Sources: McHale using Sampson's absence as an excuse for poor defense

I believe the whole 'Sampson kept Harden accountable' thing. Unfortunately, Mchale, he's gone so you may have to do that. Or it's your job.

DD, please do something about your head coach.

 

we need coach thibs

what coaches are available after this season?

 

If this story is true, McHale really isn't owning his responsibility. I think he just opened the door to getting fired.

 

what a ****ing pathetic eunuch mchale is. this blundering lenny has yet to accept any responsibility for any loss to date in his 3 years here as head coach, much less ever admit to even the slightest coaching error in any game at all.

with him it is always the players' fault or injuries or now in this case, the absence of someone to hold his wittle hand on the bench.

i'm just disgusted that this hollow character, this sham of a coach has stained this team for 3 long years already.

 

Something tells me the next set of assistants hired will likely have those clauses in their contracts(assuming the NBA labor deal doesn't bar that sort of thing). But the real issue here is not Sampson leaving. It's that the rest of the coaching staff including McHale himself were left with their pants down as a result. How can you be so inept that your entire defensive system and ability to make in-game adjustments at that end of the floor goes out the window just because one assistant leaves? Especially when Sampson's departure occurred at the end of the season. Are you telling me McHale couldn't continue what Sampson had been doing? That the players suddenly forgot how to play defense? That the team is so lost out there that the concept of a double team seems foreign to them?

 

Wait, so McHale doesn't run the defense, nor does he run any offensive plays.

 

The other thing I don't understand here is why would you let such an important piece of the puzzle simply walk away at the most crucial point of the season. Why couldn't the Cougs and Sampson agree and then let Sampson coach out the rest of the season? I understand the whole recruiting deal but come on now. Did we really have a contract with Sampson that allowed him to walk to any head coaching job at any point in time and couldn't some better arrangement have been worked out here?

 

This team plays a bad defense all year round with or without Sampson, the head coach need take the responsibility.

 

Bring in the Van Gundy brothers.

 

i beileve it. Our defense did get even wrost when Sampson left. Sampson did hold Harden accoutable. In a radio interview, he said he called him out about it

 

also, if sampson was here, he'd use the 'defense schemes is on the players not the coaches" excuse again.

 

Holy **** this is perfect.

 

This was my biggest concern when Sampson left. McHale and the rest of the staff seem to be clueless. We always knew Sampson was the defense guy so who did they think was going to step up as the next defensive coach? The impact of his loss has been much greater than anyone would have expected.

Still how hard is it when a player is going off to try SOMETHING/ANYTHING different than what was happening? If the philosophy is let LMA get his and shut down the rest it didn't work....for two games!! Perhaps McHale thought Asik was in foul trouble in game 1 so we'll try again with Asik guarding him in game 2...same result. It's past time to make that adjustment McHale and it's on you as the head coach to get it done.

 

Who knows? Maybe UH demanded Sampson start immediately. Maybe the Rockets(including Morey) naively believed that they could handle the departure of Sampson before the end of the season. It's still beside the point.

Someone mentioned in this thread and it was brought up on one of the local radio stations this morning. If Sampson was this important to the team, then why wasn't he the head coach instead of McHale?

 

Nate McMillan or George Karl. They know how to handle primadonnas as well as coach on both ends of the floor.

 

I think I want Lionel Hollins....

 

He cannot be serious. You still have to get the players to play defense. You still have to coach defense. You still have to teach defensive rotations and such. WHAT THE HELL DOES SAMPSON NOT BEING HERE HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING. It isn't like we were defensive stalwarts when he was here.

 

cyberx, thanks for the inside info.

I'm surprised Morey does not know what every fan already knows--McHale is a very very bad coach. So Sampson was the one doing all the coaching. And McHale kept deflecting the blame away from him to ... Morey ("why did you allow him to leave"?)

The important thing is what is the team going to do now. Who is gonna take control of this team? Calvin Murphy, anyone? Hakeem?

Les must have been livid, so Morey is also giving the coaches the same treatment.

 

I forgot to add do y'all remember during the McHale interview he said we were trying to double team but LMA was making his moves too fast for the double to come over. Did any see a double coming over or even trying to?? I didn't.

 

LOL exactly what I ahve said all along.

1. Sampson ahd the cojones to call out Harden on D. McHale is just timid and lets the players do whatever they want

2. McHale is a gimmick coach and takes no accountability for himself or the team. pathetic coach, not championship caliber at all.