Astounding. Simply astounding. That one quote tells us volumes about what Morey's philosophy is and we should all be making a much bigger deal of it. He is saying that when games are decided by one possession, its simply a toss up that will go either way, and the way to win in those situations is to simply have a good enough roster that the game never comes down to the last possession. All you have to do is simply build a roster good enough to build insurmountable leads. In Morey's view, whether McHale's last-possession playcalling (or lack thereof) lost us this series is irrelevant, because the mere statistics that so many of our first round games came down to the last possession means that we as a roster were not statistically good enough to win another 3 series anyway. It completely ignores any role of matchups, playcalling, or any other intangible that Morey has not devised an advanced statistic for. Does anyone else find this frustratingly myopic? It ignores the fact that the roster as constructed was good enough to build a double digit lead in most of the games that we lost. If a roster is talented enough to build a double digit lead, then it is talented enough to maintain it. Perhaps this is where Morey and I disagree, but in my non-expert (and non-paid) opinion, coaching plays a bigger part in maintain a lead than talent does. Talent gets you the lead, the players have to be coached into maintaining it.
Here's my thoughts on McHale. I don't think he's a great coach right now because I don't think he quite understands his players enough to know what to do in big situations. I mean, this was only his second opportunity at the playoffs. By comparison, it took Doc Rivers 5 playoff opportunities (and 3 star players) to get out of the first round, and now everyone believes he's a top 3 coach in the NBA. I think what Morey said is very true.. I think this team is going to go into the off-season and completely re-evaluate themselves. And if that happens, I have no doubt in my mind that they will go deep in the playoffs next year. We're going to see a completely different type of hunger from this team. That's why I hope Morey keeps most of the team in tact (minus maybe Lin and Asik).
quoted for truth although, lots of assumptions are thrown at morey's way. we have no idea whats being said on the inside, but there is more than enough circumstantial evidence to get people to worry.
Cuban said it wrong. They have the drive but got no results out of it. I think Cuban also meant Rockets say things but did nothing to suggest they are willing to pay the lux tax to win.
I sincerely hope that Morey's attitude isn't simply that the Rockets need to just "out-talent" the rest of the league. That's not how you win a title. Of course you need talented players, but the formula hasn't really changed that much in the NBA. Here's what nearly every title team in recent memory has had: 1) 2(and occasionally 3) superstars - There are exceptions like the 1975 Warriors, 1994 Rockets, and 2004 Pistons, but those are rare. The Rockets have this covered thankfully with Howard and Harden. 2) An efficient offensive system - Whether it's the triangle offense of Phil Jackson's Bulls and Lakers, Rudy T's inside-out offense built around Dream, or the Spurs multifaceted attack with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, you need a system where you can call reliable plays in close games when you need a score. The Rockets currently don't have that as they essentially resort to ISO-ball in the 4th quarter. 3) A dominant defense - Just ask Nash's Suns or the Run-TMC Warriors. You can't win a title by outscoring your opponent. It simply doesn't work. The game slows down too much in the playoffs and teams that live by the three often die by the three. If you want to win in the postseason, you have to be able to shut down your opponent. Again, the Rockets currently don't have that. They struggled mightily against the Blazers when they needed a stop, which was exemplified by the final play on Game 6(and the season). I'm very curious going forward what Morey's plan is to deal with #2 and 3. We've got 2 superstars in their prime. But adding a 3rd star isn't the answer because it doesn't address our other 2 needs. It may diversify the offense somewhat, but it doesn't cure the ISO-ball issue and it certainly doesn't make us a better defensive team. An obvious solution to those problems is a change in coaches, but apparently Morey and Les have already decided against that.
Reading the butthurt from the usual few posters on every Morey thread makes me chuckle every time. Keep it up guys. A bunch of average joes thinking they know more than a Northwestern/MIT grad is amusing.
the most troubling thing about the 3rd star is the money sink. playoffs prove you need some pretty good guys. the 4-6 million dollar specialists. every championship is won because of huge plays by role players. superstars truly can't do it all. the rockets system seems heavily influenced by regular season stats. there are more TOs in the RS(transition points). more possessions in the RS (more cushion for stats to shine). more consistent foul calls in the regular season. playoffs simply throw a wrench at all this. everything at the core of the rockets philosophy is problematic in the playoffs.
sure we may be average joes. this doesn't speak to other winning organizations who seemingly do things differently. sure, we could very well be dumb. other people (with credentials) can't all be dumb.
Yup... and the amount of complete BS and flat out historically inaccurate crap being flung is just staggering to the mind.
They have not excercised McHale's option yet, right? Maybe, just maybe Kevin will leave on his own and this is all just postering? DD
No I don't think so. Same coach but player changes will be coming. Morey likes to wheel and deal. Every year we have additions and changes of players. Only Howard and Harden are guaranteed to be here next year. The rest depends on their trade value if they have a contract. And the bench players without contracts are gone. We will have a new supporting cast next year, and I believe we will be better. Last year Morey couldn't make deals until AFTER we signed Howard. His focus was on D12 first. This off season his focus will be on upgrades. I do think Les would spend whatever it takes to win. He never blinked to purchase a draft pick, or pay someone to leave. In the right circumstances, he would open his wallet. I thought the questions in the Q&A were excellent ones. The answers were what you would expect. Basically as we all know, the team is not at championship contender level YET.
not sure if some of you guys have selective memory. Morey knew that T-Mac wasn't a natural leader and loaded up that 08' team with bulldogs and leaders. Landry, Scola, Lowry, Artest, Deke, Chuck. You guys act like Morey hasn't made the team better every year by accessing the previous year. Derek Fisher just didnt want to play for Houston by the way. All those knuckleheads you named, Morey was just swinging for the fences trying to get a Star. Well we got our stars now, let him work. Morey will get what this team needs to contend.
Good post. That was what I was trying to unearth in another thread. Does Morey care about wins? Or is it point differential? His remark that these were "coin flip" games is disturbing. It implies that they are statistical draws and don't count as losses in his analytical model. If that is the case, I am sure most of us would disagree. We would bet against McHale every time in these statistical "dead heats" and come out ahead over 60 percent of the time. In game 6, we got our last basket on a putback. Portland got theirs on a designed play that exploited our shoddy defense. Statistically equal but not equal in reality.
I think Morey wants a coach he can control. Morey doesn't want to get someone that can run a team because that coach would have his own opinions and Morey would have to give up some control. Mchale isn't a coach he's a player development guy.
Some of yall's opinion is so influenced by the moment and pathos-driven that it's hard to most posters here seriously. I don't post here all the time because it's better to observe and not get caught up in CF (not reality), and there's actually very little of substance and precision to be said at any one point of time. I get that people like to argue and speculate, but the way people's hearts change on a whim, and the schtick that some here will drive until the nail is bent beyond repair is what keeps me off here more often than not.
Nothing McHale has shown in the last 3 years he's been coaching the Rockets show he has improved in rotations, offensive system, defensive system. And especially in LEADERSHIP. In fact, the way we committed so many idiotic errors in the endgame show we have regressed. We easily lost poise, lacked a coherent plan, contradicted each other etc. Total breakdown of team discipline among the 8 regular rotation guys, actually among the key starters. It's one thing to lose; it's another to lose so idiotically. I thought he was brought in to be the LEADER OF MEN??? On what historical and statistical basis now does Morey want us to believe that McHale can and will suddenly change to be a dynamic leader of this team? Morey can't expect us to take this all by faith. Sorry, I don't believe the coaching will improve if McHale is still the head coach.
