Was it a Clips game last season when McHale benched Harden? I literally thought Harden was drunk that game. Like, actually filled with liquor. During the game.
You are describing the negatives of iso ball. It's why the Thunder turn it over so much despite have two superstars.
Ok. I think it's clear that McHale harped on these guys about TOs, about defense, about all that tactical stuff. What some are saying though is that throughout the season it wasn't ingrained on them. One of the BIGGEST indictments on McHale for me is these scoring droughts we go through. EVERY game we have a 4-5 minute stretch where we just simply do not score. Nearly every single game. Sometimes it is longer (Dallas, 10 minute period of not scoring a FG) and sometimes it happens multiple times during the game. This is why we lost so bad against the Warriors, you can't go stretches without scoring against them because they will always score. To me this says... 1.) We do not have go to plays. or 2.) We have Go to plays but the team itself is too dumb to run them when we need them to. No coach should just allow their team to go through these droughts, again we had another stretch where we just didn't score. Call a time out, run a PNR with Howard...do SOMETHING to score and keep your team fighting. Don't just let them continue to ISO and jack up 3s hoping one will fall. Things like defensive habits, that is and should be ingrained throughout the season and should never falter. Even if you have guys that can't play defense, they still play defense on these teams. One thing I'll never forget, this comes from the school of Larry Brown of Pop. It doesn't matter if your team wins or loses, it matters how they play. Check out the quotes from Pop, he'll always talk about how they played. Sometimes his team comes out without effort (yes even the Spurs a game or two.) but most times he's always talking about how they played. When they lost to the Clippers he had no complaints. The reason was because in his eyes they played according to the plan, they moved the ball, they rotated, in the end they just lost to the better team that night. That's what I would like to see, even in a win for us to go after the mistakes we make. I'm rooting for Mchale because F that, I want to win a championship and if he's our guy then he's our guy...but a lot is on him to get these guys going. Yeah Harden has to play better but you could make it easier for him too by making sure the team runs a PNR, try to get him some easy shots. A coach's job IS motivating too. In fact Curry said in his speech that Kerr did a great job of keeping them motivated and focused. That's my latest Mchale rant I guess.
JayGoogle I agree with what you are saying, but don't every team go through these scoring droughts throughout the game. It's it about the game of runs as well as who has the last and final run. The Clippers went through a scoring drought when we built up a 13 point lead. Against New Orleans the Warriors went on a scoring drought and NO was able to build up a nice hefty lead that they choked away. Our main problem is we shot ourselves in the foot with the 3-6 turn overs in a row. These other teams are going cold shooting wise while we are giving possessions away.
In the video link below, just compare the command of the details that Memphis coach Dave Joerger has in his press conference after losing Game 1 against the Warriors on Sunday. Then compare it to McFail tonight saying, "We just have to play better" and all the other generalities. Have you ever heard any specifics from McFail other than just saying, "We have to move it from side-to-side better" or "the ball got sticky"? It's embarrassing we have a coach that could never speak to such details with his players, and it shows in the way this team turns the ball over all the time as he lets the players do what they want that 'feels' right... http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/video/teams/grizzlies/2015/05/03/150503RD2GM1PRESSORCOACHmp4-3589922
Did McHale give a reason why he took Jones out and never put him back in? Even after Josh Smith was turning it over so much?
Exactly. We all know that was is expressed publicly by the coach is word for word what is expressed to the team.
Definitely a game of runs. Definitely. But no defense is that good to shut down teams completely for 5 mins. I'll never forget that Dallas 9-10 min stretch with NO FGs. No defense is THAT good. Dallas sure isn't to be holding us to no FGs for that stretch. It was a 9-10 minute stretch of poor offensive execution. This reflects poorly on the players and the coach. On the coach for not calling a TO and getting the ball in the basket and for the players lack of discipline. I can't count how many times Josh Smith took the ball up the court...tried to break down his man...and drive to the hole. All while passing to no one. All while Harden stands out on the perimeter and watches. That's on him too to smack Josh Smith in the head and say "C'mon now." This is why we always give up leads. No matter how far we go up we always give up leads because you can't go these long periods of time in a game without scoring. The game COMPLETELY flipped, from being up 13 or whatever it was to being down 7 or something. That shouldn't have happened. The Clippers should have pulled back and the game should have remained close. Instead they pulled back...and then got a lead...and then built on a lead. Meanwhile we continued poor execution, continued to jack up desperate 3s, and Harden continued to just chill out until like 2-3 mins left when he hit that 3. It's a player problem too, obviously we have plays and a offense. We see glimpses of it...but then...it just goes away. We see the ball zip around the perimeter, or see that pnr...then it just...like a snap of the fingers...stops. Don't know who to blame but it's probably a good combo of both. Josh Smith said that they were playing too much hero ball though and it was said at the end of the game Howard was calling for the PNR but was ignored. Not sure that happened, I was kind of steaming to look at the game and realize that stuff and I'm sure not watching the replay of it.
Waaayyyy too late loco...At least 2 tos should've been used in the 3rd qtr alone when the Clips came out focused and the Rockets looked like they had just woken up out of bed. Instead, what we got is the all too common clueless look on the coach's face...the look of a man with no idea what to do...a look of McFail. Then again, McFail has never been this far in the playoffs before as a hc. You're absolutely right...in the end, this is all on Maury. He's had almost 10 years to play fantasy basketball. The entire personnel from the head coach to his staff to the starters to the last guy on the bench and the system is all on Maury. The Rockets have flaws...Maury, McFail, and Le$ are three of them. But since this thread focused on the head coach, I focused my criticism on McFail. However, as I said, you're right. There's no excuse for hiring McFail in the first place and then extending him once you see for yourself how horrible he is. There's also no excuse for implementing a system where you jack up a bunch of 3 ptrs with no regard for anything and not have any decent 3 pt shooters on the team. Not to mention the senior citizens that just let Austin Rivers drop 17 on them. Maury has also alluded to size not mattering in bball (hence his obsession with undersized pfs) and coaching not mattering much either. I guess Maury's analytics failed him. Joerger has also shown a strong ability to make positive in-game adjustments when things aren't going well instead of looking like a deer in headlights like McFail. There's reasons that Maury and the players like the simple-mindedness of McFail... He hardly holds players accountable and he's seemingly manipulated rather easily by the front office in general and Maury in particular. I'd love it too if there was almost zero accountability at my job.
I didn't think it would be possible that McFail could get fired after beating the Mavs is Round 1, but if they get swept or lose 4-1 in this Clipper series, the discussion could change quickly around here. Case in point is OKC firing Brooks even though he had the excuse of injuries to K.D. and Westbrook, still had a year on his contract. Presti knows they have a small window of time to win a championship (just like Houston w/Dwight's contract only being 3 years). Plus, given Golden State's success after getting rid of Mark Jackson (unpopular move among the players and fans there at the time) to get even more success with Steve Kerr, I think old dinosaurs like McFail could be sitting in even hotter seats unless they win deep into the playoffs.
I'm not the biggest McHale fan, but there is no way you can blame this game totally on him. Players have to step up... Harden was damn near invisible out there and as good as Ariza shot he and Jones were making some dumb plays. As much as I don't like Prigioni he actually had a great game.... But the leader is Harden and he played like someone who is sulking because they didn't win a freaking MVP award... You want to get back at the media do like Hakeem did go out there and show them you deserved the award. T_Man
I love the guy as a person. He seems like a genuine dude and someone I'd be proud to have as a father figure. That being said, he just isn't even close to maximizing the potential of the pieces he has. This team is where it is because of brute force talent. Maybe there's only so much you can do with undisciplined players like Josh Smith. Maybe Harden and Howard just aren't as coachable as people think. Maybe McHale is actually an animatronic puppet controlled by front office interns with a limited array of soundboard phrases at their disposal. I don't know much, but I do know we don't have infinite shots at winning a ring. Howard has a seemingly limited window and we can't count on getting Smoove-caliber players for the BAE. We were very very fortunate to luck into the 2nd seed this year. This team has been continually unprepared mentally and sloppily played down to their competition all season as a result. The Rockets need to find their own version of Popovich, Carlisle, Kerr or Thibodeaux because it's pretty apparent that is it not going to be Kevin McHale.
That interview he gave going in the 4th showed a lot. His voice was slightly trembling and he his face was pink. He's just not cut out to coach high level basketball.
Kein McHale oh kevin McHale Look, his flaws, inept coaching and lack of tactical awareness were obscured by a injury riddled, slef imploding and truly pathetic Mavs team in the 1st round and to a large extent by James Harden's heroics in the regular season. What we play is a GLORIFIED version of YMCA ball. There is zero structure in our game, there is no real system and we just go out there and play randomnly. There is no accountability, no discipline and players are free to do whatever they want because McHale simply lacks the cojones to hold anyone accountable. What else can explain Josh Smith chucking an early shot clock 3 ball with no Rockets guy under the rim? THe Mavs win was fools gold. McHale is still a pathetic coach and one of the worst in the league. You have a week off to prepare and you come out flat, lazy, turning the ball over and looking largely clueless. OK. Forget about all that. What about in game situational awareness? Always two possessions late in calling a time out. Lets the bleeding go way too far while sitting there cross armed and shaking his head not knowing what hit him. Trevor Ariza is the only Rocket who starts the game hot and 4/4 and McHale is like "hey Trevor good start but now I got to put in Brewer because my pre game notes and substitution pattern says so." Likewise Prigs has just shot a couple of 3's and is doing well but McHale has to bring back Terry because his pre -game notes tell him so. What about the hack a DJ? Way too late when the guy had all the confidence, Clippers were on a big run and energy sapped out of TC. THis guy lacks the ability to think on his feet or adjust as required in game. He has this pre-established substitution patterns that he uses no matter the flow of the game. He is the Jeremy Lin of coaches, a mental midget and very low IQ. McHale will be addition by subtraction just like Lin. He needs to realize this and step down as coach. He can have a job as head cheer leader or recruiter because we all know Morey is too egotistical to realize his mistake and Le$ is too cheap.
