In a position to be serious title contenders for many years to come. That's a really odd standard of success. But okay, I guess. I personally would like a championship more. Not only do I think that, but I've already pointed out that it would be very unlikely we would even have the team we do now with RA still here. -Would Finch (presumed to be Morey's coach in training) be an assistant here? No -Would we have Dwight Howard (who stated as a fact that McHale was one of the big reasons he decided to come to Houston) here? Probably not. -Would Morey have been able to turnover an entire roster in one year while Adelman's pet players were here without leading to Adelman becoming disgruntled? Probably not seeing as how he regularly complained about roster changes -Would former Adelman guys who are now scrubs such as Brad Miller still be making Rockets rosters? Likely. Also, read these posts fully. I'm not sure you did because you questioned if I'm actually stating something which was quite clearly stated and discussed in these posts http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=8794222&postcount=147 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=8794591&postcount=148 <br> <br> I read that article. It's also from 2008 which means it's antiquated and McHale's best years as a coach (similarly some of Adelman's worst) aren't even factored in. Besides, throwing out hypothetical scenarios like Adelman would be winning more games with this squad is silly. That's just speculation and cannot be measured. The only facts are as follows. -McHale is leading this team to their best record in over 20+ years. -McHale has had more roster turnover in just one season than Adelman probably had in his entire tenure here. McHale has had to battle through tons of adversity and still has this team ready to be in its best position since the championship years. He deserves a ton of credit. Now as far as what you were referring to when you said you'd "love to see how I came to this conclusion"... I believe that had to do with me saying "McHale was clearly the right choice to manage the team in Morey's image." So to address that: As I previously stated, the entire offensive and defensive schemes of this team are now (almost fully) molded into Morey's statistically backed style. On top of that, Morey now can put in whatever assistant coach he wants (he's proven it) without the head coach clashing with him. Furthermore, Morey is using the Rockets' farm system as never before. None of these things are coincidental. The coach and the GM are in harmony. The mission and goals of the organization as well as how (the issue with Adelman) they will achieve those are in complete sync from top to bottom. That's a huge reason we're on our way to our best record since the championship years and hopefully playoff success that we haven't seen in two decades.
Do you really believe this team would exist if Adelman were still the coach? The Rockets made sweeping changes to their entire philosophy following the departure of Adelman. To say Adelman would be coaching this exact same team is ludicrous. This is a coach that had his GM trade for Chase Budinger(a pick that turned out to be Jones), Brad Miller(a pick that turned out to be Chandler Parsons), and signed Kevin Martin at 31. This is a coach that fought Morey every time he traded bit expirings like Brooks or Battier. I don't understand where the idea that Adelman would just sit and let Morey dismantle and rebuild comes from. The guy isn't Rick the RULER because he likes taking orders.
LOL. Talk about speculation. YOU are the one who keeps speculating what Adelman would not be able to do with this team. Is that a fact or is that YOUR speculation? How do YOU measure it?
Um no. What i'm saying isn't speculation. If you want to choose to ignore facts about Adelman's tenure (especially the end of it and his disagreements with Morey) that aren't speculation over and over again because you have comprehension issues, go for it. I'll spell it out for you one last time since you seem to be a bit slow. It is not speculation that this team, as it is comprised today, likely would not even exist if Adelman were still here. There would be no Dwight. We'd still be getting 9th seeds with Bud and K-Mart. If you don't like my posts, read the one right above yours for reasoning as to why that is true. meh stated the same facts quite well.
I don't think the issue with Adelman was his offense or defense. I think it's his inability to connect with today's players. You see McHale - he's a legend but he also jokes around and has a style that his players can respect. He's sarcastic and real. And that resonates with young guys like Parsons, Lin, Howard, Harden. He doesn't hold back in what he says, but he's not an angry old man either. What makes the Rockets successful this seasons is partly team chemistry. And McHale is a big part of fostering it by being tough on everyone without being a boar. I am not sure RA could do that - it's not his style. As an X's and O's guy - I would take RA over McHale - but that's not what coaching really is about. If you have excellent assistant coaches who understand the plays and what's going on, then a head coach only has to build the bridge between the assistants and the players. I think that's what Phil did with the triangle offense. It wasn't his offense, he just got his players to believe in something that they would not believe in otherwise. RA was successful in Portland and Sac-town because he had the right kind of players as well who bought into what he was doing. He was successful here because he had the right kind of players. He can deal with young players - you look at Lowry and they had a great relationship. But would he have clicked with Howard? I doubt it. I don't know why he isn't having success in Minny. But that team should be better than what it is. At some point you have to say that Rick the Ruler doesn't always rule all that well.
Wow. The excellent posters like Lou, tinman and Meh are stepping up their games and demonstrating their understanding of the NBA game. Rick seems to be done. McHale may be the perfect coach for this Rockets team. If you don't trust us, trust Morey.
Finally. I'm tired of this "grass is greener" mentality. McHale did better in his first year here with the Scola/Martin core than Adelman has ever done so far with Love in Minny. You know what McHale did the first year we got him a star? Make the playoffs.
Your correlation between Rick having a good relationship with Lowry and possibly having a bad relationship with Howard makes no sense. Minnesota has had major injury problems the last few years. Rubio can't shoot. I came up with the nick name rick the ruler. I got tired of the lazy idiots calling him RR
It's not a correlation. It's saying the issue isn't that RA is too old. It's that he doesn't necessarily get along with prima donna type players. You think RA would have as much patience posting-up Howard as McHale has had? No way. Howard might not have even come to H-town if RA was coach. We've had our share of injuries as well. But Minny has a good core and some good role players who have won with other teams. They have Love, Martin, Rubio, Pekovic. That's a great starting 4. They should be more competitive than they are. In any case, not saying McHale is better or anything like that. Just saying you can't assume that every coach will succeed for any given situation. I think McHale is a better fit for the players we have right now than RA would have been. But if my team were the spurs for instance, I think RA would be the better fit.
Minnesota has a great coach, and underwhelming talent outside of Kevin Love. (Who is coming to Houston soon)
It has been said that one of the signs of bad coaching is continually losing close games. Isn't Minny like 3-15 in games decided by 5 or fewer points this season?
I don't have comprehension issues. YOU started this thread. You go back and try to comprehend what you wrote. Or are you now back tracking. You started this thread trying to say that Adelman was not a good coach by pointing at what he's doing in Minny. You then proceed to say that he did not have any success in Houston. Your OP was not arguing WHY Adelman left. That topic has been debated numerous times on this board. You were arguing about Adelman's success. Now you realize that saying Adelman was bad coach is such an indefensible notion, you are shifting to something else.
I would not call RA a bad coach. Guy was one errant bounce and Robert Horry 3 from taking the Kings to the finals and probably an NBA championship. His tactical coaching skills aren't what's in question. I think it's simply that he is a coach that needs to be in a situation that fits his personality. The right kind of players. I think given enough time he will be successful in Minny.
Good grief, it seems like we as Rockets fans too quickly overrate or underrate our coaches and players. There should be a grey area. I think SweetLou is showing the more moderate point of view that reflects on RA's legacy with us, but also pays some respect to the effort Kevin McHale is putting in. Look, you're not going to convince many that Kevin McHale is a better coach than Adelman. Maybe on this board, but outside of that, good luck. People know better. What many of you describe as a stubborn man, others (like Kyle Lowry since he is mentioned) would call loyalty. Rick was incredibly LOYAL to his players. Whenever you join a Rick Adelman team, unless you really mess up, you're family. To assume that Rick couldn't succeed with this group is absolutely ludicrous. Some of you keep mentioning that he is too old or couldn't do well with Dwight. RA has been around some HUGE egos in his day. Remember that guy Chris Webber? Not a walk in the park. Remember a strong-willed Mike Bibby? An erratic Divac? He's not sweet like candy either. Or, how about lesser-known guys like Bonzi Wells? You know that guy Kevin Love? He's got some Hollywood in him, too. Shoot, Doug Christie's wife was scary enough to have a new coach running for dear life. All of these guys, past and present, loved playing for Rick. Very few opposed him because he had the respect of his players through trust and, yes, loyalty. ALLEGEDLY, Rick wanted more control of the roster. Can you blame him after Morey called each player an asset? If you've coached, you know damn well that you develop a bond with your players that a GM doesn't feel. Don't hate on Rick for not wanting to give guys up for garbage like Hasheem Freaking Thabeet. Rick doesn't care about the salary cap...he is a pure coach that ONLY WANTS TO WIN. Kevin Mchale's tenure as a coach here has resulted in missing the playoffs (when we were in 5th-7th place just 2 weeks before), making the playoffs as an 8th seed (first round exit) and then, thus far, a winning season in 2013/14. I don't need to post Rick's data here because it's been posted and it's also common knowledge about his success here. I think many of us tend to forget the huge differences in roster talent and health that RA and McHale have experienced. It's not even close. I will admit to not being a big McHale fan. However, I cannot discount that he has done a decent job as he's gotten more experience. But, I can also recognize different tiers of coaching success and expertise, and it's way too soon to even compare McHale to RA in general. It's much to early to talk about a comparison between Rick and Kevin during their time here. It's not even close. From the roster to the wins, to the injuries to the offense and defense, Kevin hasn't been here long enough and we haven't done enough to put his name next to RA. I like the topic though, and before you all try to flame me for loving Rick, he's not even one of my favorite coaches. Love ya'll, but c'mon, give it up.
I don't see where you are getting that considering he had success with a head case like Ron and with prima donnas like Chris Webber. I will agree though that I think he has lost some of his mojo and that the T-Wolves should be better. As I've said though the T-Wolves is just a cursed organization. They had success one season in their whole existence with three all stars and a great coach only to see that come crashing down the next season.
Well said Codman. The bottom line though is that it is pretty pathetic to dump on a previous coach just to make you feel better about the current one.
Love is Sota's franchise player. in 2012 Love played in 18 games. Care to consider that? Edit: either way, he hasn't been the healthiest during Rick's time there. *If I'm wrong, please let me know, but I don't believe that is incorrect.
As someone who seemed to have no problem taking a big dump on a future coach, you don't feel just a bit hypocritical here? http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=6153365&postcount=44 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=6161798&postcount=415 If weren't for posters like you who blasted the entire Rockets organization from top to bottom and saying some of the nastiest things possible about our new coach back then this topic would've never existed. If the situation were reversed, that if Adelman were succeeding right now and McHale failing, can you really tell me that you wouldn't be piling on Adelman and the Rockets repeatedly for their mistake?
