I dislike Asik for the hissy fit he threw when Dwight took his starting position...that was in a word 'unprofessional'... But really, the POR series? lol Asik was one of our best defenders, shutting LMA down for the later games. Dwight was clearly MVP that series for us, but Asik's defense was light-years ahead of what TJones was giving us early on.
So your question is do I find being offended, offensive? I normally wouldn't go on offence when people are offensive but yes was a little offended. All I can offer is an offering of unoffensive offense so hopefully you are not offended by my response. Just some offhanded remarks.
I thought it was Dwight that played the best (and most) defense on LMA. I could be wrong? This isn't a slight to Omer at all; but if there's one thing he doesn't have, it's quickness.
I agree with that guy, despite his lack of quickness Asik was the only one who didn't make Aldridge look like a superstar.
I don't know why McHale can't just shut up and be happy with all of this "flexibility" Morey has provided in lieu of having Asik. I mean, it does nothing to help him do his job, which is to win games, but maybe someday it will bring a third star, even if he is no longer the coach when that happens. Why can't he get with the program?
He's paving his way on the exit from Houston. He knows his days are numbered. Just trying to create excuses for him for yet another disappointing season.
Adelman made his share of public comments about lamenting the loss of certain players. It happens, every coach has his favorites.
The backlash against McHale in this thread is hysterical. He's speaking positively about a former player whom he was asked about? I seriously doubt Popovich would have said "I don't have time to answer this, i need to draw more plays."
I don't agree about this loss of "depth." I don't agree with McHale's assessment that "he doesn't need the ball to help you." With Asik, we were perpetually playing 4 on 5 on every offensive possession. He could only score by dunking after a perfect pass. He had no moves to go to the basket on his own, and even if he did, he missed plenty of layups he should never have been taking and then was only 50% from the line if he was fouled. How many times did we see somebody pass the ball to Asik just outside the key, and he just looked like a deer in headlights until somebody could take it away from him again? This is one of the reasons we HAD to take so many threes. This is one of the reasons we HAD to rely so much on Harden bulldozing his way to the basket. We had NO inside offensive presence with a huge 7-ft center. Yes, he was a disciplined and effective defender close to the basket, though that effectiveness decreased markedly when someone he was guarding could shoot a mid range jumper over him. He was an excellent outlet passer. However, you can't justify the argument that the guy's defense made up for his lack of offense. Asik's defense led to a lot of fast breaks, and fast breaks led to a lot of points by the team, but any time a team actually played us well in transition, that benefit was COMPLETELY neutralized. And then, with four men on offense and no discernible plays to run besides Harden iso, we would get wrecked every time. I can understand the bad feelings about having your starting position taken away, but when you can't offer more than the guy coming in and you have THAT contract, you're just dead weight. If he had just learned to shoot free throws at a decently high percentage, he would have been immensely more valuable to the team, but without even that....what have we lost aside from a big body and a big poison contract?
I took his comments as a pretty obvious message to some of the young "bigs" on the Rockets, and not just the bigs. Donuts, Jones, Canaan all come to mind as guys that could benefit from borrowing some of Asik's fundamentals, his attention to detail at both ends of the court. Those three guys play as if they're in their own little world way too often, forgetting to move the ball and taking a shot, when an open teammate had a better one and was looking for the pass, forgetting to set screens. You know, things those players are supposed to be doing and don't half the time.
Fans will always critique their head coach, but most Pelicans fans like Monty. Widely regarded around the league by coaches and players as one of the best young coaches in the league. Players really like playing for him and he has a very keen basketball mind. He's not one of these motivation only coaches. He knows Xs and Os. Stop spreading BS.
The anti-McHale circle jerk has lost any basis in reality. It's like reading about Obama on a Fox News forum. Reading on here you would think he has literally never done a single positive thing as a coach. When you criticize someone for doing literally anything, I stop valuing you as a critic.
