Nobody is defending him. Just noting that if you listen to pretty smart basketball people they will tell you that McHale is far from the Rockets biggest problem, and actually he should be commended for what he's doing from a superstar personality meshing standpoint. Not one of your McHale scapegoatists even acknowledge what he's doing behind the scenes as a leader in the locker room. Yes, McHale is not the greatest X's and O's coach that's ever walked the face of the earth, but the Rockets have more pressing needs right now that are much more of an issue rather than McHale's out of bounds plays that you dont like (that matter about 2% of the time on the court) or his rotations that dont favor your favorite player. If the Rockets can upgrade the coaching position in the off-season THEY WILL... But that's not the biggest priority right now. So chill the F out. The Rockets are having one of their best seasons in the history of the franchise under McHale. Angry McHale haters are obviously just simply unhappy people that would be unhappy even if they won the lottery, and just married Kate Upton. They'd probably be the type of person that would complain about the sound of Kate's voice, or how their friends are now asking them for money.
I think McHale has done pretty well earning the respect of the players, keeping the mood up and managing egos. Dwight Howard has not been a problem at all and I think the coach should get the credit for that. He doesn't seem like a guy who does a lot of in-game coaching, though, which is potentially his downfall. He's certainly not like a college coach that manages possessions. He is not in the same league as Doc Rivers, Pop or Spoelstra and if Houston wants such a coach then they should let McHale go. However, I think Morey likes to have a coach that will enforce the system he wants to play and McHale is a good fit for that. Can that system win a championship? That isn't clear.
What do you want them to do? Start running the triangle half-way through the game? If you folks actually paid attention to the basketball sets they are running, they do make in game adjustments ALL THE FREAKING TIME. However they are not going to deviate away from the system that has made them a top 5 team in the NBA since the new year. The style of play ISN'T CHANGING. The Rockets were projected by many to be a 48 to 52 win team, and that was with full health and assuming they would make an Asik trade. The fact is the Rockets should finish with no fewer that 53 wins, and potential upside is to get 6 out of the next 8 wins with a favorable schedule. With the injuries, and the lackluster play from role players, they would be on the verge of a history making season if they were on pace to have a 60 win season with this unit, and Harden would for sure be the hands down MVP of the league if he got this team to 60 wins in an incredibly difficult conference where the 9th seed Suns would be the 3rd seed in the Eastern conference. I think some of you folks here are seriously under appreciating how freaking amazing it is that the Rockets should finish this season with an impressive 53 to 55 wins.
That's just not true. The misconception that the read and react style of offense contains no plays isn't correct. And he's made plenty of in game adjustments. Some have actually turned out to be great moves and may have won us games. I've never been a huge fan of the hire but at least be honest and give the guy his due.
Oh... and I hate to break it to you folks, but other than Howard, and Harden you guys really really overvalue how talented this team is. I love alot of these players(Bev & Parsons especially), and think that guys like Jones and D-Mo have a great career ahead of them, but lets be honest about the REAL talent on this team. The surrounding pieces just simply aren't that great in all honesty. However to think that really just Howard and Harden can drag this team to a 50 win season in a loaded conference is pretty freaking amazing. It speaks volumes about how talented those two guys really are. The stars in Houston really are severely underrated among the fans here.
What we have here is a bunch of low post count newbies chanting "Fire McHale" while the people who have shown excellence over the years for their acute and insightful analysis of the Rockets say he is just fine. I personally do not always agree with dobro and larvsv8 or in a few cases jtr (LOL) but I always read and consider their opinions carefully. They display a wisdom only won through hard work, watching many many games, research, deep thought and insightful analysis. All of you "newbies" would do well to listen to them too.
McHale's lack of knowledge of half court sets and failure to run plays coming out of timeouts will be his downfall in the playoffs. The fact that the Rockets right now are on 50+ win season coming out of from a year where the Rockets made the 8th seed is not an excuse or evidence that he is coaching at a high level. In fact, it only goes to show how much talent our team has. -He doesn't run offensive sets especially in crunch time. Too many times near the end of games when there is no "go-to-play" instead relying on the iso. All of Harden's late game heroics are a byproduct of his own talent and do not reflect Mchale's ability to coach. -Questionable rotations -Overplays his stars (Parsons especially) and its starting to show now that a bench with barely that much playing time is having a **** show out there; A great coach would have developed his bench along with the starters throughout the season instead of overplaying the starters. Too many times has Parsons/Harden played for 40+ minutes even in unnecessary blowouts. -Undisciplined defense. Besides howard and beverley, there are no positives about our defense. Perimeter D sucks. There are too many over-rotations and helping with the 1 pass away. You'd think after more than a year, he would improve on this. Will he get sacked? It is not far from being impossible in spite of the Rockets record. Lionel Hollins (41-25 -> 56-26) -Lost in conference finals George Karl (38-28 -> 57-25) -1st round exit Vinny del Negro (38-28 -> 57-25) -1st round exit These are some coaches that were not rehired/sacked despite 50+ win seasons coming from subpar performances the previous year. Post-playoffs, he probably hit the can. Here's a reason why he might not get fired: -Morey needs someone to follow his math unquestionably. Mchale is perfect because he's a damn pushover. Morey is a moneyball guy and needs a coach that bends to his system.
A well considered post. You are to be commended for the thought behind your words. But ... The NBA has a shot clock. 24 seconds. Five of which are consumed by getting the ball over the half court line. Is 19 or 20 seconds enough to allow the coach to call a play? Do you see hand signals or hear voices from the sidelines yelling out cryptic words at Harden, dictating what play to run? Or for any NBA team for that matter? I do not. The R&R offense, run in one variety or the other by every NBA team, depends on training offensive players in practice and games to make their own decisions. Game time is up to the players. Called plays get blown up in an instant by modern NBA defenses. The first offensive option is dead in the water, and do you expect a head coach to have called option 2 or 3? After time outs is a different conversation. Playing time. Complex. If you attribute that decision completely to the head coach you are mistaken. There is the input of the player, the assistant coaches, the training staff that is considered. How many minutes do Harden and Parsons play in blowout wins on the front end of back to backs? I do have the answer. But just make a guess. I could go on, but if you look up my posts I have covered defense. In great detail. Few posters around here have any idea what NBA defense means. It is not the defense of a decade ago. I look forward to your discussion of the modern NBA defense. Good luck there.
It could be worse. The rockets would be really bad if Chandler Parsons and Pat Beverley didn't develop into nba players. People can become nba players under Kevin Mchale's guidance and that's what the Rockets need most. I think good guidance in our society is way undervalued. With that said Kevin McHale needs to do some professional self-improvement this offseason with plays, and explaining things to fans. Sometimes Kevin Mchale comes off as manic but manic may be a normal for nba coaches and front offices. We should be fair and give Kevin Mchale the opportunity and the time because right now he's burdened with other responsibilities.
See my post above. Plays, except out of timeouts and in bound passes are practically non-existent in the NBA. And if I remember correctly - the Wizards game - McHale did just fine.
SMH... keep riding your own little circle jerk and believing that your own opinions should be regarded as facts. It's really pathetic how some of you need to feed off each other for reassurance and make yourselves feel good about yourself. Keep displacing and projecting your own feelings about LOFs to any posts you see regarding criticism of rockets. Anyways I'm done with this thread.
I seriously LOL'ed. How many times do we have to keep saying this: THE HOUSTON ROCKETS RUN BOTH HALF COURT SETS AND PLAYS
Well, come on and show your intimate knowledge and laser sharp understanding of the NBA game. You are just a sideline sniper with no knowledge or understanding. Give me a 800 word treatise on Coach Thibs defense. Tell us your interpretation of the Rockets offensive system, and how it reflects Morey's vision of the game. Give a shred of evidence that you have the slightest understanding of this game.
