My problem with McHale is that when the playoffs start and the chess match begins, he is playing checkers ! DD
McHale is a good coach, he is a .500 coach, people might argue that he has Howard and Harden, well he had a winning record in his first season as Rockets coach without either
This. Morey was reared in the Celtics system and philosophy which is having an organizational philosophy and getting a head coach with strong leadership traits. McHale has played his part. The players are on the same page, play hard, respect McHale and there is no disfunctional issues. Coaches like Jackson, Jeff VanGundy and Adelman would not work long term. Jeff Van Gundy and Adelman have their own systems and philosophies and those are not the same as the Rockets. That leaves coaches with similar philosophies (Jeff Van Gundy's brother) or no set philosophy ( Doc Rivers).
The only real question to ask is whether you feel the coaching in general is more of a strength, or a liability. If I had to guess the overall impression, it probably leans towards the latter.
You mean you love a racist? j/k McHale is an average coach at best (maybe slightly below average) at this point. But coaches need time to mature, longer than players. So I'll give him more time before I judge him. I disagree that players play hard for him. I don't think this group of players can be described as "playing hard" or "hard working." Perhaps they are still too young. Until he can get the players to play a good defensive system, I won't "love" him. But we'll see. I think this year's playoffs will tell how much of a coach he is.
I definitely have respect for McHale as a player and a coach. While, I don't think he is the best coach for this team, I do think he is doing a good job as the coach over his tenure. A lot of people here are so willing to bash him after every mistake, but guys, he is learning on the fly too. When we hired him, his only coaching experience was as a head coach of a T-Wolves team that was lucky to win 35 games in a season. It's not like he has been coaching for decades upon decades. All of this is a learning process for him as it is to our players. Sure, he can be stubborn in his approach but I think that is one of his better qualities as a coach. You want someone to make your player tough and won't be afraid to speak the truth. And obviously, this current group of players and the front office seem like they love having him as a coach. When we hired him, he was supposed to be the coach that was supposed to lead us through the intermediate in our painful rebuilding years but in a span of 2-3 years, his job drastically changed to being the coach of a playoff contender and now to a championship contending team. Being now 17 games above .500 with a solid chance of getting a 2nd or 3rd seed in a stacked Western Conferences impressive.
I'll make up my mind during the playoffs. The love and hatred for McHale is too soon. The rockets could be a seattle seachickens type of team and sneak in to the finals but realistically I expect a second round or semi-finals exit.
everything you stated is so flawed, it's not worth getting into. He's a trash coach. He was brought in here to be Morey's sideline aid and develop young talent, when all of a sudden we got good...we decided to keep him, and re-assess. Not a fan of paying a coach NOT to coach, so the Rockets won't fire him but if you can't see how stupid he is with rotations, how horrible his X & O's are, and how predictable we are you haven't really watched us carefully.
Mediocre at best. Rockets are loaded with talent, IMO, they succeed as much as they do despite him and his staff.
Please quit playing the 'The Rox are loaded w/ talent' to justify the success McHale's had with the team. wtheck...Doesn't every team want talent? The Kings are 'loaded' w/ talent....the Knicks are loaded w/ talent....the Nets are 'loaded' w/ talent....the 'Sixers'...etc etc etc....and look at their records. Fact of the matter is, regardless of how much talent you have, you gotta play together as a team, and THAT takes coaching. My hats off to McHale and to Morey. The players like him, and the front office seems to like him and he's been having overall success so far. We have a 5 game winning streak and we've beaten some of the top teams in the league. The Spurs haven't won ONE game against the top 6 teams in league. When you have the 6th best record in the entire NBA (Rox)...I'm sorry, but talent alone doesn't get you that. It's clear because when we are terrible, WE ARE HORRIBLE, regardless of our talent. I'm behind McHale. Of course, it's a learning process. Every season is. But I wish McHale all the best in the process. Hats off to him. He's honestly been doing a great job.
Yes, but it's been stated here many times that Morey plays chess while other GMs play checkers. So, doesn't that just balance out? Hollinger may have had some stats relating to the ideal chess-to-checkers ratio within an organization. I think McHale's game of checkers may be by design.
He is doing a good job. Search the history of posts, every coach we have had people have hated. Been happening since Rudy T.
All fans say this about their coaches. Check out the Spurs board! They have been calling for the GOAT's head all year. I am a firm believer that the players make the shots and the coaches just have to keep them motivated throughout the year. Phil Jackson considered by many to be one of the best ever was more so a motivator than anything. It is has been said that McHale possesses that motivating factor as well. His players love him, so they will listen to him. He is a very good coach.
We lost that series and the only thing that worked was Lin getting hurt and Brooks being a wild card. It was a matchup issue, and let's not forget not only did we lose but WESTBROOK was out. DD
I don't think different types of teams require different types of coaches. Ex: look at D'Antoni. Very good with Suns, Pre-Melo Knicks. Sucked to hell with Post-Melo, Big 4 Lakers. He fits excellently with PNR-heavy stars, but cannot utilize ISO-heavy stars. Moreover, he is very bad at managing personalities and not flexible with coaching to his player's strengths instead of his own. Look at Phil Jackson. Has the triangle, which forces ISO-heavy stars to not ISO as much. However, perfectly willing to run non-set offenses and move away from the triangle when he has the personnel. At one point had starters running triangle and bench running fastbreak/heavy transition offense. Excellent for when you have multiple stars that you need to work together, but has very little patience for development. McHale is excellent as a motivator and leadership figure, but lacks tactical capability. And yes, the offensive strategy is really dictated by Morey. However, the consistent rotational errors on defense, the lack of mobility on offense in a half court situation, and puzzling rotations (a lot better recently to his credit), makes me doubt his capabilities as a championship coach leading multiple superstars. There are very few times that I feel as if Harden and Howard are playing as a force together, in the sense that they are making each other better. Instead, we have separate plays designed for each. Harden ISO or Howard Post-up. Where are the unstoppable Harden/Howard PNRs so advertised before the season? Instead, I keep seeing plays where Lin or Harden will bring up the ball, then Parsons will cut while the rest of the team stands still or give a half-assed screen.
