You have to start at the top when it comes to taking responsibility for the Rox problems over the years. Les is so thirsty for big names and Morey's basketball philosophy is very flawed and not conducive to producing a real contender I believe. Also as some posters have pointed out, Morey's philosophy of 3s and layups really doesn't fit the roster he has (a bunch of guys who are not really good shooters and miss at the rim often). Its a head scratcher at this point. Then they added Josh Smith and it's really been thrown off. I agreed it was worth a try signing Smith but the team added yet another player who really doesn't fit the philosophy of this team. The only reason the Rox are 22-10 is because Harden has played like he's the best freaking player on the planet most of this year and he has covered up soooooo many flaws with this team/organization. Also a big current problem right now beyond the front office is that Dwight Howard is a head case but that's a different subject for a different thread.
Are you having some type of problem with your knees? Some type of tingling sensation making them want to produce quick, sharp, sudden movements?
when we win tonight everybody is going to go back to saying we are the best team in the nba and we just need time. We blame the media for looking to closely at 1 game when we are very guilty of this ourselves. Ever show up to work and have an off day, a bad week. Remember that these guys are human as well and emotion plays a major factor in your job. And with all of the reconstruction of our team its going to take time. And the one thing I will say IMO about our chemistry is we haven't looked the same since they cut Garcia. He might have been on the decline but everyone in that locker room loved that guy. Taking a veteran leader off of our team like him couldn't have sat well with everyone.
the one thing I will say is if there is anyone to blame it is McHale. He has shown an inability to make any adjustments during a game. See our playoff series last year to prove that point. And he always falls back on the ebs and flows of an NBA season anytime something is going wrong, never holding the players accountable. If you notice Pop or any other great coach after a loss they are very quick to either take the blame themselves or say the players weren't up to par that night. Giving him a three year extension to me was a big mistake. But this isn't a one game reaction, this is something ive noticed over the past two years, hes just not very good at his job, plain and simple.
great thread, prepare for it to be rated 1 star though. Too many sheeple on here that are willing to look past the fact that we have been one of, if not the worst franchises in terms of postseason success over the last 18~ yrs. You have the league MVP leader, scoring leader, "the best center", and finally a deep team. What we have been seeing is a d-league team.
Who do you think hired mchale...who do you think decided to give him a contract 30 games in...who do you think promised Smith a starting spot?
it really does feel like the bottom dropped out for this team, and it doesn't seem an easy fix. i'm no longer optimistic about our chances this year, and i was a big big fan of this team a few weeks ago. they played good-looking and successful basketball, but now there isn't anything this team is doing well, aside from Harden
I understand that, and yes morey shouldn't have given McHale the extension. But as long as we have to deal with him he needs to be better, his ability to make adjustments in almost laughable.
Who do you think wouldn't have done any of those three things? McHale has one of the highest winning percentages in the league since he has been here. He was doing an excellent job at the beginning of the season dealing with injuries. He reinvigorated the defense (ok someone on the staff did, but that's besides the point... still his staff). Everyone knew Smith was a gamble. Everyone also knew it was a gamble that could pay off huge. EVery GM in the league pulls the trigger at that price. You want to criticize Morey for signing McHale to an extension after 30 games, yet here you are wanting heads to roll after a string of bad games. Pot calling the kettle black?
Is Dwight Howard a good leader? Most of us probably have run of the mill jobs in which we are leaders in some capacity. I certainly do. I have always thought the keys to being a good leader were communication skill, the ability to bring people together to work for a cause, listening and being accountable to yourself and then holding others accountable. I am seriously concerned with the ability of Howard to lead our team. I attended the game last night and I was instantly worried during pre-game. The "warm up" routine from Howard consisted of 40 foot three pointers and sitting and talking to JSmoove. During half time (when we were getting raped) he spent most of the time talking to Eric Gordon. Not practicing a few freethrows or trying to set a tone. His body language the majority of the season has been terrible. He doesn't seem to include himself in the list of persons that has to play better. His defense last night was terrible. He seemingly refuses to set screens and run the pick and roll. You never see him over on the sideline talking to the guys or trying to keep them positive. Note that both Bev and Harden seem to do this well. I just doubt this guy at this point. He wants to play like Hakeem but he is inefficient and a walking turnover. If he is hurt, he should sit. Obviously it sucks when Ariza and Bev brick it up but that really is a small issue compared to the bigger one. Our highest paid player is not a leader.
I thought I was the only one noticing this. A few games ago, Bev called for him to set a screen on two different occasions. Both times, Dwight just stood there motionless and the ball just got swung around the perimeter for some terrible outside shot. Anyway, I don't ever expect for Morey to admit that his offensive philosophy is silly (with this personnel, anyway).
Dwight's been having problems wanting to be involved in the pick and roll for a while now. Heck he wouldn't even do it with Steve Nash <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bMGYZUyQntc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/384Dvdm7b9Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Nash talks about Dwights inability to effectively play P & R
I really don't think Dwight wants to be a leader, but rather one of the boys. But still worse is that he may not listen to someone else who's trying to step up in that role.
