I know most of the posters don't agree with me BUT McHale is a great "coach" That being said your definition of a coach in the NBA is a little different. One person doesn't and cant do everything. McHale is a great head but needs talent, especially on the defensive side, to help with in game situations. Talent being good experienced assistant coach's. Everyone can see the drop off on the defensive end once Sampson left for UH.
The only greatness you associate with him is him as a Player, him as a TV expert maybe and person. He is becoming great at losing games in clutch situations as well.
Keep making excuses for him. Show me the last time Carlisle ran iso's out of timeouts in crunch time.
My definition of a good coach in the NBA is someone who(along with his staff) crafts a plan both offensively and defensively to win games and then puts his players in position to carry out that plan on the court. A great coach is someone who also helps individual players improve their game. McHale is neither. All year long(well before Sampson left) he had a chance to make defense a priority for this team and never did. He never demanded accountability from guys like Harden and Parsons. He never implemented any sort of team defense to cover for the shortcomings of the guys who aren't great individual defenders. As a result, they had trouble holding onto leads and getting stops in close games. He also never implemented any sort of offensive system other than ISO ball and run and gun. He'd always complain about the ball getting "sticky", but why then would the team revert to ISO even out of a timeout? Are we seriously supposed to believe that McHale drew up some elaborate, brilliant offensive play and the team just disregarded it repeatedly? As a result, they had trouble scoring when games got tight and they needed a basket. If Harden or Howard didn't deliver in one-on-one situations, the team usually lost the game. I'll give McHale credit for the improvement in Dwight's post-up game. It's hard to determine how much is due to Dream, but bottom line is, he has gotten better in that area. But Harden was as bad a defensive player as he's ever been and looked disinterested out there in the playoffs which is inexcusable. A game in November I can understand. But Game 5 in an elimination game?! Something isn't right there. I also have serious concerns about Parsons' regression on the defensive end and his frequent disappearing act on offense in the 2nd halves of games. And why is McHale so stubborn about playing young guys? Daniels only made it out there in Game 3 when Parsons fouled out. Hamilton hardly saw the floor again after his first 4 games with the Rockets. Canaan didn't get much time even after Brooks was traded away. Long story less long, I don't consider anyone a good coach in the NBA if we're sitting here discussing which assistant we can bring in to make up for his shortcomings. I don't recall ever having to do that with Van Gundy or Adelman. Also, since when does a team need 3 superstars to win a single playoff series? The Rockets won a damn title in 1994 with only one. And that was in an era with much tougher defenses where offense was at a higher premium.
If I remember right the BBS wanted Adelman and even more VanGundy's head on a stick. Sure its the coaches fault but also the players. You don't thing McHale has grilled Harden many many times about defense? It's not all his fault that he's not listening. Howard said it him self that this was only the first yr he had with McHale and it seems that we need at least another year to see if we can get all the pcs to match.
what if the pieces don't match? you can honestly tell me you would not be worried about dwight exploring other options, basketball reasons?
Howard is locked into a contract and maybe he still believes in his coach & so does the Rockets management.
Before last night, Doc Rivers LAC was 32-0 when they led into 4th quarter. On the other hand, Rockets 4th quarter has been absolutely heartbreaking. Especially the last 6 minutes. Offense often stagnant and defense with no discipline. Don't even mention some basic plays like inbound plays and calling time outs. I know this is a relatively inexperienced team but that's EXACTLY why we need a experienced coach. Upgrade The Coach!
Anyone on this board who wanted Adelman gone at any point in the first two seasons he was here is a moron. The Rockets won 22 straight games in 2008 including 10 of those after losing Yao for the year. And obviously they weren't gonna beat Utah without the big fella, so you can't fault the coach for that. Adelman's 2nd year here, all the Rockets did was finish 53-29 despite T-Mac basically being a non-factor that season and get the franchise's only playoff series win since 1997(and counting). And despite losing Deke and Yao in the playoffs, the Rockets took the Lakers to 7 games. No other team did that in that postseason. As for Van Gundy, he did get a lot more heat from fans during his 4 years here, but to be honest, only 3 instances really stick out. The first was early in the 2004-05 season(T-Mac's first year here) when they got off to a horrific 6-11 start. There were frequent chants of "Fire Gundy" at Toyota Center. What's funny is even Van Gundy himself nodded along with them at times. But after that win over the Spurs(the 13 in 33 game), they turned things around and finished 45-20 the rest of the way. The next time people were screaming for Van Gundy's head was after the blown 2-0 lead against Dallas that same season. Although this was tempered somewhat by Van Gundy taking a 100 grand hit from his own pocket to call out the refs(which he's been vindicated on since with the Donaghy scandal). And the final time fans got on Van Gundy was when the Rockets lost Game 7 at home to Utah in 2007. And guess what? He was fired because of that loss. With regard to McHale, do we know for a fact that he's riding Harden about his lack of effort on the defensive end? And if so, why didn't he do anything about it when Harden refused to listen? T-Mac wasn't exactly known for his stellar defense in his career. Yet Van Gundy managed to get him to accept the challenge of guarding Dirk in that 2005 series when the Rockets were left without a power forward(no offense to Flyin' Ryan Bowen fans). Why can't McHale get through to Harden at all? And what won't he bench him in order to send a message?
I agree with you. He should have benched Harden for lack of D but you are going to fire him just for that? This was his 3rd season but really the 1st with this group of guys, Harden & Howard. You can't just fire him and start over; you have to give him another year to prove him self.
we're already talking nba here, not high school or college. we dont need to say "this guy would torch the ncaa" this team has talent. butt there's no system on either end of the court. lots of standing or basic p and rolls. okc relies on their 2 stars but they also run plays and play defense
"Great".... I guess that makes Phil infallibly immaculate, and Red Auerbach the quintessence of perfect divinity.... ffs... How does McHale have these fans so brain washed...? Did no one see Bill "number 1 Celtic homer" Simmons article questioning the very Celtic's legend's ability to lead this team during the playoffs.... and McHale actually did something for his fandom... Why the hell are Rockets fans believing this nonsense about McHale... Where is it coming from...? I am utterly perplexed...
Bill Simmons?!?! Dude is HOF! I forget what position he played for whom. . . . But when he coached that team in the playoffs, I was like, "Dude, he's like my college roommate, Dude!" Popovich like lifelines him when he needs a play during a time out, Homie.
Can't we keep Kevin and hire both van Gundy as a defensive assistant and Adelman as the offensive assistant?
As I stated prior to the start of the series...if the Spurs blow out the Blazers in 4 games, that would be a direct reflection on how pathetic of a head coach Mchale truly is. Players make the league, however coaching decides how close games turn out. Elite level coaching puts their players in the best situation to win. Nothing Mchale has done throughout his tenure as a Houston Rockets head coach has shown that any of this is even possible. Players also need to understand this truth: Howard and Harden have to have a real chat about the course of the franchise. They are one of the most dynamic offensive and defensive talents that the game has to offer, and failure is truly not an option. If they do manage to add a third star this offseason, next year better result in a title. Les Alexander better be watching the demolition of the Blazers and totally reevaluate his coaching staff. You only get stars in their primes for so long, and right now is the time to put your players in the best situation to win. Go get your self a winning coach, and put your team in a position to win close games. Its just too bad he thinks milk hair will guide them to the promise land. And its too bad that we all will be drawn into the hype next season as well. Cant believe we lost to these same Blazers...in 6 games...
