not to be a dick or anything, but it makes really believe that the team has won the majority of their games on sheer talent. When we face a team with more talent/better coaching (i.e.. OKC or Bulls) we get rocked...making the jump from good to great is the hardest and it's the coaching that makes the difference. Also, the assistants (bickerstaff and sampson) sound like yes men as well!
I think McHale could be a victim of moreyball in the playoffs. Not saying McHale isn't blameless I'm saying it unfair to put all the blame on McHale that the rockets are only a great regular season team.
McHale wants to blame the players but when a team is not ready to play, that's on him. The Rockets looked like they had no clue what to do when everyone knows the Bulls' offense is based on back cuts with Noah at the top of the key.
Rudy did it for the Rockets. Riley did it for the Heat. Phil did it to the Lakers. Popovich did it for the Spurs even after losing it the year after their championship. The coach is the head. If he wants it, he can do it.
As many smart guys Houston employs in that front office, I'm surprised no one sees how bad Mchale is for the team. He should never be in charge of a young team. He likes his superstars and veterans. Let him leave and find an old team. He can say "play harder" to his hearts content.
You mean the Run and Gun offense that McHale did NOT use against Chicago tonight? Harden and Bev both have the bad habit of strolling the ball up the court. If Run and Gun was the best option (not to say it definitively is though personally I believe run and gun is the best option vs the Bulls), then McHale should have gone to a small ball speed line up early and pushed it. Thibs designs the best half-court defenses in the NBA. Morey has said on multiple occasions that set defenses by guys like Thibs are just too good, so you need to attack them before they're set. So, last seasons we run and gun and blow out Chicago twice. Tonight, how much run and gun did you see? I didn't see a lot except when the bench was on the floor...
Yeah, I agree they can be quite defensive, but I don't think Lin fans are the only fans that think their fav player should be shielded completely by admins from criticism. Most of them are just new and defensive they think you are coming out to get Lin, while lol, you are there to get them.
The spurs would royally disagree with you. The heat and the pacers have also been CC'd on this request too.
not saying we haven't had any good wins, we've had many but what about in a playoff series, what are the team's chances against any of the aforementioned teams in a 7 game series instead of catching them at home on a back to back etc
Starting lineup played terribly in the 1st quarter? Let's start the 2nd half with the same lineup. Dwight Howard is a turnover machine in the post? Let's keep feeding him inside instead of pick and rolls. Jeremy Lin's playing well? Let's make sure he plays under 25 minutes. /McHale logic
LOL. If the Rockets lose to Miami (likely) they will be 8-5 since the all star break. It's a nice record, but not a great one.
I have been happy with Mchale this past few games, but it's still apparent but he doesn't know when to call a timeout. A timeout should have been called early in the 3rd when the Bulls made their run. Even Thibs called a timeout when the Rockets cut the lead to 20 from 25.
The team wins on talent and loses on insufficient preparation. The main issue is the offensive philosophy. 1. The R&R system is a freelancing that relies on talent, and also fails by exclusively relying on talent which can be defended with good system. 2. As consequence of RNR offense, the team practice too little set plays on the court, so that once the defense tightens to cause the former's failure, there is no option feasible to pull themselves out. 3. When the D tightens and sets fail, you have to rely on individual ball-handlers and decision-makers to keep up. The two with the best potential in this area are Harden and Lin. Yet, while Harden is over used here, the coach rather develops Parsons as the 2nd ball-handler, who is an above average role player and will be easily handled in playoff type defense. To win in POs, the only way for the current roster is to give priority to developing Lin's decision making and chemistry with the starters, as the one person that could take the ball handling pressure off Harden.
