You misunderstood, it's more about Harden committing, Ariza coming in, Howard being more serious than McHale improving as a coach (as some after me have pointed out). It's not about winning = player, losses = coach.
I find it perplexing that on 11/4, with the Rockets at 4-0 there was an out pouring of McHale hate. Yet on 11/6 none of those posters are to be found. 4-0, 6-0 what is the difference?
LOL at some who are not giving credit to McHale for Hardens improvement on defense and offense. D. Morey even stated McHale had them working on defense at least 80% of the time during practice. And that is including Harden. Their whole theme is, in order for them to become contenders, they have play solid defense.
Certainly. McHale's little finger has more basketball knowledge than every single fan on this forum put together. Anyone who denies that this team was not McHale's intent all along is just denying the obvious. This Rockets team is the goal of every single GM and coach in the league. Getting here was very difficult for McHale and Morey. But few organizations have ever put together a NBA team that looks as good as the Rockets right now. They are a joy to watch.
What's the deal with the Rocket players standing all alone outside the three pointline. Why doesn't McHale call some plays and get them involved?
To me, McHale seems to come from the school of thought that sometimes a person will only learn to change when they personally experience a negative consequences of their action-- learning not to touch the flame only after getting your finger painfully burned. McHale, Sampson and company no doubt talked about defense to Harden and the rest of the guys. But it's hard for the message to sink in when the team was on their way to 54-28 in the regular season and achieving the goal set out by management (home court advantage in 1st round). Dwight Howard even said after his exit interview something to the effect that last year's team thought they could coast and smile most of the season before turning it up. It took a series in which neither team could stop the other from scoring and ending on a last second shot for Harden to learn that the lackadaisical defense won't fly.
Absolutely. Coaches can talk all day long to players. It may or may not have an effect. Great players change to strive for championships. Are we seeing a new Harden dedicated to winning? Time will certainly tell.
Except that the entire team is playing much better team defense. Did the whole team go work with Thibs and Coach K? Face it, he and his assistants are stressing good defensive principles and the players are executing them. Whether you like the guy or not that is a positive.
Pretty much. And they are playing beautiful basketball. Which every head coach and GM in the league aspires to. Enjoy it fans.
McHale is a big reason Dwight came here. Dwight said so. McHale chose Bev over Lin. McHale is bringing Papanikolaou in quite nicely. McHale has the second-best winning % as a Rockets coach (over Van Gundy, for example). McHale has a winning record against Popovich. Everyone agrees on those strengths of McHale. I know I have a "loser" mentality and everyone else is a "winner," but I still enjoy the Rockets and their head coach.
We as fans are lucky to have a coach as adept as McHale. How many head coaches could possibly work so seamlessly with Morey? And yes, Morey is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Player relations and motivation is the primary responsibility of a coach today in the NBA. Few fans wish to acknowledge that fact. And this season the Rockets are playing beautiful basketball.
Time to close this thread for now. This season so far has been a polarizing McHale (except 3rd quarter of game 2) and James Harden's defense compared to last season.
As long as you keep that signature, no one gives a flying f**k about what you have to say regarding Harden or anything involving defense.
The whole Rockets team have become a better defensive ball club. Jeremy Lin was truly addition by subtraction.
Some how this season we are seeing huge improvements in two areas from the Rockets. Defensive commitment and offensive passing. I personally cannot fathom what it took from the players and the coaching staff to institute such monumental philosophical changes this off season. But I believe that every single Rockets fan should applaud the work and the dedication of both the players and the coaching staff. And the front office for their brilliant moves despite the adversity of losing Bosh this off season. And yes, losing players can have a positive effect on a team. But it takes balls of brass to do it.
Let's say we make the conference finals but it's obvious McHale has only marginally improved as a coach. How would you guys feel about an extension? I mean you don't let go of a guy who's most recent playoff run was a trip to the conference finals in year 2 of the Harden and Howard duo, right?
The current McHale is an interesting example of a NBA head coach. Why, you might ask, was McHale ever hired in the first place? I contend he was hired because he showed both a willingness and interest in working hand in hand with Morey. And we should all face the fact that this is Morey's team. McHale took a job with many more restrictions than most head coaches would ever consider. Do you all know that McHale has the authority to appoint exactly one of the five or so coaches he works with? All the rest are Morey hires. Every NBA player looks up to McHale. He has been where Harden Howard, Ariza etc. have been. And he was arguably a better player than any of them. Howard flat out stated that McHale's presence as head coach influenced his decision to sign with Houston. What exactly does a NBA head coach do? What are his responsibilities? Head coaches have to be a primary face of the franchise. Head coaches have to manage many dozens of people, including the players, and it would not surprise me in the least if McHale has open office hours between 9 and 1 every day of the week. Head coaches are solely responsible for player relations, and if that aspect goes South, they will certainly be fired. But an often overlooked side of a head coach is that they are responsible for the offensive and defensive philosophies of the team. How many of us would have not wilted in the face of Morey trading away much of what McHale worked with throughout preseason to obtain Harden two years ago? Coach, you have 48 hours and no offensive playbook before the start of the season. Fix it. Or how about "coach, I just traded away all of your veteran power forwards at the all star break. Find a way to remain competitive".
