I think Mchale's lack of defensive system or half court plays can be fixed by hiring better assistant coaches, Finch is untouchable, so maybe replacing Sampson.
IMHO, I credit the players recruitment to Morey. The offense and defense system to the Asst coaches. However I do admire how Mchale is flexible to any changes and implementations and he is able to get everyone to be on the same page. But in other words, he have no idea what he wants or works... But then maybe this is just exactly what Morey wants, a coach that will do his biding with no question ask and actually do well on it.
YUP. Rewind back to the time where we were struggling just 2-3 weeks back, and you would never hear a whisper that McHale is a top 10 coach. Talk about knee-jerk.
Exactly this Morey acquires the players he feels fit the model of play he envisions He needs a easy going coach who will adapt to the situation. I don't feel McHale is the coach to lead this potential dynasty run but he is flexible enough to foster growth within Morey's system without creating too much friction and old-school enough to maintain a basic level of structure Now, his player minutes management seems a bit off but hopefully that will improve through the season. and who knows, maybe he does become our dynasty coach if we have success under him. He certainly has the potential but will it be realized?
I would hate to see Sampson go. He's good enough to be a head coach in the NBA, and we're getting him as just an assistant. It's almost like having Brooks as a backup. The only thing I don't really like about Sampson is most of his interviews. He can be sort of rude at times, and rather bland. I think the Rockets have an outstanding coaching staff overall. I would also say Bickerstaff could probably be a head coach in the NBA.
I'm not sure I'd call either of them puppets, but I agree this is quite a bit more likely than McHale being Morey's puppet.
McHale seems to be good at playing to the strengths of his best players, and getting the role players to play off of the main guys. And to be honest, I haven't watched enough games to know how his end-of-the-game playcalling is. But from what I gather, it's usually more safe than creative, which is fine if it gets the job done. BTW, much has been made about Lowry's unhappiness with McHale (IIRC Budinger and Martin also made some indirect comments), but that's just usually the case when a popular coach gets replaced. Same thing happened when Adelman took over from JVG, with guys like Alston and even Yao talking about how the team wasn't playing the same defense as before. Players may bristle at first, but most seem to just suck it up and deal. If they don't I don't think you can necessarily fault the coach for it.
Awesome now kneejerk CF posters can post in this thread when we win and post in the fire Mchale thread when we lose. LOL.
I'm not totally convinced this is a "knee jerk" reaction. If jtr has posted that McHale is terrible, then link it and prove your point. Is McHale a top 10 coach? Well that depends on how much you value certain aspects. McHale is a player's coach. He's going to be respected because of what he has done on the court and players will always relate to that. Need a guy to manage some egos or motivate people? How about a HOF player with multiple rings? Sounds good to me. Is he the best X's and O's guy? I don't think so but that's not what the Rockets were looking for when they hired him. Morey created the system he wanted and gave it to McHale to implement. There are also lots of assistant coaches to help with other things. During his first year I really disliked some of the lineups he threw out there but our roster is so much better now, it's difficult to compare. In the past, and a couple games earlier this season, I've seen him try to force a mismatch that really just gave the opponent an advantage but I suppose that will happen when you're experimenting with a bunch of new guys. Are some of the failed Harden iso plays at the end of games McHale's fault or Hardens? I don't know, I'm not in the locker room. But what you can't take away from the guy is everyone likes him, apparently they listen to him, and he definitely helped us sign Dwight Howard away from the Lakers. There are 30 NBA head coaches in the league right now. Which of them are usually considered top? -Pop -Spo (Riley's protege) -Rivers (everyone in Boston wanted him fired before they got KG and Allen) -Thibs (possibly runs his players into the ground) -Carlisle -Brooks (some really questionable playoff decisions, mostly regarding Perkins pt) -Vogel -Adelman -? -? If McHale continues to implement the system and manage/inspire our guys... I see no reason why he couldn't make it on that list. If he forces bad lineups or sits back and lets the players do whatever they want, then I can see him not being on that list. Remember, this is his third year with the system, second year with Harden, and first year with what could be considered a championship caliber team. A lot of how he will be judged as a coach will be based on what he does and how the team performs over the next two years.
I'd give Brooks a miss (extremely stagnant offense that will get shut down in the playoffs every time...kind of like Miami 2011, except it's now been two years since their finals loss and he hasn't fixed it), but otherwise yeah. McHale is okay I guess.
I disagree with the OP. McHale is after all not a right coach for the playoffs. His so-called Read & React offense will not work in the PO, when team tighten up their defense. Just like D'Antoni's flashy offense never gets his team past the conference finals even with Nash/Amare/Marion in their primes. In the regular season, however, it may be good enough to win a lot of games and injuries are less costly with good and smart subs that fit the R&R offense. So, get rid of him before it becomes serious with title contending!
Seriously, what are you talking about? - McHale has one of the youngest teams in the league. - He was forced to try the TT for reasons he could not control. - He has only two high caliber NBA stars in Howard and Harden (of which Harden is still very young) - Lin and Asik are good NBA players, but nowhere near elite level. - The rest of his players are either playing for minimum deals or rookie contracts. - Asik has requested a trade - In just one month, McHale has created a smoothly operating killing machine that seems to work as a single unit. - He has created a very versatile BB team. When the first unit doesn't get it done, the second will. - He can mix just about any player of the team with the starters and the unit still works. The team is clearly improving when the season advances. Beautiful BB to watch. What else can you ask for. For a team this young and inexperienced, you can forgive a lot of mistakes. So far they have been amazingly few. These, if grandma had wheels she would be a Ferrari, stories are meaningless. Stick to what you got, because it's very good. Look at the these teams deep in the red in the cap (trying to buy the championship) and where they are. McHale is the head coach and you have to give him the credit for doing his part in the success. I love what I see!
