IMHO – “character guy” as a value is a little inflated. A locker room full of high character guys does not equate to rings. MettaWP, Robman, Rasheed, Draymond, Bill Laimbeer and Mad Max are not character guys yet they all have rings. To me, having the right culture means having a locker room full of talented players where almost everyone has an innate insatiable desire to win, at any cost. That to me is the right “culture.” The unifying ingredient is the obsession to win. Kobe, Jordan, Bird mentioned by someone in a post earlier all have that in common and they would not suffer anyone who has other desires beyond winning. All other variables, touches, minutes, contract incentives, selfishness, branding, celebrity status, product sponsoring, number of followers come second to wins. Basketball isn’t fun, winning basketball games are fun. That’s when players hold each other accountable. That’s when people stop complaining about shots or how the NBA has changed the big man and they just play any role as long as the results are wins. I can’t think of a team that’s won it all that didn’t have that culture. The statement that culture starts from the top takes on a greater meaning than hiring a coach with the right system or treating players like assets or disciplining players. That’s all well and good but “culture starts from the top” also means drafting players that are equally talented as they are obsessed with winning. Trading for players that are obsessed with winning. Trading away players that are no longer obsessed with winning. Stop writing contracts with excessive amounts of bonuses and incentives attached to stats and just attach bonuses and incentives to win. Don’t sell free agents on market share and exposure on an iPad. Don’t sell them on TV shows and pics of people in China wearing their jersey. Sell them on the coach who’s obsessed on winning and has a system that wins. Sell them on the owner who is old as heck but is obsessed as heck about winning one more before he can let himself expire. Sell them on the facilities you’ve built so help them win. Sell them on the millions of terabits of information you’ve accumulated to show them how they can be better at winning. Sell them on the hundreds of assistant coaches and trainers you’ve hired to help them win. To me, that’s how “culture” is influenced at the top. Lombardi said, “Individual commitment to a group effort (in this case winning a ring)– that is what makes a team work (culture), a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” So, to OP’s request of pooling information together, we should look for articles, videos, quotes, tweets, etc. from anyone in the Rox org that might have derailed the “obsession to wins” culture that should be in the locker room.
The Rockets were a team of 2 cultures the season they went to the WCF. The starting 5 had a culture and the 2nd unit (Head Band of Brothers) had one as well. The starting 5 fed off the unabashed passion and frenetic pace of the Head Band of Brothers IMO. I just remember how listless this same 2nd unit sans Smith was last season. And I also recall how energized and sincerely excited they were (felt like the whole team got a shot in the arm) when Josh Smith was brought back. Smoove may have his flaws but he was one of the leaders and most talented player on the 2nd unit. It wasn't his scoring, but his unselfish play (passing, rim protection, ball handling, etc.), his confidence, which inspired his teammates. Smoove is not necessarily the answer for a winning culture but Rockets will need that kind of culture champion to be successful. Someone the other players WANT to follow, rightly or wrongly. The FO has to identify this culture champion(s) so he can lead the way. Team building, like working out together, is also necessary where the new values can be integrated and emphasized daily. It's an indoctrination that everyone needs to not buy into necessarily, but embrace and even proselytize. They have to believe first though, that will be Morey's biggest hurdle.
2) harden was injured...i dont think anyone on the team would expect him to be called out in this scenario. I doubt they'd want to be treated that way coming off an injury. 4) Les basically aid Mchale was fired as a wake up call, not because he was the problem...players knew their lack of caring got their coach fired, it wasn't meant as a sign that the FO was fixing something that was broken 5) a lot of them vouched for JB and thought he was qualified to the job, probably still do
This is the kind of thread I wish we would see more of. Thanks Will! I completely agree that Harden coming into the season out of shape and Lawson likewise, set a very poor tone early on and absolutely had to contribute to poor chemistry. Our best player and our biggest offseason acquisition (basically our entire starting backcourt) simply did not show up ready to play. It's unprofessional and demoralizing so that had to impact team chemistry. But what really think created the snowball effect was Les panicing and axing McHale 11 games in ...without a plan to improve things. There simply was no plan. So the players are sitting there without any direction or a plan to get back on track. I listened to a great interview a while back with JVG, who talked about novice coaches and the challenge of gaining the respect and trust of players. He said Pat Reiley once told them that player will let you cos h them and play hard for them if they think your preparation or insight will give them an edge to win. If they don't think a coach gives them an edge, it's hard to build that trust and that shows on the court. JB was kind of thrown into the fire and let's face it, no one thought he was ready. The players couldn't have thought he gsve them an edge or that there was a productive plan in place to get things turned around. So they turn to their team leaders for support, but Harden doesn't appear to be the best leader and he was compromised anyway because of his unprofessionalism (which players notice). The other star was disgruntled and thought they'd win more if he got the ball more (despite the fact he can't finish around the rim). So we didn't have a plan to fix things, we didn't have a coach players trusted, and the two stars were leading by very poor example. Add in additional losing, and things snowballed. At least that's how I look at it. I blame player leadership (Harden and Dwight) and Les. You don't fire your coach without a plan! And the best players on the team have to lead by example. None of that happened.
Perhaps. I always saw it as the guys who have been there before (Harden, Dwight, Even Terrence Jones seeing Lillard bomb Houston out of the playoffs right after Parsons had given them the lead) were more relieved and aware of the situation and opponent. The younger guys like Dmo and Capela were caught up. It was awesome to see. Just my .02. It would've been great to see more of that from everyone, but that's what I took out of it.
Deferring to allow your teammate to chase an individual award worked. It fed into the (positive) chemistry through the playoffs. Howard: “To me, James has been the MVP, considering the fact that I’ve missed the whole season basically and we’re third in the West,” Howard said. “I told James that the MVP is his for the taking. I want him to go out there and dominate and play hard every night, lead this team. I told him to destroy every opponent that’s in front of him. I will do whatever I have to do to: score, rebound, whatever. I don’t want him to change up anything. That was my message to him.” Harden: "He said, 'I'll be returning soon, but I don't want you to change your game," Harden told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. "He said, 'I don't want you to do anything different. Just go out there and do what you do, and do it at a high level every single night.' He said, 'I'll adjust to you,' and that right there gave me confidence to just play, and play my game and not worry about anything else. Once you hear that from your other leader, then you know you can just go out there and play the way that I've been playing. "I definitely needed to hear that, and he told it to me. So right there that gave me all the confidence in the world, not to try to force it to get him into a rhythm or try to do anything forceful. I can just play my game. Him telling me that just gave me the green light to just go out there and just be the James Harden that I've been being all season."
Leadership (if it exists) shows up when disaster happens. Habits --> Character Good characters multiplied --> Good culture
These dudes are have a characteristic called 'being real'. I'll take that characteristic over being prima donnas any day.
Great thread! Forget America lets make the GARM great again! Kidding I love America James Excels when the leadership role is put squarely on his shoulders. When James was first traded here one of the first thing he talked about was changing the culture and taking practice seriously and doing things the right way. I feel like last years team was not hungry enough in the beginning of the season Last year was the first time in the Harden era that the rockets as a team felt they arrived. I think James and MDA are going to be extremely hungry. James is the best Guard in the league but was not put on any of the All NBA teams. MDA knows this could very well be his last stop in the NBA and his last chance to win the Finals as head Coach. The big difference this year is that every one on the team will be fighting for something. No one will be thinking about last years accomplishments.
This Harden vs Dwight divorce feels more and more like the end days for Kobe vs Shaq Simply a power struggle between 2 superstar egos fighting for dominance over the same team When they put the BS aside and worked together on the court, both duos could be nearly unstoppable The Lakers at least got 3 rings in 4 Finals before it blew up, but even our lone WCF run showed the promise our star pairing possesed when on the same page Early 30's Dwight & Shaq: - once the gold standard at C, now limited by bodies breaking down due to age and lack of commitment to offseason conditioning (aka poor attendance) - never highly skilled, both games were built around athletic superiority that was destined to fade early, and both completely dependant on teammates to get them good looks (lobs and dunks mostly) - always embarrassing FT shooters that became liabilities on the court during crunch time in tight games, to the point where they could be made completely irrelevant by DEF tactics (fronts, doubles, hacking) designed to exploit their lack of skill (inconsistent and unreliable) - initially stars from day one as former #1 overall picks, both reluctant to accept needed transition from Alpha Dog to secondary role in favor of younger, better teammate at SG, to the point they would refuse effort on D or to even leave the paint when pouting from lack of touches in post (stubborn selfishness) - childlike playfullness and approach to work endeared them to many fans, but also rubbed many more serious teammates and coaches the wrong way Mid 20's Harden & Kobe: - the current gold standard at SG, incredibly durable and consistent, never missing games despite logging heavy minutes every night (aka perfect attendance) - elite individual scorers and highly skilled, both thrived as pseudo PGs by dominating the ball and offensive flow in a way that very few players can - rarely had 'off' nights despite carrying a huge individual burden to create the most of their team's offense, and proven repeatedly to be his team's clutch playmaker to close out wins (very consistent and reliable) - initially reserves but both fueled by hunger to emerge from shadows of teammates (Shaq/Eddie & KD/WB) as stars of their own teams, to the point they would even freeze out their dependent big men to prove their new Alpha status (stubborn selfishness) - aloof, distant interaction with teammates and superior attitude probably a huge part in chemistry issues Key Differences: - Dwight's peak was nowhere near Shaq's, specifically as #1 low post scorer, and as such he had nowhere near the credibility or effectiveness when he 'demanded the ball down low' - Kobe was NEVER questioned about his effort on either end of the court, his offseason commitment, nor for his nightlife - Phil Jackson had the respect to command a locker room with 2 conflicting mega-egos, demand effort and accountability from his whole roster, and experience melding difficult talents into a title-worthy juggernaut
I see what you're saying. What we've been lacking was a coach who's on the same page as the GM, someone whose basketball philosophy syncs up with that of our front office. Les = likes high-octane entertaining offenses Morey = believes in a fast-paced 3pt-or-layup game MDA = brings an uptempo system based on spacing and 3s Awesome! Now that everyone's in agreement on the team philosophy, we should be pointed towards big success! Wait, what? <BR>
The guy didn't want to be working out alone at home so he volunteered to be on the SL team just to work out with those guys, work with the new coaches and start to learn some of the new system. He's going to teach those young guys a lot. Do you see all the "no nonsense" in his demeanor ever since China? And I sorta hate to say it, but I think it's cool that Brewer decided to go up there and work out in the summer league training camp too. Chemistry starts now and Beasley will be playing a lot with some of these 2nd unit guys.
So many good posts here! Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far, and I just wanted to flag this speech from bumbum09 as a healthy slap across the face. Does it bear on the firing of McHale? Isn't there an argument that an owner who sees his team not playing hard should send them a sharp message (even if he should have had a better backup plan) to make clear that this is not acceptable within the culture of this franchise? Also: to those of you who blame Harden for last season's decline in focus/effort/commitment -- to what extent do you believe his role as a leader (or, more to the point, lack thereof) is remediable? Can a culturally healthy team be built around this guy?
I'd actually say, all those guys are guys everyone would want on their team. Hard workers, extremely competitive, team players, take direction... that's what "character" means in the context of sports, not whatever you think is moral/just.
That was an amazing post. I think the difference between the two years was that the first year Dwight was injured and out so it really was on Harden and the other guys stepped up, and you had Dmo doing amazing things along with a hot start from Ariza and Jones. That set the tone for the season. Last year Harden came in off an ankle injury and clearly wasn't 100% nor in shape, Dwight was back and in-and-out of the line but still wanted to assert himself. I think that's perhaps what Terry alluded to when he talked about guys putting themselves first. You also had Lawson who was a shell of what was expected and simply sucked. People blame Harden but I recall Harden passing him the ball a lot and deferring to him until it became clear he just wasn't very good. That led to a bad start and the team just couldn't find a groove. I think things will be better this year with a fresh coach, and no Dwight or Lawson as distractions. I also think new guys coming in will help a lot. Harden has something to prove as well. I don't forsee chemistry being an issue - I think there are two big challenges. 1. Can this team put together a top 10 defense? I am a skeptic. 2. Will this team be relatively healthy. Again, I am skeptical. If those two things go well, I bet you there will be no chemistry issue.
I think he is remediable, but needs to have the proper support. He's not vocal on the court, nor does he wear his emotions on his sleeves very often. That doesn't preclude you from being a leader, but you do need teammates who are vocal, respected, and skilled. You need a coach that demands respect and has authority. First I think of Tim Duncan. How might his career as a "leader" gone if he came into the league in a bad atmosphere or without leaders around him? He has grown over time, but he had a positive culture in which to learn. Of course everyone wants to be like SA--but I think Duncan and Harden share some traits. And I think Duncan leaned on Robinson, Elliott, Avery, Parker, Manu, and Pop a TON for leadership. That being said, Harden truly needs to lead by example consistently. He needs to at least get back to 2014-15 level of effort on defense, and he needs to consistently put in the practice time, time in the weight room, etc. He can't lead by example only at certain times AND say he's also not a vocal leader. That's what puts you squarely in the second-fiddle conversation. Then I think of Hakeem. He wasn't quiet, but he also wasn't a leader early on. And he had to deal with some bad locker rooms, etc. It all came to a head in '91. Hakeem experienced a turning point, leadership-wise, some 7-8 years into his career, and he grew from there. I'm not saying Harden is the same player or even a similar personality, but he can still make changes on a similar timeline. Hopefully it doesn't take an extreme event like Charlie Thomas..
