The Rockets were not a great offensive team in the 4th quarter when the game slowed down especially in the playoffs. McHale was horrendous at making adjustments. He basically allowed Aldridge to single-handedly put the Blazers up 2-0 before he did anything differently. Even a mediocre head coach knows that if something ain't working, you call a timeout and try something else. I think a lot of fans on here are forgetting how dreadful this team was down the stretch in April after Sampson left. Yes, the injuries to Dwight and Bev were factors, but you don't allow Corey Brewer to go off for 51 points on dunks, layups, and free throws(in a pivotal game with home court advantage on the line) unless you're simply not trying out there.
lol No fans are forgetting that we had no bench or a PF. We had little to go deep. No one can say we had quality players outside of Howard and Harden and Parsons. It is surprising we got a 4th seed. What adjustments was Mchale supposed to make? He had nothing to go with.
If an upgrade doesn't happen then we really can be sure that the criticism that Morey thinks talent alone = Championships is true. I hope he isn't that stupid.
So Tjones is not an adequate pf? I don't truly believe that the Rockets problem was truly just the players. Our guys were just not trained for the playoffs. The loose run and gun offense does wonders during the season but come playoffs we are just screwed. Our guys looked like chickens with their heads cut off once the pace slowed down and that was the problem. Our guys also looked so loss without a proper defensive plan. This was the problem with teams like the Run TMC Golden state, early Dallas Mavericks, and Nash Suns. The offense and lack of defense we run can only go so far. Do we need a new defensive assistant coach or do we need a whole new Head coach and the staff that comes with him? What is obvious though is that we can not stand still. Teams have figured us out and we can thank Portland for that. Slow our pace down, put some pressure, and force us to play defense and we fold.
lol What you just described is a team with none to little talent to compete. No PF and no bench means we have to rely on the very few players that got us there. Hopefully with the new players we have a couple more players ready to contribute.
Quarter/points scored in that quarter/rank for last season 1st/27.7/2nd 2nd/26.9/T-3rd 3rd/26.8/2nd 4th/25.4/9th The 4th was our worse quarter, but still top third in the league. Not to mention factors such as bench scrubs finishing games could have easily helped lead to the lower 4th quarter numbers. The offense was never a problem for the team. Defense was it and I think there was equal blame in coach and personnel for the teams shortcomings there. I'd like to see how our defense looks with a more balanced team this coming season.
Only way McHale is fired is if another coach with more cache is interested in the job AND has the support of Rockets 2 keystone players, Harden & Howard. So if Coach K can continue bringing out the best in Harden, win gold and then let's it be known that he is available ......
Is it tjones fault that he isn't an "adequate" pf or is it the coaching staff? I feel that since the days of JVG, we've basically used the excuse that it was role players' fault for our short comings. Watching tjones' play this past season and his potential, it makes me wonder what he would be with a different head coach or true defensive assistant coach.
Fun Fact: You can't be great at all positions!!! Fact is Rockets have the best players in the world at Center and at SG. No other team has the best player in two positions maybe the Clips with CP3 and Blake (doubt he is the best PF). Rockets also had a very adequate SF, a PG who made the 2nd team all NBA defense and a top 5 defensive center as back up. Zero reason not to reach the 2nd round except for piss poorr bottom end YMCA level coaching by the clueless joke that is McHale. But I get it. The McHale apologists want to use every excuse out there to defend the indefensible.
lol Here is another fun fact. TJ sucked against the big PF's in the west. He would get chewed up and spit out. His back up you say? That would be DMo and he sucked worse. Another fun fact. We have to play these teams that have two big men at PF and Center. That means that we will probably lose in the playoffs. Of course your misplaced hate shows through daily when you post. I am guessing you didn't watch the games last year. Mchale took a team that had no PF or bench and got a 4th seed. Gave us one of the best records in team history in FACT. Keep hating it seems to agree with you. smh
False. Good coaches can scheme around weaknesses. The Spurs were winning championships with the likes of Rasho Nesterovic, Matt Bonner, Fabricio Oberto as their big men going against the likes of Nowitzki, Shaq, Garnett, Yao. The West has always been loaded with talented big men. No coach inherits a perfect lineup players, but the good ones can mask weaknesses and augment strengths.
Legit thread with serious ADD problem. Shall we get back on topic?? The Rockets lost Sampson, and suffered big-time on defense because of it. The Rockets haven't fixed that problem. Has anyone heard any info?? We either need another assistant, or we need someone to step up. Also the "step up" option seems unlikely since it didn't happen in the playoffs last year.
Also, would everyone STFU about McHale. He is going to be here next year, and it has no relevance to this thread. We're talking about the assistant coaches, who are not currently as good as they were starting last season.
Fun little fact: TJ averaged averaged 18pts, 12.5 rbs in 4 games against the world champions Spurs and 15.5pts, 8 boards in 2 games against Miami but he got chewed up LOL. You are on the all ignore list. LOl
what if i told you hall of famer kevin mchale is your coach! not 1, not 2, not 3, ok 3 playoff victories*. count on it! fineprint: *victories will not include playoff series wins but rather games in a first round matchup. 2nd rounds, conference finals and finals are excluded. Fans are responsible for acknowledging that defense and accountability are out of the question. Further more, any fan expecting more should seek counseling. Certain limitations apply.
