I think what a lot of people fail to realize is the difference between a strategic coach who players love and a players coach who is not very good at his actual job, but guys love him. McHale is not the deep, strict, intellectual, strategic coach. He's not going to wow you with his motivational speaking or in-game adjustments (which is needed sometimes). It takes him awhile to figure out things that the casual fan has noticed weeks ago but the players still love him. McHale seems like a great guy, smart and funny but he is not that type of coach. He's a hall of famer and players say he's fun to play for, which is a great thing BUT.. Talent can only get you so far, talent can get you 50 wins in the regular season but talent alone wont win you a ring unless Michael Jordan walks through the door. Other teams have great talent but they also have great coaches. Miami IMO had more talent than San Antonio but San Antonio was the better team, same thing can be said for Dallas. When it comes to the playoffs, unless you have a super team you cannot afford to be outcoached every night. We are looking for the best players in the world to play for our team, wouldn't it make since to also search for the best coaches as well. I said this before our team has the talent to go far as is, but they need the right plan. It's clear that they didn't plan well for Portland. McHale needs a strategic coach by his side calling the shots while he can continue to play good cop. That's the only way Houston wins a ring with him. Great Coaches need Great Talent and Great Talents needs Great Coaches especially when they are young.
You mean his first season as a head coach where David Robinson was injured most of the season? yeah...
I don't know if it is calling this fair. Mchale gets blamed for every losing situation but Phil, given your example above, loses the next 4 games which means he was out coached yet that is somehow shown as a positive. Unlike the 54 W's that Mchale.
Phil wasn't expected to win the series against Phoenix with 3 scrubs in his starting lineup going against a stacked Suns team. I would say being up 3-1 at one point was a pretty good accomplishment. Lakers did have a good chance to win Game 6 in the series but the Suns made a clutch 3 to send the game to overtime and got the win. Phil did manage to squeeze some decent production out of the likes of Smush Parker and Kwame Brown, given their talent level, when they were playing for him. After they went elsewhere they've been a lot more useless. In McHale's case most people were picking the Rockets to beat Portland in our series. It's all about expectations I guess.
