Actually, I sympathize Harden on this one. Passing balls around in the so-called RnR is not necessarily good alternative to Harden's ISO. Convince him of otherwise, he might comply. But McHale is incapable of offering such better alternatives through play planning.
since when did Danny Ainge's recommendation carry any weight in the rockets organization? It is only because he is Morey's former boss that the rockets would even consider hiring 39-55 Kevin Mchale. And if Ainge believed that former players make good coaches since when is it more fashionable to hire former celtics players than former rockets players?
McHale style of coaching is that of the old school style of favoritism and hierarchy. He has his guys and that's that! His short rotation proves this. If you're one of "his guys" you will have opportunities to play even if you really can't. If you make a mistake, its alright, you'll do better next time. If you're not one of his guys, you ride the pine and anything you contribute is a fluke and should not be addressed. "His guys" love him and often praise him, just ask KG. If you're on his naughty list(Lowry) you can't do be trusted with the ball.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/374x8V2rouo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> See how McHale kinda knows what hes doing with this team compared to the team now even though we have 2 superstars. McHale also running a play called the "Shuffle Cut"
I don't think it is necessarily a good idea to have a coach that all players have to like. I'd rather the coach be firm and respected for his coaching abilities and prowess than just being a coach players love to play for and is well liked. If they love playing for him so much, then why do they come out some nights against inferior teams and play like they just don't care. They play to get by and keep pace for three quarters. Then, just expect someone will step up in the 4th quarter to seal the deal. A coach needs to be firm with his players and let them know he is not going to put up with that kind of mentality or lack of commitment. McHale talks tough after such games and losses to the media. Yet, the team repeats the same kind of performance shortly thereafter. I just wonder if the well-loved coach is commanding the same respect as the coach who doesn't care if his players like him much or not? "We love playing for coach!" is not a qualification I care about. It only sets up situations where players get away with stuff on the court that a more firm coach wouldn't tolerate. The team may be a family off the court...but on the court they need to be all business and McHale needs to coach them like they are an army taking on an enemy and not a family taking on a neighborhood pick-up game.
Mchale is not great but not horrible, this is a great example on how he can run plays, harden came in last year shooting at almaring high percentage and putting up "superstar" points his first 2 games. Lin started off bad, This caused Mchale to allow on harden to ISO to win games. But he has to know when to switch it up. Hardens head only got bigger. This year Mchale incorporated a good inside out offense to adjust to our new STAR, but Howard doesn't set the screens like asik & ppat did so we tend to ISO or when players drive you don't see the the front court rolling as much with them.
Dude. it's a new year and I suggest you reexamine the priorities in your life. Number one - stop stalking rofflesaurus. I don't know him personally, but I doubt he is interested.
If harden continues to play this game once we get a new coach then we will know it wasn't mchales fault. It's sad we have to bring in a enforcer coach just to get a rockets player to not ISO and give more effort on D.
I'm not sure where to put this, so I'll put this here. http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2014/01/rockets-players-meet-talk-about-effort-and-unity/ After the Rockets lost their second straight game on Tuesday (110-106 to Sacramento), the players got together for a meeting about things that need to change. The main topic of the talk – effort. “Effort and not getting down on each other,” forward Chandler Parsons said. “We have lost a lot of games that we feel like we shouldn’t have and that’s the most frustrating part. We feel like we have a chance to be really good and we’re not. We are losing to teams we shouldn’t. We are losing games we shouldn’t and it’s frustrating. But we are going to be talking nonstop. We will figure it out.” Guard James Harden said that if the team can up it’s energy level and give a little more for every game, they will see more wins. “We feel like we let a lot of games slip away,” he said. Guard Jeremy Lin agrees. He said with more intensity from every player, the Rockets problems on the court will start to fade away. “I really think and believe if we have effort then we will be fine,” Lin said. “If we have effort we don’t need to have any more meetings.”
It's not just about effort. They need someone to keep them all equally accountable for that effort. It should be McHale, but if he's not willing to get in everyone's face, then he's actually doing a disservice to this team.
I agree, I'm not impressed with these comments. I guess all teams go through rough patches, a few wins and some of the guys get their shooting touch back and things may be OK. But, there are still team defensive and offensive issues and leadership issues that need to be worked out.
Also, the Saga with Asik which IMO is a very important player in the rotation, is on McHale. He didn't know how to handle this properly which I surely hope didn't cost us a player like Asik. It works pretty good in San Antonio with Splitter and Duncan. bringing a player like Asik from the bench to give us incredible minutes when DH12 is resting on the bench, often stuck in foul problems, or don't want to put him on the court because of FTs. Also, all the 'effort' meetings and whatever is a direct result of lack of coaching. Also harden is playing only on one side of the court and its not defense. If I was the opposing team, I had attack him every play. He gives like 10% effort on defense and that's when he is even looking at his man.
