I don't think it should be the coaches responsibility to motivate guys that get paid millions of dollars a year to play the game and that "talk" about how much they want to win. It's hard to evaluate the coaches with the poor effort the players give every other night. Yes the coaches are at fault, but not to the extent everyone on the board wants to put on them. Harden is the face of the franchise, he needs to shoulder the blame and be a leader.
McHale needs to figure out what can be done when Harden is having an off night, or else we lose to anybody once Harden struggles. I would have played KJ instead of Brewer for a while, well too late he has been sent to the D League. Would have played a power forward for rebounding but that is an in game adjustment he missed out on. The Key is Lawson and DMo, D12 is going to do his thing but when Harden has an off night DMo and Lawson can carry the load. DMo is not ready to play so right now it falls on Lawson. McHale needs to get Lawson to play like the Denver Lawson and have a bigger impact on the game especially when Harden struggles. Lawson is here and he knows this is Harden's team, so he is probably hesitating to be aggressive. When McHale gets last years Lawson we won't have these offensive drop offs. Morey has put together a good team, we just need the team to come out blazing every night. I am not a McHale fan but if he made it work with all the injuries last year he can do it again this year.
Pretty sure he's the only player that's "backing it up" as of late. He had a slow start to the season but since the 3rd game has kicked it up to MVP level again. I don't see much from anyone else besides him and Dwight on a nightly basis.
Every one knows I don't like McHale but I attack his coaching I don't attack him personally. Attacking James hArdens personal life is low. Close this thread.
Here you guys go with the personal life s*** again. Like Kobe isn't getting a** and dealing with a wife and kids and brand. If getting a** and screwing strippers hurt a players skills Shaq, mj, Ewing and others wouldn't be hof players. FOH.. Dating khloe isn't making harden Iso for 24 seconds or have a down year shooting.
And comparing him to curry is silly. Curry is the best player in the game right now we don't need him to be curry. We need him to sharpen up and d and for McHale to stop playing dumb*** small ball. Even in the games we won we got KILLED on the boards. Clint looks lost as well on d and he's young so that's okay.
It's really not being talked about enough how pathetic it is that the Rockets have 7 rotation players currently shooting below 40%. Hard to win any games when you simply have way too many people not putting the ball into the hoop at a passable level.
You mean "backing it up" on 1 side of the court for half the games. Ariza and dwight must get tired giving effort on defense just to watch Harden and Lawson play awful on d every night.
The Coach isn't the one jacking up terrible shots. The coach is the one who will get fired for benching players like harden and lawson.
You know it is a failing on the coach because EVEN when Harden sits Lawson does not initiate the offense. People say "Sit Lawson!" well they do. They stagger their minutes and even when Harden sits on the bench Lawson just stands on the perimeter as a spot up shooting. The coach allows this, if he tells his players to give Lawson the damn ball then they will give Lawson the damn ball.
Professional is one thing to one person and maybe more to another. I'm taking your mention of it to include a broad definition beyond demonstrating competency of athletic skills and I agree. I don't doubt that every player in the locker room wants to win a championship and does understand that losses like last night to the Nets is counter-productive to that goal. What seems to be a lack of effort can also come about because, despite their intent and efforts to play well as a team, many of the individuals are puzzled and scratching their heads, wondering why it isn't working as hoped for and intended. When the feeling of synergy disappears for stretches in games, players can become tentative and think too much. The only time the Rockets have looked like last season is when Harden played the same role he did last season. And that is not what was hoped for after acquiring Lawson. Chemistry is almost a magical thing in sports. How players get to a point where they seemingly play collectively as a single mind is not really understood or it would be the norm. There is no formula. We all recognize chemistry when we see it. It's where effort incorporates an instinctive performance that happens almost effortlessly -- similar to player saying they get into a "zone." Chemistry is harder to develop if players are trying to do things they can't do. I don't think there are enough consistent shooters on this team to make the systems they are trying to follow work well or consistently. Players do best and work together best when each one does what he does best and no more. The players are all asked to shoot a lot of 3-pointers in practice, but when it becomes apparent it isn't working in a game, that plan should be abandoned. Otherwise, your trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. For the Rockets, defense certainly fuels their offensive success. Defense should be easier to master than offense, in theory. But that, too, has to become instinctive. Knowing the defensive strategy is not enough, either. Everyone has to make rotations and movements instinctively by recognizing situations as they develop and even seeing them coming. That is hard to do. Players will always make mistakes on defense. But the Rockets have shown in the past they can play very good defense. Why they don't for a full 48 minutes may be as simple as it just requires too much energy. After all, how many teams that you can remember held opponents to under 100 points average over the course of a season? So no matter how good defenses are, offensive wins the battle often enough for defenses to be scored on regularly. This struggle is mostly on the players. But to think they have some magic way of developing sought after chemistry is not recognized that it is almost magical. When McHale is derided for saying "just play harder," that may be about the only thing that is under each player's control regarding developing chemistry, with the result of more consistent success.
I was there. Our team has really not played well overall. Marcus Thronton has even put up pretty good numbers but with that his defense isn't very great against anyone. Like I said there are a few guys that have played well and even that hasn't been well enough to consistently win games. Instead of placing the blame on one or two I'd place the blame on the entire team, we just don't have it together. From coaching staff to the players on the court. That being said we need to show up against Dallas before they embarrass us out there on Saturday.
I'm not a McHale hater, but I think this is his real weak spot as a coach. It's his job to make sure the players are in the right frame of mind every night and come prepared to get the job done. If someone isn't cooperating, it's up to him to figure out why and get that player motivated. That's hard to do in today's NBA because the players are all millionaires who have been coddled since middle school, but some coaches manage to get it done. McHale is a great coach in a lot of ways (that crap going on in Sacramento would never happen with him as coach), but his big failure is that he's simply not a very good motivator.
true. the problem right now is that we aint even playing up to our talent and potential level (evidenced by the loss last night to the nets for example). and that's worrisome. whether or not we have enough talent and potential to reach to the wfc again and beyond,,, is a whole different question...
McHale is an underwhelming "coach" (if that's what you want to call him. Harden can't hold STEPHEN Curry's jock!!! Curry is on an MJ all-time level. Harden is A young Gibobili but mot as smart or committed.
