Yes I stopped watching at halftime. Seeing Mchale go all out hack a Jordan and still give up 60 points was very disheartening to me. Why should I watch a bunch of quitters. Mchale adjustment was to Hack Jordan I think killed the teams spirit. This illustrated he didn't have any faith in them period. Harden not stepping up his game and getting plunked by Barnes demonstrates what type of leader he is. And Dwight allowing his emotions to go wild knowing how important this game was, illuminates the type of professionalism that has plagued his entire career. The entire team shows no pride or heart. Hopefully tonight here in Houston they will get their acts together and extend this series.
What kind of message does it send to your team when you start hacking about 3 minutes or so into the game? It basically tells your players - "Look, you are **** and cannot keep up with them in a basketball game, so I have to resort to fouling to slow them down" That's ok if you can get some points on the board but all it did at that stage was slow the Rockets and Clips ended up with 60 points. Backfired completely.
If you look at the other 3 Western Conference teams left in the playoffs, they all fired coaches who had achieved a respectable level of success(especially when compared to the Rockets). Lionel Hollins coached the Grizzlies for 4 1/2 seasons. His last 3 seasons there, he led them to the 2nd round once and the Conference Finals another time. And he still got canned by the team even after that. Vinny Del Negro coached the Clippers for 3 years(the last 2 with Chris Paul there) and got them to the playoffs twice, winning one series in 2011-12. But he still got canned by the team after his 3rd season. Mark Jackson coached the Warriors for 3 years. They improved their win total every year he was there. They made the playoffs the last 2 years and won one series in 2012-13 over the Nuggets. But he still got canned by the team after his 3rd season. And each of those coaches' teams the year they were fired won over 50 games. In fact, the Grizzlies and Clippers won 56 which coincidentally is the same amount the Rockets won this season under McHale(the Warriors won 51 in Jackson's final year). So I sincerely hope(but I ain't holding my breath) that Morey and Les don't look at 56 wins this year and a first round victory over an old, dysfunctional Mavs squad as some sort of monumental achievement. The Clippers, Warriors, and Grizzlies didn't settle for that level of success and now(barring a miraculous comeback by the Rockets) 2 of those 3 teams will be in the Conference Finals and one in the NBA Finals.
Good points about VDN and also Mark Jackson & Hollins. Leslie will not do it though, he's fine with a first round win, something I think secretly was the goal McHale set for the team and Morey told McHale: just win round 1. Low goals equals loser mentality. I still love McHale as a person, the stuff he went through with his daughter, how he makes jokes and tells it like it is sometimes but that's where it ends. For a great player, he seriously is awful at understanding basketball.
Now to be fair, 2 of those 3 "clashed" with the front office. Same reason Thibodeau may be gone here soon. Now guys like Scott Brooks and Del Negro, yeah, those are teams moving on, we can get someone better in here. (Donovan and Doc)
Unfortunately you're probably right. The fact that Les gave McHale that extension BEFORE he'd even won the 56 games, Southwest Division, and a playoff series tells me all I need to know about his expectations for this team. Hell, Les and Morey pretty much said as much. They've constantly touted McHale's status as the winning coach in Rockets history(in terms of percentage) when praising him. That's swell, but winning a bunch of games in the regular season doesn't mean squat if you don't turn that into playoff success. BTW, I just thought of another NBA organization that didn't settle. Back in the mid-90's, Bob Hill led the Spurs to the Conference Finals and 2nd round in consecutive seasons. He easily achieved more success in his first 2 years than any of the previous coaches ever had. And less than 20 games into his 3rd season there, Popovich fired him. Yes, they were 3-15(due to a ton of injuries), but I lived in San Antonio at the time and believe me, the reason Pop was fed up with Hill had more to do with the Spurs flaming out in the 2nd round vs Utah the previous season(much like the Rockets are doing now vs the Clippers) than their poor start that year. Obviously the Spurs bounced back in a big way after Hill's dismissal because they got healthy and landed Tim Duncan in the draft. But don't discount the coaching change. Pop could've stuck with Hill(it took Spurs fans years to get over that firing, BTW) and maybe that group still would've won a title or two. But he took one look at how soft that 1996 team was and how they rolled over against the Jazz and decided they needed to go in a different direction.
Les and Morey are more like businessmen and politicians, they make a decision not based on the winning or losing. I would say McHale will return next year. Morey already asked people on the 790 to stop complain our coach after winning of the Mavs.
I couldn't watch the game live, because I was at work, but I was following the box score. I didn't really quit, because I couldn't see how terrible we were at the time, but I can imagine if I was watching live I would.
Watching Terry continue to go under the screen while guarding JJ was infuriating. I usually quit until the next game is on. Rockets are like that ex-girlfriend that just have that ability to reel you in, no matter how crazy they make you
I tape the games and only watch the ones we win. Can't stand seeing the stupidity of getting blown out by 25 and 33 points.
I DVR'ed the game, and after seeing the final score, deleted it. Such a shame to see a playoff-ready team act like they are lost, leaderless and rudderless. I would hope that next year, if this team stays pretty much intact, they will produce a better result come playoff time.
Funny how these threads always turn into a McHale bashing exercise...but then that's to be expected by the Op. For the record, I haven't quit on the team and never have since they came from San Diego. I've seen them do some amazing things...and would not be the least bit surprised if they pull it out tonight. I'd sure like to have Bev and DMo tonight, especially Bev...but it is what it is. Go Rockets!
What I dislike about the series as whole is that the games are 3 hours long with the hack/a and bad free throw shooting I watch the games but holy crap this series is ugly basketball. I know the Rockets team is being compared to Clutch City, but Clutch City basketball was beautiful.
