seeing the results I think not.His total efficiency score for the entire game was poor, but his fourth quarter efficiency rating was much better. It's a judgement call. Mchale tends to have knee jerk responses to certain playes. Parsons stays in even during poor performances,Asik does not. His reasoning appears to be somewhat capricious.
He's done this a number of times to other starters (Harden e.g.), and you've noted this a number of times, and yet it doesn't matter because LIN LIN LIN LIN LIN
way to leave out that Lin was 0-5 at that point of the game and looked fatigued and was not being very aggressive.
The fact of the matter is that the Rockets are ridiculously deep with quality NBA talent at every position. Every player on this team is sacrificing minutes to make this thing work. There are not enough to go around. The only way McHale can keep the bench sane and happy is for them to know that if they get hot, they will stay in. If the bench stays in, starters sit. To capitalize on the depth gap they have with most teams, they need whoever is on the floor to burn and come out when gassed, because the next guy is damn near as good.
http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2013/11/26/ZOOM0006MOV-3054736/ Dwight's comment on McHale's treatment of him. http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2013/11/26/ZOOM0003MOV-3054723/ And McHale on his treatment of Dwight.
I agree that the bench is so deep, but as these interviews show, a lot of the bench are just happy to be on the team. Aaron Brooks said "I'm just happy to be here." Casspi, when asked if this was the happiest he'd been on an NBA team, basically said "By a mile," seemed very happy, said he wasn't even sure he was going to make the team coming into it. I bet Garcia feels the same, after his days in Sacramento. We're lucky to have these guys who mostly are just really happy to be on the Rockets. It's not true that anyone has sacrificed, except Asik, you might say, though he's definitely getting paid. Don't know what most of these guys would be doing if they weren't on the Rockets.
What's wrong with a slow start? Who hasn't had slow starts in the season? Harden played 42 minutes against Dallas and looked fatigued at the end of 4th Quarter. Maybe it was a sign of poor minute management by the coach? LoHs' claim is delusional. But the way some people defend McHale's rotation is beyond my understanding as well.
Remarkable how a 15/7 night in 27 minutes can be morphed by a rabid irrational fan into "beyond bad".
Isn't that how almost all great teams are constructed? It also has the added advantage that the reserves are ready and able when called upon. The Spurs model.
