(End of Season Poll) Where do you stand on McHale?

He's not garbarge. But he definitely deserves some criticism for making absolutely no adjustements on offense when the team can't get a bucket. Someone might wanna also tell him Casspi is terrible and should not be getting minutes let alone starting. So I guess we somewhat agree

 

I want to see the in series adjustments he & the staff make. How he handles the rotation.


I wont hold Lin not showing up against McHale .... Lin hasn't showed up for the majority of the season.
Parsons & PatBev I'm not concerned with, they bring it every game.

The guy I think McHale most needs to get going is T.Jones. He can be an offensive force but I wonder if he lacks the confidence to get it done.

 

We still need to see how he does in the playoffs.. but keep in mind we lost Kelvin Sampson.

 

But, he does make adjustments. You don't see him calling timeouts, and bringing in new players? You didn't see the New Orleans game when we went with a super small lineup with four guards on the floor? McHale has used many different player combinations this season.

And I don't know if McHale deserves much criticism for the offense. Hasn't the Rockets offense been one of the best in the league this season.

And as far as playing Casspi, he's got to play someone off the bench. Let's be honest, Hamilton, Garcia, and Casspi don't give him much to choose from.

 

I think McHale has done a great job managing the team. Our players love him and they (usually) play hard for him.I would like to see more from him, but it makes me wonder how much of what everyone hates about McHale is actually on him? What X's and O's offense is 90% 3's or shots in the paint?

I think McHale is doing his best and commend him for it, but how much different would it be if he wasnt mandated by Management/Morey to run a certain type of game?

With Sampson gone, I think we need to really concentrate on bringing in a top notch defensive coach this off season.

McHale + Def Coach + Round 2 with Howard/Harden would be very exciting.

 

I think there is a pressing need to add a defensive minded coach to the squad this Summer... That's for sure. Missing Sampson will hurt the preparation and readiness of the team on that end of the floor.

As far as offense with Finch & McHale (notice I put Finch first), I think they have a very good regular season offense that will consistently crank out 50 to 55 win seasons which is awesome. With even more talent, it should make this team even better with less mileage on the superstars to sustain long term.... like SAS long term (Ok, maybe not that long, but as long as Harden is in Houston, I think they have the ability to compete every year).

With McHale, I think you can't say enough about how well he has managed the personalities of this team. He's the leader even if he isn't the architect of both ends of the floor, and that's totally fine as long as he is bought in to what the other coaches are drawing up.

Game time substitutions and rotations are getting better with a more stable roster, but the roster is not really even complete yet. I think next year the roster should have much better surrounding players that will make the substitution patters and rotations much clearer. If there is a debate as to who should be getting what minutes, that means that you are dealing with a Football 2 quarterback problem (if you have 2 QB's that means you have none).

-Long story short - I think if the Rockets bring in a defensive minded coach to replace Sampson they will be fine, but I still wouldn't rule out the front office looking at upgrades regardless. However I think after the season they have had, the players, and people around the NBA would really think negatively about Les and Morey for letting go of McHale after such a great season, and such great relationships with the players. That really speaks volumes, and I think ultimately saves McHale's job for a few more years.

 

What comes first--the championship or the championship coach?
Do you think that Scott Brooks should be replaced in OKC because he doesn't have a ring as a coach?
A lot of people said that Spoelstra should have been replaced after the Heat lost to Dallas in the finals.
Not saying McHale is Brooks or Spoelstra, but last year was surprisingly successful, and this year we're on point with expectations. Let's see how things pan out in the playoffs. Even if we don't live up to whatever expectations people have for this season, this is the first time we've been in a legit position to win under McHale. Now is his time to prove his worth.

 

Does our record match our talent level? I think it does. We have the fifth best record in the NBA. We could have won a few more games, but every team in the league can say this.

I really can't say we have better talent than any of the teams that have better records than us at this point. If Morey can give McHale some quality players to come off the bench, then we might have the best record in he league.

Considering that the Rockets are one of the youngest teams in the league with very little quality depth. I don't think they have underperformed in any way this year.

 

Mchale is awesome FTW

 

I agree the Rockets need a "defensive coordinator" to steal football terminology. SVG would be great if there wan't history there and he could be convinced to be an assistant coach.

 

I wouldn't fire him.

If his contract is up, I would chase after George Karl who is a clear upgrade. If not, don't see a reason to go another route.

 

With the guys we have on this team... we could really be unstoppable in halfcourt sets and have a few go-to plays. I realize the offense isn't the problem. But we could punish teams with backscreens and pick and rolls at crucial moments... there's no consistency... our identity isn't as established as you'd think. Yes we have things we strive to do every night but we're not good at executing. The defense is uninspired and inconsistent.

I understand and welcome the laissez faire approach that the Spurs have made popular (and Rudy T won a title with), but this team is too young and too unstable. Everyone always says Morey is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Well, aside from a few moments, McHale plays checkers...

I like the guy. Love his candor and attitude. He'd be great for a veteran team, but this team needs a little more direction.

 

I dont see a way where SVG agrees to come back as an assistant. However....

-Scott Skiles? Maybe. This was the coach that came in 2nd in COTY votes back in 2010 when they took an undermanned team to 46 wins. Seems a bit overqualified, but after sitting out a year, its a possibility to see him coming back as a #2. Great defensive coach FYI.

-Lawrence Frank? (I think its safe to say Brooklyn will let him out of his contract)

Or another name to consider if he retires-

Shane Battier?

 

Great guy, I like him as the coach, but I think that if we want to win a championship, we will have to go out and get a better coach.

 

To me Morey is the strategist and Mchale is the Motivator and Teacher. It seems like a completely novel set up and the best of both worlds.

 

I think the people that are saying he needs to be replaced need to throw out some names. I'm fine with the criticism but who do you think, out of the available pool of coaches, is more capable than McHale?

George Karl is the only one I see on this thread that may be a suitable replacement. But, we all know the guy has been in failing health for the last few years. Short of coaxing Jerry Sloan out of retirement I'm not sure who you're going to bring in that is head and shoulders above McHale.

 

To the individual who chose to respond to my comment via rep rather than in the thread:

The answer is 8 times.

George Karl has advanced past the first round 8 times.

1 finals appearance
3 conference finals appearances
4 semi finals appearances

 

I get the sense that McHale is just kind of winging it. He doesn't strike me as somebody with deep knowledge of the X's and O's and might not make proper adjustments. He might now know exactly how to approach motivating the players and/or chewing them out at the right times or the right way.

Somebody like Popovich I feel knows when and how to approach all of the different dynamics of coaching. He knows how different player's personalities would react to how he motivates them and gets his point across. I feel he has a good gauge of what his team needs and when.

I don't feel McHale has that experience to be able to do that.

 

He needs to go ASAP unless we win the chmapionship and in that case he stays for sentimental values. The record for this team is in spite of McHale not because of him.

He is just not a good coach. Not a good in game coach, not an X's and O's coach, not a proactive coach. He is a good talker and a good motivator for young guys. He is perfect for a rebuilding team with youngsters where he can keep saying "guys we got to play hard" after every possession.

This team is no longer in that phase.