Playing OKC better for the team in the long run

I can think of some analogies:

(1) Let PGs play off the ball is good for their development in the future.

(2) Let every player share the PG role is good for developing their handles and BBIQ.

(3) Let your scorer do the ball handling and be the defensive focus will improve his skill and turn him into a star.

(4) Let you PFs camp outside the 3pt line will turn them into a sharp shooter.

(5) Let your SFs defend opposing C or PF will help them grow stronger and taller.

(6) Play smalls against opposing bigs will win the sympathy of refs and get more FTs.

 

The question that I posed was Western Conf. teams. So, basically we agree that we have the 7th or 8th PG. You're delusional to think Harden is in the bottom half of Western conf. SGs.

 

Harden didn't start in OKC before what make you think they would start him now? And harden is better than Allen but Memphis is all about defense & Tony is one of the better perimeter defenders in the West & Harden is one of the worst in the conference. harden isn't starting over Kobe but Harden is a better player than Kobe & we all know that Kobe has all the power in LA. They may slide Kobe to the SF spot & start Harden at SG who knows. Harden is a worse defender than Kobe, that jodi meeks dunk was just awful. Harden isn't going to start over Iggy in Denver maybe they slide Iggy to SF & start Harden who knows but once again Harden's defense is an issue on this team also. Harden is a terrific talent but his defense is awful.

 

playing GREAT teams will expose our flaws and will be a learning experience. mgmt will know what they need to compete against elite teams. players will gain valuable experience.

look at okc for example. they played against and lost to the lakers and dallas previously and learned from them and eventually be able to beat them

 

You forgot westbrook tearing lin apart and the rockets finally realizing he is over rated and needs to be traded for something.

 

McHale gets so much blame because this team has been horrible in close games this year. Some of that has to do with the Rockets being young and inexperienced but part of that is due to McHale not settling the offense down and running plays at the end of the game. He has also, for the second year in a row, gone with small ball lineups to finish games and it sure does seem like it hasn't been that effective in those games this year or last year.

I personally don't agree with the idea that McHale is a good coach and did a good job just because this team overachieved. The Rockets aren't run like normal organizations. McHale is just another piece in the Morey system. He didn't even get to pick his own staff. I think you could have plugged Sampson in for the entire season and the Rockets would have done just as well. I think the Rockets need a coach that is going to bring a little more structure to the offense and also emphasize defense a little more.

 

Nothing you said is positive. However, I agree that this series will help our guys going forward. Take OKC to 6 or 7 (which I don't see happening) and we have something to build a lot of confidence off of going into the off-season and next year. Here is a better list:

1. Playing OKC will give McHale a lot of experience. As far as coaching goes, he is still young in his career and this will be his first post season experience. He will learn how different the game is and what works in the playoffs and what doesn't. Experience is the only way to grow and get better as a coach.

2. We all hear that playoffs are slowed down and become more of a half-court game. Hopefully when this happens, James and the rest of our players will learn to move the ball more and be a better half-court offense so we can get better in the years to come.

3. Defense is important in the playoffs. Our guys need to take the opportunity to step up. Playing against Durant and Westbrook will lead us to me a lot more accountable of what we do on the defensive end. Again, this leads to growth, individually and as a team.

4. We can go into this off-season with some motivation to get even better next year. Nobody expected our guys to make it this far and they completely over succeeded. Our guys will make a lot of improvements and learn a lot of things about themselves this summer when they push themselves to get better and make it even farther next year. Our window for a championship hasn't even opened yet. This offseason is about getting better and moving towards that time-frame.

5. Beating a team like the Spurs would have been great for confidence but not as much as getting to match up with OKC. This series is perfect for them to take into the summer and evaluate what kind of team they are and how to build into the team that they want to be going forward.


I expect this series to go to 5 games. If we don't steal at least one in OKC, it won't go any further. I love this matchup because of what it will do to our team. I'm not rooting against our guys at all, I would love to see them pull an upset. However, I realize that this is highly unlikely. So what I am hoping for is that everyone from McHale down will take this experience and learn from it. This is the type of series that everyone on the team can look back on and say, "yea, that's when we realized how good we could be and really started to work." I would think everyone would hope that we could turn into an OKC type story within the next few years. Why not play them and see what it actually takes to get to that level? Be happy guys, we are in the playoffs and have a very bright future ahead of us. Enjoy the series.

 

The more and more I think about it the less I feel that this is on the Players.

1. We know they're young. They'll have holes in their game.
2. We know they're inexperienced. They'll make questionable judgement calls on the floor.
3. We know they haven't had tons of time to gel. First season together, they're going to have miscommunications on both ends of the floor.

Harden, Lin, Asik and Parsons are doing their best given their talents, knowledge and experience.

Where McHale falls short is his inability to curb some of the bad tendencies and increase the good tendencies of these players.

If Harden is ISOing too much, is it because Harden is trying to lose or is it because he's just falling into habit or doesn't know better? Is that on Harden or the Coach who is *supposed* to be the Voice of Wisdom on the team.

Shouldn't the Coaches be the ones stepping up and enforcing roster discipline? Setting the priorities? Praising the players when they do well and smacking them down when they stray from the game plan?

Shouldn't the Coaches be the ones working around the weaknesses of the individual players and not putting them into impossible situations like having Delfino guard Gasol? Or the Bench out on the floor without the safety net of Harden or Lin? Or the Starters going small without Asik when there are dominant bigs in the game?

Harden is what he is today. He'll grow. So will Lin, Parsons, Asik and the rest of this young roster.

The question in my mind is whether the Coaches are Good enough to maximize the talent that's on the team. If this season is any indication, then the answer is No.

There's a long way to go for this coaching staff. And I'm not sure we as fans should be expected to wait for the Coaches to go through growing pains when the team already has their own set of hurdles to overcome.

 

Believe it or not, the playoffs are not about Lin. Was it not Lin who missed a bunch of shots against the Lakers as well?!

These playoffs are about the Rockets! I'm absolutely rapt they made the playoffs! Would I have liked them to finish higher?! Of course.
The problem is we are in the western conference. Two teams with records at and above .500 missed out altogether. 5 teams over 55 wins.

Had the rockets been in the east they would be fighting for home court.
Let's be real here. It would have been a struggle to compete over a 7game series against SA and Denver as much as it will be against OKC. These teams have more experience and have been together much longer. It wasn't long ago that these same Thunder were lower seeds. Look where they are now!

We have discovered that we have a solid group of players:
Harden exceeded all expectations and is a good foundation block. We still need another star player, but let's not kid ourselves. The rockets are not in the playoffs without harden.
Omer asik has been a revelation. I remember reading the criticism and low expectations of the signing but this guy finished top 3 in reb, playing far less minutes than the other league leaders. His offense definitely surprised me. Sure it's awkward at times but he knows his role.

Jeremy Lin was steady and got better as the season progressed. Any of his shortcomings cannot just be placed on the coach. He does need to continue to work on his shot so its more consistent but I like that his TOs were lower and his court vision and leadership definitely improved.

Chandler parsons was great at being in the second scorer role and hopefully when we bring another star player he can revert to his defensive stopper role with some offense. He is key component to this team.

Finally, remember this is a Brand new team. They were put together on the seasons eve pretty much. Give these guys the playoffs and offseason together to grow and improve.
Can't wait to see how this all unfolds. Blame the coaches all you want. Most teams fans complain about something, it's what we do, but let's get excited that we are bout to go up against the best team in the west. I'd rather be tested straight away and see what it takes to be championship caliber than say, being in the east going up against Brooklyn or some team like that.

Anyway, I don't normally post much and I'm sorry for my essay but all this complaining on the eve of our first playoffs in 3 years is really annoying.

 

Will refrain from disagreeing outright, but please enlighten us in what ways he is a great coach. What exactly has he done right? Don't say he brought the youngest team to the playoffs. It's a young yet extremely talented team, whose potentials are in fact much higher. Tell us what he did that if he didn't do would make the Rockets a lesser team.

 

Great post except...

1. Harden is not the main reason we are in the playoffs. Asik is. Without his defense and rebounding, we wouldn't have come close to 8th spot.

2. The criticism towards coaching is because there is something really wrong with it. This is not a knee-jerk reaction on some particular loss. This has been going on all season consistently. Also, our coach has shown that he has no intention of learning his mistakes (since he doesn't take any responsibility for his own crap). Why stay with this kind of coach and negatively affect the growth of our players? I, for one, think that Harden has regressed and he is not utilizing his full potential. I don't hold him responsible for his actions either.

 

I honestly dont think that McHale should get as much crap as he does from people on this forum. Its not like McHale calls plays, they even said it themselves...in the moment of the game there is really no play calling. Its up to the players, especially Harden to recognize certain situations and react to them and also recognize their faults and learn from what they are doing wrong, the obvious would be way too much ISO ball and turnovers. Its really frustrating to see him dribble the clock out just to pass it to an unsuspecting teammate watch them either shoot a poor percentage shot or turn the ball over cause they are caught off guard. But I give him the benefit of the doubt, he is young and still learning.

I agree that it is actually better for them to play OKC, for one they will see how a playoff team plays together and how much work it takes for themselves to get to that point. They will see how a really good team moves the ball around and how everyone is constantly moving and not just standing around watching one player play ISO. Everything has a purpose and I think this situation is no different. It will be a great learning experience, and although i will be sad to see them exit the playoff in the first round I will be left with hope for the future seasons to come.

 

Some people talk like we made the playoffs because of McHale. We made the playoffs despite being coached by him. He isn't the reason we are in the postseason.

 

Great post except...

1. While Asik and Harden are two of the greatest reasons we're in the playoffs. Lin's and Parson's, even players like TJone's above-expectation plays are part of it too. Major props to all the players for their great play, and especially for getting blamed for every loss due to a crappy system.

 

If it's not a HC's job to call plays, what is a HC's job then? Don't say developing and training players, those are done by the rest of the coaching staff and trainers just as much, if not more than the HC.