Him learning to use his size is already like a huge boost to this team in itself... I share your feelings on Domo
He's one of those coaches that will make you hate him in that moment. But then you sit down and think about it, he's alright.
Translation: Hate during losing streak, and not hate while winning. It's funny how sport fans opinion change so swiftly with the tide of the team record.
I think we have a team environment in which any pro coach will probably look good (aside from those people who think coaching is only about setting rotations and that they'd do a better job of setting rotations) and have success. If we hired Mo Cheeks at the beginning of this season, he would probably be having the same amount of success as McHale has had. That said, I do think the quality of the coach is important to building on that environment and a couple of seasons with a bad coach will put a relative drag on the team's success. But, it isn't just one guy here -- there's the coach and the assistants and the GM and the president of basketball operations and the director of player personnel and all the other front office guys, the scouts and the videotape guy. Teams that don't have success and end up firing their coach I suspect don't have a lot of strength in the rest of the support team. A good team is strong throughout. It's not simply about how smart this one guy is.
Long ago I dated a chick named (i'll just call her "Jennifer") Mchale and I was her lover so I guess to answer your question OP: No.
I don't love him as a coach. If Rick Carlisle somehow became available I'd advocate replacing McHale in a heartbeat. Same with Thibodeau, which actually might happen (and hey, might as well make Chandler earn the big contract he's going to get by playing him 40mpg). But McHale's fine. Rockets fans have no more reason to complain about their coach than Thunder fans, for example.
Yes, he might be a better 5 than Jones, but that wasn't the point of my post. The point was that if Asik is still here, D-Mo's minutes are going to be hard to come by since there shouldn't be any reason to play him at center when we have Asik. Asik also means we can play Casspi again at 4. Jones-Casspi and D-Mo-Casspi frontcourts are complete defensive disasters but Howard-Casspi and Asik-Casspi do much better in that department. Jones might produce box score stats just fine in his subpar games but that also wasn't the point. There are games and matchups which just don't work for him defensively like this current Wolves game. Those are the nights when D-Mo has a chance to earn extended minutes. If Jones, Howard, Asik and Casspi are playing well, there just aren't that many minutes to go around for D-Mo (and Greg Smith). That doesn't necessarily mean that McHale is a moron for not playing him as is often implied or said by some. That just means that there are currently better options at his spot and he must improve further to get more burn. This seems to be the opinion of McHale and many fans as well, including me. (And, yes I watch the games with League Pass. Usually more than once. And no blackouts either since I don't live in the US.)
McHale has been better than I thought he would be. I was worried that his get it to the rim philosophy would involve too many post ups. He has done well at forcing the ball to the rim using post play, drives, cuts. Defenses being able to collapse has really made post play more difficult. He's not the greatest coach, but I love the attacking offense that pressures the middle. Rockets need shooters.
Mchale is showing that he isn't afraid to bench someone if they are off. I love this. first Lin, then Parsons and Now harden on this off night. Props to Mchale. the whole team is getting better as the year is coming along. Nice W in minnesota tonight
Solid rotation tonight from mchale, he saw the game was on the line with the sticky ball so just let the guys run & gun.. 6 game winning streak complete !
I disagree. Because I don't believe that Dwight will listen to Mo Cheeks when he talks to Dwight about aspects of his post game and other things. You are right that just about every coach knows a crap load about basketball and understand what it takes to win. But getting players to do what you want is the difficult part. Last year I probably would agree with you more. But McHale gets a big bump now that we have Dwight.
Not a McHale lover, but he's slowly starting to win me over. Always thought he needed work in a few areas but he's definitely showing improvement. 1. Defense - PnR D is MUCH better, big men are showing much harder. Perimeter D is much better too, our guys are chasing shooters off the line better and they don't cheat off their man to over-help anymore. Always wondered why our guys did that, it had to have been a scheme that they've (rightfully) abandoned. 2. Substitutions - I'm seeing more different rotations and more situational subs. Also seems like the bench has gotten a little longer recently. I also like how he's been benching key guys recently. More accountability is just great and less minutes overall is good too. Wouldn't mind seeing a couple guys play a little less though. But am glad that D-Mo is getting some burn. 3. "Game-managing"- Still seems to fall sleep at the wheel during opposing teams' runs and forgets to call time-outs. Still not much of a play-caller either. Unfortunately this is the one area I haven't seen much improvement, but hey Rome wasn't built in a day. Have been amazed at Dwight's improvement on the block, but would still like to see more PnR. Also want to see more running. Think we're at our best when we are pushing the ball and so want to see more of the Lin and Bev backcourt. PnR and fastbreaks were our bread and butter last year, would like to see a little more of both. So yeah, McHale is starting to win me over, of course everything looks great during a winning streak though. The real test is the playoffs, think that's what's ultimately going to decide McHale's fate.
