@snowconeman22 i agree with a lot of what you said so, i'm just going to discuss a couple of points where i kinda disagree, let's say...and it's on the way Mike's team plays and how the players are used, like, you said you're tired thinking we need better players, but that's just how it is in the end, you just can't expect guys like PJ, Ariza, Gerald, House to be as effective in those situation Harden creates, as players like Klay, Iguodala, Curry/Durant...the Warriors just have better players and that's reality. They literally outclass us in the front court in terms of talent, Durant and Green are so much better scorers, passers and ball handlers than Clint, PJ...i mean, it's not even close, and tbh there's not much you can do about that if not getting better players, which is easier said than done of course. And about the way we play, it think it has a lot to do with Harden, he's a player who basically dictate your entire offense, but while he's great when he has the ball in his hands, when he doesn't, he just doesn't move and contribute to create something (aside for the occasional cut that you see like once every two/few games). My feeling is that you could get Pop, Bud, or whoever coached teams with an amazing ball movement, and i think you wouldn't see much difference here, unless the coach challenges him to do it, and assuming he can do it of course. When James has the ball he plays at his rhythm, which is good most of the times, sometimes i think he kinda freezes his teammates too much, but considering how efficient he is overall, you obviously live with that. But to see a team share the load more or have constantly a better ball movement, you would've to change players more than the coach imo. If you think about Mike's teams, they played fast and shared the ball more when they had the right personnel to do that, think about the Suns, but also at the Knicks when Melo was out, they suddenly played much faster and more as a team (which is something i think we saw happen here at times when Harden sits and Paul comes in to play with the bench) because there's wasn't a ballstopper. The way i look at it is that Melo was not only a ballstopper, but a ball hog, James on the other hand is not a ball hog because he'll always try to make the best play for the team, but a lot of times he falls too much into the ballstopper role, which i don't think is a bad think per se, hall of fame players were ballstoppers too, but sometimes it seems to me he takes it to the extreme, and when that happens it usually coincide with those moments in which we can't make anything happen, we become super stationary, we force some turnovers or late shots without even trying to create anything... So overall, while i wouldn't be against a coaching change, at the same time i'm not sure it would help as much as we might think cause at least in terms of how we play, i wouldn't really expect much changes with the players we have. That's just my take anyway.
@Vivi A lot I agree with in your post The only thing I definitely reject is that harden is not a willing / engaged off ball player . I think that's more of MDA trying to maximize what he's great at (on ball play) But I def think pop or bud could have molded him into a more well rounded player who is still just as elite when you ask him to ISO and score/distribute
I don’t think they are because let’s say the warriors didn’t exist, he probably has a title here. Who’s going to be the upgrade? There is zero out there so I think everyone screaming for a change is just screaming for something to just make them happy when coaching is the furthest of the problems right now.
1) The Warriors (unfortunately) do exist. 2) I’m already on record as preferring Marc Jackson, JVG and Rivers (hey I like to dream big) over Mike.
Looooool, Marc Jackson is not a good coach. JVG isn’t a coach for this era. Rivers is extended in LA. Lmao, I can’t take Marc Jackson recommendations seriously. The guy was such a problem in Golden State, tried to snake Curry and others. Nope.
What’s amazing is that he’d say D’Antoni can’t win in the playoffs and suggest hiring JVG or Jackson. I mean holy crap talk about lack of awareness.
Did he implement a scheme to counter them? Were they ever a point of emphasis at practice? Is Mike even around for defensive practices? Lol
Mike D’Antoni doesn’t handle the defense. The Rockets with D’Antoni will do some work defensively but he trusts his defensive assistant and associate head coach. That has been made clear since MDA took the job. He handles the offense and the chemistry. It isn’t really that unusual. Kerr doesn’t have a lot to do with the Warriors defense... he didn’t really even have a lot to do with the offense when he first took the job. Alvin Gentry handled the offense (which he learned from MDA). I think the Rockets are limited by MDA because he isn’t Pop who can handle both sides. However the reality is there are very few coaches that can and they are not an option. I would love to have Pop or Bud or Carlisle. However they aren’t available. Even Brad Stevens, who is supposed to be a savant, lost control of the chemistry on his team.
So What's half of what an average head coach make? He only coaches offense so pay him according to what he offers.
That isn’t how it works. He is arguably the best offensive coach in the NBA. At worst he is in the top 3. He also has avoided any locker room issues as well. Almost all head coaches have a strong preference/influence on one side of the ball. There are a select few (usually 3-4) that have a lot of control on both sides. Not all 3-4 of those select few are even really good at it.
Wait huh? GS was trash before Mark Jackson got there. They were basically what Sacramento is right now. Do you know how lucky a franchise is to have a coach that can take a very young team & put them in the playoffs? In the West? Mark Jackson did a fantastic job in his 1st coaching tenure
When I heard Bzdelik was fired/let go/not returned/whatever, I thought it seemed a bit odd to go straight after him and single him out, but it didn't bother me. I could never understand how a defensive coach couldn't improve at least some of the bad habits of his individual players like Green and Faried. And, my God, that atrocious transition D. I would think all that would fall under Bz's responsibility. However, I simply cannot be happy extending a head coach that allows his team to grind the shot clock down to nothing on every play. Especially when they're losing. That's not isolation. That's crazy. It's just eating time and hoping Harden somehow figures out a way to miraculously score. To quote a phrase my mom always uses, the Rockets play "as slow as molasses in January." It was painful seeing how much the Warriors danced around them moving the ball and getting guys open and keeping the Rockets off-balance. Meanwhile, the Rockets let every single team get fully set in their defense, and then wait 10 more seconds to even attempt anything. Also, this extremely hard line on not giving certain players ANY playing time and sticking with players like Capela that were a complete drag was just ugly. The hardness of that line is what bothers me. Reducing the bench to nothingness by fiat while playing all the starters into the ground. And stop shooting so many damn threes when you just need to score any points to keep a lead you already have. Maybe people in here are right and he's the best coach we can get at this time. It also seems highly likely that he's the exact coach that our GM wants to implement our GM's system. But none of that makes me feel good at all about this team's future. Over in the Texans forum, it's common to say "There's simply no way this team is going to win a championship with Bill O'Brien as head coach." While it would be an insult to put MDA on BOB's level, it's still starting to feel a lot like that over on the Rockets side as well.
His system works. There’s just very little tolerance for personnel that doesn’t fit. The Bzdelik defense works too. Same issue with the tiny room for misfits. Hate that he was axed. The big is the issue right now as far as matching up with GS. Need a playmaking big man to truly be indefensible. Make the right pass or create a shot. Clint shows flashes of this every now and then (euro step and kicking out to the corner), but he’s not nearly consistent enough to be considered reliable. Especially in the big matchup. On defense, the big has to be able to defend the perimeter while our guards have to be strong enough to guard the post. Oh and everyone has to rebound. Again, Capela does fairly well for a big defending the perimeter. But he’s not good enough to be a matchup to that opponents try to avoid. Especially with Harden being a great defender in the post. Paul and Ego hold their own too. But having a three guard lineup hurts rebounding. Rockets need a player that brings what ego does plus rebounding. Or Capela needs to know when to crash the board after defending the perimeter. Draymond is a major reason GS is who they are. He does everything mentioned above. Guards the perimeter, makes plays on offense, and rebounds. Got off on a tangent, but the system in place is not the issue. In fact, it’s why Houston is a cut above everyone else not GS and is right there when it comes to matching up with the champs. Crazy to know that the Rockets are championship caliber, but not enough for GS as is. Also, whistles are almost always anti-Rockets, so there’s that to overcome too.
There is no issue other than we need more nuclear weapons to compete. We're not playing money ball. We have talent, but we need more of it. Obviously. We will probably have to sell our souls to compete and become another super team. The sorry part about it is that we need 3 more all stars and we are hard pressed to find even one more.
Ask yourself this, if Pippen is some defensive savant how come he doesnt recognize that the Rockets lost to GSW because of THEIR defensive issues with the *predictable Curry/Green* PNR? And NO ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE TO STOP IT. Instead we have Pippen railing on MDA's *predictable* offense. Where is Pippen's holistic evaluation here? (there is none. He just doubles down on aesthetics).
