An excellent response. I would like to say that although McHale has freedom as a head coach, he has been wise enough to implement modern strategy and analytics even though he personally has never had experience with them. One example is running an extension of Adelman's R&R offense. Another example is pushing down the number of mid-ranged shots as far as possible. And McHale has done an exemplary job being a "Leader of Men". All in all fans should value McHale highly. It seems like the players and Morey and Les already do.
Terrific, he does substitutions and "runs a huddle"... brilliant example of hands-on coaching based on leadership... Clear evidence that we're winning because of McHale... Isn't "leadership" one of the things many have been demanding from the Rockets this season...? Whatever for, when Kevin the quintessential leader-type coach is at the helm...? Also, Kevin's choice to stir the pot with the Spurs managed to get not only Pop riled up, but Tim Duncan re-energized, that he helps start the Spurs run with a freaking alley-oop... The man is 37 years old... Let's not act like that was a brilliant move by Kevin... It was hilarious seeing Pop lose his composure, but do take the time to recall where the game was up to that point and where it was afterwards... FACT: Forgotten this little gem by former Timberwolves guard Anthony Carter...? Kevin has nothing to be stubborn about, his R&R is essentially a big I-haven't-the-foggiest-clue-what-to-do-so-I'll-let-others-do-what-they-want extention from what Carter said of coaching in Minnesota... Which is what KEvin does, from the assistants, the GM, and the players, he let's them do whatever they want... because he's essentially an upbeat, stay-positive, go with the flow fellow player with the given authority of a coach... What else IS THERE but to concede to everyone else's data...? That's only a mentionable plus from a coach that actually has his own vision to it consider it against... Lastly, I'm not tooting Lin's horn by pointing out how he's been the sole bright spot... I made that remark to point out the struggles of the rest of the team and how it reflected on McHale's supposed "preparedness and motivation" of his team.... If this were true you wouldn't have superstars that routinely don't show up on either end of the floor, 5th-8th options routinely thinking they're all the point guards of the team, with a consistency of high turnovers and lapsing defense... with only your sixth man showing any semblance of steadiness...
Fantastic point! Wonderful wit! You wore us down with a series of arguments based on pure logic and rationale, and then topped it off with a classic zinger. You proved everyone wrong! Please post more and give us your insight on how the game of basketball really works!
FACT 1: your quote was from a player who played for McHale in his first stint of coaching....BTW McHale took over mid-season and was learning on the fly. FACT 2: they were 25-26 when McHale took over and went 19-12 with him coaching.... they still had the EXCACT SAME assistant coaching staff they had under Flip. the only difference was McHale taking over for Flip. So don't sit there and say its all because the assistants. ''I wish, while I was still playing, I would have had a couple of years doing this — looking down on the game and being able to talk with a person with the basketball IQ of Kevin McHale,'' Hoiberg said. ''It would have benefited me just to listen to how he talks about the game. I pick his brain all the time, just about Xs and Os. To be around a player like that — one of the smartest players to play the game, a guy who got the most out of his body — and to be able to sit with him or to talk with Larry Bird [at Indiana] after practices, that's big to me.'' Fred Hoiberg who played for McHale talking about what he learned from coach.
McHale is just the worst guys. He has the rare ability as a coach to have nothing to do with player development, get no credit for wins and you guessed it, all credit for losses. Never mind the fact that we are currently a top ten team in offensive and defensive efficiency, while also having the 4th best scoring differential in the league. Those stats are all credited to the players overcoming McHales overwhelming flaws. Just about any other coach and we would probably be tops in offense, defense and scoring differential. Oh and let's not forget 18-0. Also let's not forget that a former player was quoted as saying McHale had no idea what he was doing on offense....Years ago. We all know that there is no such thing as improvement and no coach ever learns anything with experience. What they are as a first time coach is what they will always be. Time to dump this bum.
In case you missed my comment I have edited the original post to reflect the analysis of late game timeouts. Basically for the offense they su**. They are great for the defense though. So, realistically, McHale and the Rockets should be eliminating them. I have not done the analysis, but it seems to me like the Rockets are not time out starved at the end of games. X's and O's do not matter when even calling a timeout is strategically a losing gambit. McHale has done by far and away the best job of any NBA coach in eliminating the terrible mid-ranged shot. This is hugely important. The Rockets team as a whole averages almost 0.20 PPP than LMA, a fabulous mid-ranged shooter. I folded that analysis into the original post if you would like to read it. Your posts never seem to be based on facts and statistics, although there is obviously great intelligence behind them. They seem to be more based on opinion and the dreaded "eye test". Let us all put down the posts until we have a few more game results available. I view the next couple of games as critical in determining if the rockets are a strong team. Weak teams get caught in "trap" games. We shall see.
Casual sports fans are the worst. Glory hunting, ignorant xenophobes who really believe their opinions are just because they came from themselves. Is the Socratic Method dead? I know McHale isn't the greatest tactical genius in the NBA. But he's also relatively new to the coaching realm. Since when do quotes about McHale with respect to Minnesota have **** all to do with right now?
I will give credit to McHale's improvement of late. I feel the biggest reason for improvement is increased talent on the roster this year. Last year I expressed I wanted to see what McHale could do with more talent on roster and as year has progressed he has started managing roster a little better. He started off the year stubbornly with the TT and not using the bench all that much. Injuries have forced him to open up rotation a little and the TT disaster forced him to start using Jones. Will be interesting to see how McHale continues to manage the team.
they don't... simply a refuge for the weak, tactically speaking. thankfully thelandlord and jtr essentially destroyed that argument to shreds.
The TT experiment was absolutely necessary from a franchise standpoint. The Rockets had to know if they needed to trade their third best player. TT is over and done. The Rockets have their answer. I do not imagine they will be revisiting the issue anytime soon. The Rockets currently have 3 new starting players in the lineup. They needed to get their eight man rotation cemented. Now that is accomplished and McHale is beginning to experiment with the ninth rotation spot. A logical and often repeated coaching ploy. I find it interesting that there is no possible trade for Asik that would increase the Rockets win total this season. (And no, it is not possible to trade Asik for Love). If I was Morey I would postpone trading him for as long as possible.
It's clearly a set nine-man rotation now. The only question is: Will it be ten man rotation when Lin comes back, or will Brooks return to riding the pine all game?
McHale has kept Asik in check, and flexed his authority when Asik became upset. He has benched Harden and Lin when they did not play like the coach expected. He certainly has kept everyone on the same page, has kept Howard quiet eventhough he is only getting 10 shots a game and has rewarded players that have played hard and well. If you really believe that Duncan playing well had anything to do with McHale stirring the pot, then you do not understand basketball. So Duncan was just going through the motions the first quarter of the game? Come on. It isnt about Pop losing his composure, it is about how McHale responded, he did not get flustered or back down, it set the tone for the team. So lets me get this right, when McHale was an interim head coach, years ago we are supposed to hold that against him? Also, I assume that you know McHale has the final say, not his assistants? Lin has been the lone bright spot? Chandler shooting 53% with improved defense isn't? Jones emergence isn't a bright spot?
I suspect it will depend on how well Brooks plays. The Rockets have wanted a 10 man rotation for 2 years.
If it was up to me, Brooks would continue to get at least some minutes and D-Mo would get more minutes as well. I'd like to have a deep rotation.
i would just like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all clutchfans members here, to thank fred hoiberg for successfooly convincing the rockets to spend their #16 draft pick on royce white. you're a good man fred http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9SJrtV1W9o
