From what I saw the dude can shoot. Shooting will improve in a system b/c players understand EXACTLY where most of their shots will come from and the timing involved. Lamb and Martin can flat out stroke.
Sensative, sensative.... RJ is that you??? Check the stats, the Rockets team defensive rating did improve last year. Also, as previously noted, take a look at the dropoff once Yao went down with injuries, and Mutumbo retired. Truth is The Rockets ended up exactly where they would have been in the end regardless of coach. I dont know why everyone is so quick to forget that Adelman had flaws as a coach as well. McHale is no genious but neither was Adelman. Neither could turn quartz to diamond, water into wine, etc. etc. McHale was brought in on a short 2 year deal to bring some new life into the organization, and he gave Morey the ability to build the supporting cast that he could design himself. Say what you want about the head coach, but there are few teams have a supporting cast with the coaching pedigree of the Rockets assistant coaches. McHale is a transition hire, and a longshot. Just like the Rockets are in transition and a longshot right now as well. Not sure what the fuss is about.
Every good defense is anchored by a center taller than 6'6. The defensive drop off was enormous once Yao and Deke were done. Our defense was marginally better last year because we finally had two centers taller than 6'10. However, our offense was painful to watch at times. I think this team could have made some incredible runs under RA, but team just lacked size on the front line.
If we had the same defense but worse offense then how come we ended up with the same pick, and with arguably a worse roster than what RA had? I think a lot of people seem to forget that while RA's offense was ok, his lack of player control and unwillingness to impose discipline cost us a lot of games against inferior teams. The mid-season trade proved that talent wasn't really the problem, the team downgraded from Battier to Thabeet and the team went on a tear.
You honestly think that "this team" would have made a "serious run" under Adelman?? Wow. People on here are talking top lotto pick/tank mode about this team. People were talking about last years team being a bottom feeder, and by all accounts they severely overachieved in relation to where they were projected to be by everyone. Media and fan related. Im a self proclaimed homer in alot of aspects, but claiming that Adelman is the only key ingredient from getting this squad into making a "serious run" is dillusional at best. If Adelman is the only thing a team needs then why the hell did the T-Wolves not even make the playoffs last season when they had one of the best bigs in the game on their team, size, and terrific depth especially in the paint????? Were they not ranked 25th in the league on the defensive end with multiple 7 ft centers??? And please dont use Rubio's injury as a crutch to your argument. Riddle me that??? I think its time for people to realize that NBA coaches can only do so much. Yes, Adelman ran a very fun offense, but he is by no stretch a perfect coach as is nobody in the game of basketball. Even Phil Jackson has his flaws as a coach. Its time to wake up to this fact.
The defense improved from 19th to a whopping 17th. But I guess you enjoyed watching it much more than that. Of course the offense went from 4th down to 12th. While coaches don't make a ton of difference, Adelman was at least the 2 games needed to make the playoffs better than McHale. So no, they did not end up exactly where they should have been 'regardless of coach'. But the point isn't that, it's that there are apparently still plenty of idiots out there who think Rick can't coach defense, regardless of what facts they are beaten over the head with.
You all realize ra coached without a center for a while right, and that this makes a huge difference. Right??? Is it really that hard to look up his teams defensive rankings before making **** up?
Ok, ok. This seems to be a sensative subject for alot of Rockets fans out there. I dont think the debate is that big of a deal personally, but let me explain a little bit why I wasn't that sad to see Adelman go from a basketball standpoint. We can debate defensive team ratings, and efficiency stats all we want, but as an "old school" basketball player and fan that I am, let me tell you what I saw on the court to explain my point a little bit futhur. Forget the stats for now. Do I think Adelman knows how to coach defense???? Yes, absolutely. Did I witness two years of watching him gloss over over players deficiencies that could have easily been fixed with a little bit of hard nosed coaching? Yes. Some examples- -Scola and his damn ball swipes- After the opposing team would collect the defensive rebound, Scola would run behind the rebounder to try and swipe the ball out of their hands. Seems harmless right???... wrong. By doing this he was almost always late getting back in the defensive sets. That second or two difference can really hurt if you got a team who can get the ball up the floor quickly. Was Scola hustling and trying hard??? yes. However, was he hurting the team on defense and not being corrected by the coach for this time and time again???? yes. For some reason beyond me, Scola was much quicker getting back on defense this last year. Does that have anything to do with coaching??? quite possibly. -Kevin Martin- We all know Kevin isn't exactly going to be known as a defensive stopper, but there were certain things that he got away with under Adelman that drove me nuts. Letting his man fly past him time after time. Leaking out time after time to try and get easy buckets instead of helping out on the defensive boards. The list goes on and on. I was a huge Kevin Martin fan, and still think he can have a redemption year yet again this season, but he was allowed to get away with way too much that he did not get away with when McHale and co. stepped in and quickly held him accountable for his defensive nonsense. -The corner offense- Love it. Fun to watch, and really hard to guard against. Only problem is it takes your bigs away from the basket. Your going to really limit your ability to collect offensive rebounds, and get easy putbacks. This doesn't hurt your defense directly, but it does make you change your personnel decisions based on who fits that role. Would Brad Miller ever have got minutes under McHale? Probably not. Also note that the backcourt players are positioned in the offense in places to where it makes it difficult for them to get back in the defense. If you know anything about basketball, you will know that the backcourt is the first line of defense. The corner offense is great in doses. I would love to see it early in games. However, there is a big reason why more NBA teams stay away from it. Its not because they dont know how to coach it, its because you have to give up other things in order to run it correctly. -Do I think McHale is a better coach?? no I do not. I want to be clear about this. However, I was happy to see the Rockets go in a different direction. Maybe Im just a little bit too old school I dont know. Everyone loves to watch offense as I do, but I realize that once they do aquire or draft players that they can build a core around, Adelman and the corner offense will probably not fit those players, and they will address the defensive end as a huge point of emphasis in the future.
Will not fit WHAT players? This thread is exactly about White probably would fit Adelman's offense perfectly. Also, almost EVERY coach has his "type" of players he prefers. Look at the rosters of Rudy T, and JVG. McHale has his preference too. So I am not sure about your logic. While you think McHale is not a better coach than Adelman, yet you believe his type of players is better? Better in what?
Does Royce White have the skillset that would be nice in running Adelman style corner sets?... yes. However, he's still an unproven rookie. Im not saying he couldn't become a player you run your offense through, but not any time soon. What Im saying is its way too early in his career in particular to be making coaching decisions based on Royce White's skillset coming out of college as a rookie. Now if White really becomes something special and is a player you build your team around, then its probably time to start looking at offensive, and defensive sets that maximize the skillsets of your best player or players. Right now, the Rockets are not there yet. McHale was and still is a transition coach, and the Rockets are a team in transition. Not sure whats so damn complicated about that, and what is getting the Adelman lovers so upset. He's a good coach, but I personally was and still am ok with moving on to a fresh coaching STAFF. Notice I said staff, not just head coach.
