Jeremy got banged up Chandler got banged up Harden got banged up As far as a teacher, Mchale is great. But as a game manager, he deserves an F. Why wear your rotation players down in a losing effort. Sucks as a rockets fan to see this year in and year out. If this was a fight for a playoff seat then I'd say go for it. But we've clinched. Either way it goes we are going to play Portland.
Dwight and Beverley should have never played that game against Philly. Dwight had a banged up ankle and Beverley had the flu. Harden should have not played tonight let alone 40+ mins. chandler should have not played 40+ minutes. Most people know in athletics if you don't go in 100% healthy and give 100% effort you're more likely to get injured.
I'm pretty sure if Beverley said "im 2 sick to play tonight", McHale wouldn't play him. He wanted to play... Yes Parsons n Harden should be rested, looks like they' wont be getting any rest, if we don't win vs NO tomorrow.
At what point do you take it out of the players hands? I'm sure they would play on crutches if they were allowed. Can't always take the players work for it. Just like concussions protocol in nfl
The fans have reason to be pessimistic... look at the last 10 games of the past 2-3 seasons. Choke jobs. Mchale after this choke loss to Minny says he doesn't know what else to do. Clearly a guy that's in over his freaking head. He has to play Lin which is said and he has too many anti defensive players to have any type of D. HOWARD is sitting on his butt when he should be playing... While Kobe is laughing saying this is when you gotta get off your butt and play if your serious about a championship... we got a game tomorrow let's see what happens...
ok, well if we win tomorrow, n Portland losses tomorrow to GSW, we clinched the 4th spot, n we can rest everybody for last 2 games, that will give em around a week of rest before the PO, n everything is fine. No need to panic yet, if we lose tomorrow then its a different story.
That can happen but know that new Orleans is really done and are playing with no life... the bigger issue here is understanding that we only have one good point guard on this team and his name is Patrick Beverley. We have the best center in the league then Harden is a top 3 scorer and Parsons is a good team guy after that the rest of this team is not ready for playoff intensity basketball. We have a head coach that isn't ready either. I hope Terrance Jones plays great in the playoffs but we'll see...
I'm pretty sure Portland plays Sunday against the Warriors, not tomorrow, but your point still stands otherwise. What's frustrating is these guys aren't stupid. They knew what was on the line tonight. If they'd come out and played hard and won a game that easily should've been theirs and then done likewise tomorrow night against the Pelicans, then they wouldn't have to worry about Portland and could rest their guys in the last 2 games. Instead they came out and tried to coast the entire time. They were giving up uncontested layups and dunks in transition from the first quarter on, so it wasn't a case of the occasional lapse. It was clear they were not into this game mentally. I can only assume that maybe they saw the T'Wolves starting lineup and who they were missing and just assumed it would be an easy victory since this sort of mentality has plagued them in the past. If it's true that McHale actually said after this game that he didn't know what to do, then I have serious doubts about this guy's abilities as a head coach. He didn't know how to motivate these guys to play hard and smart for 48 minutes? Really? With home court on the line? With Portland breathing down our necks? With the possibility to rest all next week if they can beat the T'Wolves and Pelicans this weekend? None of that crossed his mind?
''It's been four or five games where we have not competed hard enough,'' Houston coach Kevin McHale said. ''I don't know what to do. You try different lineups, you try different stuff, but guys have got to go out there and they've just got to compete harder.'' When viewed within the context of his entire postgame remarks, it doesn't sound quite as damning. But those are still troubling comments. Why are they not competing harder? Is it fatigue? Then it's his responsibility as the head coach to monitor their minutes and make sure they're not getting worn out. I know hindsight's 20/20, but maybe he should've rested them for the Denver game with the understanding that they'd give the T'Wolves game everything they had. And even if he didn't do that, that still doesn't justify their unwillingness to even run back on D all night. Again, that's his job as coach to make sure they're not taking possessions off. Also, he needs to make adjustments in-game. Brewer's lighting you up? Fine, then get the ball out of his hands and make someone else beat you. The lineups aren't working? Then stop playing the same guys who aren't getting the job done. Give Hamilton another shot. Give some minutes to Daniels or Covington. Why'd you call them up if they're just gonna sit on the bench?
You're right, but guys like Dmo, Cannan, Lin, Harden (defensively) couldn't have been helped tonight. Dmo has been extremely disappointing. The dude is playing softer than Charmin and and now the Brooks trade looks like it is going to have cost 3-4 games. Mchale didn't even play Cannan in the 2nd half I believe, and you can't really blame him.
D-Mo has definitely regressed. He looks lost out there. But I disagree about Harden and Lin. They just didn't run back a lot of times tonight. It's one thing if Brewer was hitting jumpshots from all over the court. He wasn't. Most of his points came from layups, dunks, and free throws. Think about that. The Rockets gave up 51 points to a shooting guard almost entirely without him having to shoot the ball. That's just lazy defense and horrible coaching.
Well yea I guess you're right. Almost all of them were layups, during the 4th he airballed a couple of open jumpers and barely grazed the rim when he did.
Rockets are a p***y team, they have been and will be with these soft players on the roster. That's why I loved Adelman's Rockets, those players thrived under pressure situations and were all hustle. If this team loses to Nuggets and Wolves like this, how will we ever face the Blazers / Warriors on the road?? A first round exit is a strong posibility with this group.
You claim to be a Rockets fan? This is an unnecessarily critical reaction. Adelman's Wolves are a terrible team. These losses came with 2 starters out. If we have 2 starters out in the playoffs we aren't getting past the 2nd round.
