They fired him as punishment for how he handled his retirement last year period. It was the Rox you don't quit us, we quit you moment.
Jeff did it to himself. He continued to not adjust off of back picks, the Warriors got the match ups they wanted. This has been a problem for some time and the Warriors finally exploited it. That is on Jeff.
TF spent money to bring Jeff back last year, including a large raise. He has always spent his own money for UH coaching candidates that were good and has paid coaches to not coach before. I am not concerned about money being an issue with the Rockets coaching search. The bigger concern is who is out there, that runs a defense similar to Jeff B.... because it is unlikely the Rockets go completely away from the switch defense.
In the past TF has not fired a coach without a replacement at UH. So my guess is that TF and Morey have a good idea of who they can get. Yes, the Rockets were not happy that Jeff quit the way he did, and so close to the season. There is also a sense of resentment that the slow start in part was because RR was thrown into a position he wasn't ready for and the team and defense suffered. He quit so late that there was no time to get a replacement. He then only comes back after increased pay and there were some very questionable decisions and lack of adjustments down the stretch. I don't know that the Rockets care if the coach they get is young, but he will likely need to believe in analytics and also coach some form of defense where switching happens. It is unlikely the Rockets suddenly turn to a coach like Hollins that preaches man to man defense. Also, there is a good chance that whoever the Rockets get will be named Associate Head Coach. The reason is that it can allow the Rockets to possibly negotiate with some coaches connected to other staffs. The Rockets like Darren Erman in New Orleans, but I don't think Gentry will allow the Rockets to interview him, and I believe he has already been named Associate Head Coach there. The Rockets could go a little deeper and try and pluck Will Hardy from the Spurs, but there is a risk with hiring a coach the same age as the players. There were a lot of issues surrounding Jeff B and the defense, and the lack of adjustments. There were some off the court issues with his family and it arguably had an impact on the floor.
D'Antoni doesn't run the defense, Jeff B runs the defense. The Rockets issues down the stretch of close games in the playoffs were on the defensive end and there were no adjustments made. The Warriors were setting back picks and getting the switch match ups they wanted through out the series and it was never addressed. I'm not saying Jeff B is a bad coach (he isn't), but something that glaring cannot be allowed.
THIS. The Rockets lost game 5 and 6 because of lack of defensive adjustments. Particularly when KD went down on forward. Disappointing that the Rockets could not seize the opportunity when it presented itself. It was a defensive issue, not offensive.
I'm sorry, but when a team runs 10 PnR's with the same 2 players in a single quarter (Curry and Draymond in the 4th) of an elimination game, and they score on EIGHT of those possessions without any adjustments from you, it's completely justified for your job to be in jeopardy. While Jeff might ultimately be the "fall guy", he's not blameless. This entire coaching staff's undoing is the inability to adjust mid-game. I understand trusting your system, but sometimes tweaking things and implementing a new strategy that the opponent wasn't anticipating is a must.
I seen a lot of bad turnovers from the rox in the last minutes. Lack of urgency on the offense. But that is just me .
who do you think is on the radar? Vogel, Messina?, anyone on the below staffs? top defensive teams Indiana Miami Memphis Utah Orlando Denver Detroit Boston Toronto
They liked Vogel but I think it’s less than 50/50 that he’d leave his job as head coach of the Lakers to be our assistant
This is one drawback for having a defensive associate head coach. He doesn’t get to choose the substitution patterns. Maybe he wanted Capela to sit because of the switching but MDA wanted Capela in. An NFL defensive coordinator can make his own subs as necessary. That’s why you really need a head coach who is responsible and accountable for both offense and defense. This situation where one guy is in charge of offense and the other guy in charge of defense while they have to use the same players for both is difficult.
MDA: "Okay so Chris is supposed to come across here and James comes out to the -" LDA: "Always so funny Mike, baby we all know you don't call any plays."
That is a fair point, but Phil Jackson won a butt load of titles and he didn't run the offense or the defense. The Warriors at first had Adams run the defense and Gentry run the offense while Steve Kerr got to just stand there and look smug. I don't have a problem with having a division. If there is a problem between the two coaches, then that can be taken into consideration by the GM.
