Of course the season has been disappointing, I don't think anyone would feel differently. I realize that people have their pet peeves about things that players do but when people start over exaggerating how often things occur or their effect on the big picture it's really annoying. It's especially irritating because other on the board pick up these inaccurate statements and then quote them as fact. There's tons of things that we are doing badly but we don't really discuss most of those things. Instead people just blindly decide that everything is Harden's fault. An then they usually start quoting things that don't really happen or infrequently happen and try to focus on those things as the reason for our problems. I personally believe in providing facts to backup statements, otherwise you just end up arguing back and forth and never convince anyone of anything. Far too many people state things as fact when they are 100% incorrect. My quote about it being ridiculous to complain about a game (WAS) where we shot 48% from the arc wasn't directed at you. It was an explanation of why I responded in this thread. You replied to my post that was a direct response to a complaint that we shot 30 shots from the arc last night.
Sanity post of the year. Too many incorrect notions become fact around without any real data to back it up. I just never understood the folks that feel the need to blame or create villains. There are too many moving parts that go into a NBA team's success or failure.
and it seems that guy was only responding to another poster in the thread, explaining that we don't exactly follow the same scheme as the spurs', as the 3pt shot is not a big part of their system. a few pages later and it doesn't matter now anyways -- the team is still going nowhere
There are different types of coaches out there. For the NBA if you have enough talent you can get far. But that doesn't mean coaching doesn't matter. There are teams that have great coaches and can still make the playoffs without much talent. There are other teams with enough talent to make the playoffs (2011-12 Rockets) but poor coaching leaves them short. Some teams have both (Spurs, Warriors) others have neither (Sixers, Lakers). You can gauge where you should be by the talent you have. Mchale received James Harden and Dwight Howard. With our talent alone we should have been winning games but could we have done it in a more organized intelligent way? Yes thats where Mchale's coaching comes in. He relied on Harden ISO too often. This is the same guy who had Parsons, Lowry, Dragic, Scola, and a younger Kevin Martin on the same team and couldn't make the playoffs. Mchale and JB are Mark Jackson's the Rockets need a Steve Kerr. They had the talent but they needed someone to bring it all together and it just wasn't Mchale and it's not JB.
It is a players league and when the players decide to play and play hard, they do, when they decide not to because they are allowed to get away with it, sometimes they don't. McHale had lost the team, he was clueless how to control a talented young team. He had to go - in fact, he should have NEVER been hired in the first place. DD
Rick Adelman didn't make the playoffs the last two seasons once we completely moved on from McGrady and Yao. McHale had the highest winning % of any Rocket's coach even with the toughest Western Conference in history. Not to mention the injury issues last season. I don't buy that "Rockets won in spite of McHale" because it wouldn't have been so consistent if it was a fluke. My point is that McHale was a simply an average coach, he wasn't good and he wasn't bad. McHale didn't ruin Harden, that has no basis in reality.
Despite the success in the regular season? Better success than every other coach? Just some big fluke? Rockets had more talented team under McHale than everyone else? Lightning be hitting the same location multiple times in a row eh? He had to go, but I disagree with the rest.
Again, my point is that he is average. Nothing more, nothing less. He certainly didn't ruin Harden. What about Parsons? He held Parsons back too?
Ofcourse Mchale didnt ruin harden, thats just an excuse harden and any rocket player can use just because Mchale had a laid back approach. Mchale was very flawed as a strategic coach, which entail didnt put our players in the best position to succeed. But even in spite of that it is up to the player to show the dedication and passion needed to be the best he can be regardless of that, and as good as harden is he still isnt close to the best he can be and that goes for dwight to....lack of dedication,preparation and just mental toughness is sorely lacking and it is a big problem you just hope they can erase as the season goes on. But i do agree if a hardnosed,strategic coach like TT were to sign with us it would definitely speed this process up
Highest winning percentage means nothing he had Dwight Howard and James Harden of course his winning percentage was high. And I agree he is an average coach and you saying that proves my point. You are taking the word "ruin" too literally. Harden isn't ruined he is a great player but his focus under Mchale's coaching staff was never team ball it was hero ball and that's Mchale. They were developing him as an ISO player even JB said that. So in that sense, what he has become the overly ISO dependent superstar is because of the leadership around him i.e. the coaching staff. That can change with the proper change of leadership. Not everyone learns how to play the game correctly that's why coaching is so valuable, having an average coach can "ruin" the way you play. We have above average talent you need an above average coach.
I don't get that you just said this. And now you're saying it's just basic math. I also said this. And then you gave me more moreyball statistics. They're not efficient when it matters most. 5 tie games with 2 minutes left. Rockets shoot 5 three pointers in each game. In three games they make 1 and in two games they make 3. 3 pt% for the 5 games in the last two minutes is 36% which is their average. Of course they likely lose three of the five games. All of this is a tremendous success of moreyball stats but a failure in the standings. It's the Kevin Martin thing all over again. Morey thinks volume three pointers and free throws are what wins you championships. Except that stuff doesn't work when it matters most and we've all seen it first hand over and over again. I didn't make up any statistics. You posted stats that are obviously point guard heavy for the reasons I stated, and no you didn't post any stats regarding how often Harden brings the ball up compared to all the other actual point guards on that list, as evidence that Harden doesn't hold the ball and dribble out the clock at critical points of games.
I always chuckle when people make a stupid claim , try and say this is what Morey believes, then argue against their own stupid claim.
I'm a fool for believing we were done with this nonsense when we fired McHale. But it's the same ol' people up here doing the same ol' stuff. With analysis like: Spoiler <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZZ17nsRN7pY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Ok. McHale was alright, he did well given the circumstances, and probably did more in the playoffs than we expected He probably isn't 100% the right coach for the job at the right moment. And I think there are too many problems, coaching is just one of them. Folks are singling out the coaching job because it is very easy for them to blame the coaching, the players. Now we know Morey should be responsible for some of the problems as well. We should take one step at a time, our crisis isn't that bad. We are still a lowly playoff team and not a bottom team.
It does mean something. The argument that the Rockets won "in spite of McHale" doesn't hold any water. Rudy T had Hakeem the Dream and a great supporting cast that would go on to add Clyde the Glide Drexler and he couldn't match McHale's winning %. It's a complicated issue that folks are trying to find simple answers to. As long as you don't think he was a bad coach or terrible coach then I can dig it. McHale was a simply an average head coach. It was never about hero ball, as McHale constantly railed against sticky ball. I believe the coaching staff knew how good Harden was in "iso" situations but as aelliot has pointed out using actual facts, Harden's using a lot iso is just another countless mistruth that has become gospel. I think people are focusing too much on "coach" and not enough on "coaching staff."
And you need a management staff that is not just commanded by one person. The owner got to have be a visionary and know the game of NBA bball very well. The GM selects a list of coaching candidates and the owner is the one who gives the thumb up.
