What in McHale's resume made him the strongest candidate to coach Rockets?

Historical evidence suggest that those teams became even worse without Adelman. It is a question of whether or not the coach maximizes the chances of winning better than another coach.

The point is even without the superstars you could see a flow. That is the job of the coach , the organized player movement and getting easy baskets.

Under JVG, you could see more isolation basketball that was a trademark of the man-to-man era.

You need the weapons, but the strategy, tactics , and designs are also important. Maybe of secondary importance but important just as well. If you don't have a good coach , the good players can still find a way to win despite the bad coaching. You maximize your chances of winning with a good coach.

 

But they stayed the course with Rick Carlisle, and it paid dividends. So did the Spurs and Lakers. It is about finding the cerebral coaches that can maximize winning.

 

The T-wolves are 2-4 but lost very close games at the 4th quarter, similar to how our rockets lost close games last season. I watched the game against the Heat which they lost in the last seconds on an alley-oop play by Wade.


I don't think they have been embarassed to the point of a blow out loss with players looking so disorganized.

To see is to believe. Under JVG, you saw a lot of isolation plays for tmac and yao , or occasional pick and roll plays. Under adelman, you could see the player movement with your own eyes. These were virtually the same players we had now.

if you see a player being isolated and scoring a lot despite the defense (credit goes to the player and not to the coach)

If you see players moving , and getting easy baskets by design (credit should go to the coach).

 

Adelman has his own version of this:


The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots may be traced back to Franklin “Cappy” Cappon, who coached Princeton Tigers men's basketball in the late 1930s[citation needed], and Bernard "Red" Sarachek, who coached at Yeshiva University from 1938 to 1977.[1]

The offense is designed for a unit of 5 players who can each pass, shoot and dribble at an above average level. It attempts to isolate and exploit a mismatch using these skills.[2] Positions become less important and on offense there is no point guard, shooting guard, small forward or power forward.[3]

The offense usually starts out with four players outside the three-point arc with one player at the top of the key. The ball is kept in constant motion through passing until either a mismatch allows a player to cut to the basket or a player without the ball cuts toward the unoccupied area under and around the basket, and is passed the ball for a layup. Having a strong post player is important because this player is critical to passing to backdoor cutters, and can draw help defense to open outside shots.

The hallmark of the offense is the backdoor pass, where a player on the wing suddenly moves in towards the basket, receives a bounce pass from a guard on the perimeter, and (if done correctly) finds himself with no defenders between him and a layup. Alternatively, when the defensive team attempts to pack the paint to prevent backdoor cuts, the offense utilizes three point shots from the perimeter. All five players in the offense—including the center—should be competent at making a three point attempt, further spreading the floor.

The offense is a very slow developing one, relying on a high number of passes, and is often used by teams facing opponents with superior athletic talent, to maintain a low-scoring game (believing that a high-scoring game would favor the athletically superior opponent). As a result, Princeton has led the nation in scoring defense 19 times including every year from 1989–2000.[4]

 

Here's just one play under Adelman's system where budinger passes to the high post , fakes one way cuts to another then gets the bounce pass back from the high post for an easy slam. trademark princeton offense.

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