What a twit thing to say... Why do people point to this as if to say "any coach would've done it with three hall of fame players", as if the coach inherited 3 HOF players out of the sky... Like some divine being said, here you go, 3 HOF players... They weren't HOF players when Pop drafted them... Who do you think helped them cultivate their talents, and primed them for success, to the point where they ARE 3 HOF players...? Why do you think they continue to credit the coaching or their success...? Why do you think MJ did...? Why do you think players care so damn much about who the coach is that it can influence their decision to stay with, sign with, or leave a team...? Lastly, this whole, "buy in" excuse... Yeah, I'm sure Duncan would let just any grown man chew him out the way Pops does TO THIS DAY... He clearly is a man that respects authority just as a given, no matter who the individual is... (Joey Crawford)... I'm sure Ginobili and Parker were eager to take in any coach's philosophy and embrace it with all respect as well as their system, like any pair of early 20 some things... Christ... Try going back in time, put those three under McHale's tutelage or even Rudy's and see if this have the degree of success the Spurs have sustained for over a decade... This continued devaluing of the coaching position is getting sickening...
I continue to be mystified in people's problem with our offense. Our offense is not our damn problem. It has been and still is defense. There is zero wrong with our offensive philosophy. What we go for is the same thing the Spurs go for. There are differences in how we go about getting those shots and there is a difference in our reliance on mid range, but I think that has a lot to do with personnel differences. All in all though we just watched a team that works on getting shots at the rim, open threes and free throws. The exact thing we are trying to do.
The Spurs is system is not just about offensive sets. It is a team culture where young players are allowed to grow and refine their game and even the top stars are held accountable for effort and behavior. Believe it or not, these players are also people and if you see your teammate not giving all out effort on defense and not being called out, it rubs you the wrong way. If you see management always looking to throw max money at any available free agent star without regard for the younger players' long term development, it raises doubts as well. Parker and Ginobili were late picks, Parker was a PG who had no outside shot to speak of and was not a setup man by any means early in his career, while Ginobili was a wild child, a free wheeling European with a tendency for numerous turnovers. Yet they were allowed to gain the experience and given the environment to develop. Houston has these types of guys - Parsons, Beverley, Lin, Asik, DMo, Tjones, but the culture is nowhere near how the Spurs do it.
So what is the answer??? -Take more of the least efficient shots in basketball?? -Not push the Pace to get out in transition? -Play slow? -Stop spacing the floor? If you haven't noticed, the Rockets style of play isn't all that unique. The NBA has been trending this way for some time. Pretty much the only thing the Rockets don't do that other teams do is shoot a few mid range jumpers, but that's more of a bi-product of the players on this roster. In case you forgot, the Rockets had very good 18 foot shooters before on their roster and encourage them to shoot quite frequently.... Scola (Morey's favorite player), Yao, etc. They also tried to trade for Melo, & Dirk recently. And don't forget the shot that Harden has pretty much perfected... the long step back 2. It seems to me that the Rockets don't necessarily hate long 2's.... what they hate are inefficient shots.... which are almost always long contested 2's. So other than the bogus "Long 2" argument.... what is it about the Rockets system (that pretty much half the league runs as well) that bothers you so much?
1) I didn't say "any coach would have done it." 2) If the coach makes the players, then what happened to Will Perdue of the Spurs, Mengke Bateer of the Spurs, and so on? Did Pop fall down on the job with them? Hell why doesn't he just make every player into a hall of famer? Or are you just wrong about the coach's role? The rest of the stuff you wrote does not claim to be relevant to me. . . .
Hmm, cough dou nuts and just made it to the list polloshermanos are my favorite posters. They keep it 1 hunnit
Parker would never have lasted on this team. Would have been traded for a second round pick after one year. Hell - we probably still wouldn't him now because he is not a good fit.
I just don't understand the "moreyball" bashers. Who is that you are unhappy isn't shooting more mid range shots? Maybe Jeremy Lin should take more mid range shots? Maybe Dwight? Parsons? We don't have any good "shooters" really. We have guys who hit the 3 at a decent clip, but most of them aren't really pure shooters that can just come off a screen and knock down a shot. Why anyone would want someone like Parsons for example to take less shots from 3 that he makes at a good clip so he could take more shots from mid range that he will miss at a higher clip is beyond me. Morey would love to have Aldridge on the team taking mid range jump shots.
After having seen how the Spurs demolished the Heats with great D and ball-movement team-based offense, you can write off any future scenario of Houston being a contender if Houston continues with ISO and poor defense. Management should only retain guys who is willing to play D and willing to commit to screens and ball movement on offense. If Harden plays the same lazy D and inefficient ISO, why talk about contending? Does adding Melo to the mix make any difference? Not a chance. Just another ISO guy with poor D. If McHale cannot improve this team towards better D & team offense, he should be a goner after this year and Harden should be traded. There is no future with him if he plays the same. If LBJ cannot do it without team ball, Harden will have zero chance.
The really baffling thing is, with McHale staying, are they giving him another shot at getting an extension or not?? If not, why keep him? If so, we are screwed!
Multiple "strategies" have proven to be winning strategies. The bottom line is he is trying to compare a 10 year in the making Spurs team with one of the GOATs to a team in its infancy. Expectations are completely out of whack, and people need to quit crying and be patient.
So much innaccurate crap in here. The spurs great D and ball movement got them 1 ring in a 7 year period since their last ring. It's not like they have won 5 in a row. Lebron HAS done it. TWICE in a row. Very recently. Hardens isos ARENT innefficient and he isos far less than people believe. There have been posters who have given the stats to prove this. Adding another scorer like Melo absolutely would help. Too many people are letting the results of 1 season warp their views on how things work and how they absolutely will work in the future.
Don't worry. This one is staying. McHale is not. Another first round exit, we have a new coach, hopefully better.
Offense and Defense are two sides of the same coin. The type of O' we run is similar to the Spurs but please don't fool yourself into thinking its the same. The Spurs O' recognizes star player(s) but flexible enough to make a star out of any player. We run the old fashion O' where we need to get our star(s) his touches and hope he can score it efficiently enough. Bottom line is, until we get a coach who is going to hold the players accountable on both ends of the court, we aren't winning Jack...
