Funny that before the Harden trade last season the Rockets were supposed to challange for the worst record in the West if not the league with Asik and Lin. Now according to your revisionist history the team was always supposed to be pretty good because of all of the youth and talent? Really? Kobe Bryant, D12, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest etc... should have been much much better last season but poor coaching got in the way. That was an example of sorry ass coaching. McHale is not perfect and not with out his faults IMO but nothing has pointed towards him not being a good coach. Not perfect and I'm certainly not saying he is the best but he has absolutely done a good job.
before having my coffee, i read the title as, " how did mchale become so clutch". I was like, whoa there motherlover! may be one day but as of now, has tons to grow as a coach. Ironically, he is the lin of head coaches on here, taking so much unwarranted heat. I'm not a fan but if we win a championship i can be converted into one. long live the fuhrer.
Look, in my mind, this thread is clearly about Lin, not McHale. It is part of an ongoing bigger discussion that some Lin fans want to continue having around issues of accomplishment, fairness, opportunity, recognition, stereotypes, and racism. As a 4th year player in the NBA, Lin's path to this point in his career hasn't been easy, he was overlooked by big college programs and later, in the draft, despite having demonstrated potential, which some may argue would have been recognized if Lin had different ethnicity. But, you know what? Lin got a shot at Harvard to prove himself, and he did. He got a shot at NBA summer league, and received two offers. He got a shot at DLeague to prove himself against other potential big game players, and he did. He got some PT with GSW. He got a shot with the Rockets, but just didn't fit the bill at the time. He got a shot with the Knicks, proved himself again in DLeague, and when his opportunity came up against the Nets, he stepped up. And now, Lin has an opportunity to continue making his mark with the Rockets. His accomplishments have been widely recognized, more so than a lot of other NBA players. Lin has had many opportunities, provided by many different people. Lin has it good, and he repays it with his work ethic and positive attitude. Nobody needs to jump to his defence for anything. When he plays crappy, and fans call it out, it's nothing more than that. Racism? How about we talk racism in relation to an NBA legend like Bill Russell? There is absolutely no comparison between what Russell endured, and how it affected him and his relationship with NBA fans, to what Lin has experienced so far. Russell is an 11 time champion, a 5 time MVP, and a 12 time all-star. The dark side of his career was that he dealt with a high level of overt racism. In one incident, his house was broken into, racist graffiti on his walls, his trophies trashed, and his beds were defecated in. He was so affected by the ongoing racism during his career that when the Celtics retired his number, Russell didn't attend the ceremony. Lin is getting plenty of opportunities and recognition, and he's having a successful career. Nobody hates him, and certainly not more than other players like Lebron. Nothing is for certain in the NBA, and if he goes no further than this current contract with the Rockets, then it won't be because somebody is holding him back, being racist, getting revenge, or anything else other than Lin's own playing ability and whether it fits in with some team's current need. It's not kindergarten. It's pro ball.
Absolutely. The Rockets roster is obviously happy and content. And playing and winning about as expected. That is the most important goal of the head coach.
Great player not so great coach............................................... We need another coach to take THIS TEAM WITH THIS TALENT TO THE PROMISE LAND
WOW. Just interjected your opinion without reading the numerous important statements on this thread? Gotta love the ostrich head in the sand attitude.
Frustrating that a large handful of users here view Lin as 'untouchable' and refuse to acknowledge the holes in his game. Here's one for example: Jeremy gets pushed around and bullied by stronger more physical defenders (see Tony Allen) and this causes him to get into bad positions with the ball in his hand and turn it over. Sometimes, the match up is not favorable to have him in the game for 30+ mins, and sometimes it is.
lol, I'm talking about when Harden came on board. That made them a lot stronger as a team. But I also feel even if Harden wasn't on the team the Rockets would have made a good effort anyway (maybe not playoffs , might be close). Lin can bring a bunch of scrubs and motivate them to play better because he is a competitor. See Linsanity. lakers were a combination of fail. Coaching, player egos, expectations, and injury problems.
When did ripping Kevin McHale as coach become a per-requisite for not letting him do his job and judging the results later ? Some people just can't leave well enough alone. As I remember we at least got to the playoffs last year with complete team turnover and chaos much of the time. Sick of this rip McHale mentality already !
great post, and agree with everything you said except for the last part. he IS being held back, but not because of racism, revenge, pride, etc. it's simply because he's stuck with a coach that doesn't value what he does well and may in fact even irritate the hell out of him when lin plays like a riverboat gambler. and that's fine. really. plenty of players went through that at times in their careers - even lottery picks. it's plain as day that there are certain qualities that mchale looks for in a pg, and lin doesn't have it, but bev does. it's a little hard to pinpoint exactly what those are since mchale never stated them but some of the theories thrown out there probably come close. is mchale being "unfair" and a racist? no. he's sticking with what he's comfortable with and as a coach, he has a right to do that. that's just the way it is. some coaches like Y, and some like X. morey picks the players that he thinks can produce and contribute to the team, but it's up to mchale to decide how to use these players, and they may not always see eye to eye. and that's why all players also have the right to chose who they want to play for at certain times in their careers. you're not stuck in one place for the rest of your career. if lin doesn't think he can thrive under mchale, he will leave when his contract is up.
it seems that practically (or literally) nobody here considers mchale to be an exceptional coach. we have a group who think he's terrible, another who finds him average, and then even some who deem him above-average. so then the question becomes for those who think mchale should stay: why do the houston rockets not deserve an exceptional coach?
Examples. Maybe you are the ostrich with its head in the sand, when watching when Mch. coaches. Mch's record and lack of in game coaching speaks for itself. No examples needed. What I said is the bottom line....................................
hit the nail on the head...Anyone who thinks the rockets would have been terrible last year without harden is delusional...We were 8th seed last year with Harden...we would have challenged for a similar spot without him...the factor of the matter is, when you remove harden, other players step in and fill up the minutes/shots/touches etc and oftentimes, do a better job...with lin parsons bev asik and emerging set of bigs, we would have been a playoff team anyway...harden is a very good player no doubt, but he changes the dynamic of the team and it is hard to gauge exactly what he brings to the table and what he removes from the table...case in point, the bulls with derrick rose lost to the heat in 5 games in the 2011 playoffs, they lost to the heat in 5 games in the 2013 playoffs so it really makes you think about what his value to the team is. Now if someone counters with "YOU NEED A SUPERSTAR TO WIN A TITLE"....I would say you need the RIGHT superstar (leaning towards the unselfish efficient stars like lebron, duncan, KD and not melo types) with the right players around him and a strong coach...people don't realize it takes so many things to go right to win a title
No reason they shouldn't have one. But the reason Rockets fans should want a new coach is to improve on what we already have. Not so he will right the (ludicrously perceived) wrongs that the current regime has levied on Lin.
I believe I have a levelheaded and statistically oriented approach to the Rockets. And I can think of no one that I would rather have coaching this roster. The correct analysis is complex, involving McHale's role in a Morey dominated environment, his influence on the players, their attitudes at the current moment, a concise fact based opinion of the value of X's and O's, McHale's actual main mission ("Leader of Men"), the Rockets actual performance versus expectations, his influence on recruiting star players, his ability to tailor the team to fit the players strengths, etc. Any replacement for McHale would fall short of what he has accomplished.
great supporting points to add to what I said. I agree, another point or example is Melo. Guy is elite scorer no doubt, but he needs to be surrounded by the right people, or 1 person to make him truly effective and not be the iso-baller he is. In the olympics melo played off the ball and was amazing. In that role, he knew other ppl were as good or better than him, so he can't really just dominate the ball etc. he knew he had to play a team role in order to win. that's just the way how some personalities are.
