I heard an interview with him several years ago and he was practically campaigning for the Rockets job. He was joking saying "Les, you got my number" etc. It might have been right before they hired McHale. So yeah, assuming nothing has changed, he is definitely interested. But my guess is that McHale is back next year.
ya i remember that interview a few years back, and a lot of us here were giddy at the thought of mario just possibly being considered. sadly i think you're right that les will bring mchale back next season. too much money on that 3year contract for him to eat.
At this point I'm not just questioning McHale's ability, I'm also questioning the rest of the coaching staff. When McHale looks unsure about what he's doing or meant to do, shouldn't one of the assistants at least have some ideas? Are Chris Finch, Greg Buckner actually effective assistants? JB Bickerstaff gets a pass from me for now because he got all the credit for a re-vamped defense which was real at the start of the season. Probably understandably, injuries affecting player familiarity reversed the offseason progress to the deteriorated defense we see now. But what is up with Chris Finch? He was supposed to learn Rick Adelman's offense and be able to fuse that with preferred 3's & layups. Granted we were getting 3's and layups during the season thanks to transition offense, but where's the off-ball motion from Adelman's plans? I really feel like I see the exact same offense set up on every possession, reacting to the defense and applying whatever result variation they have within that setup. Greg Buckner: good free throw shooter as a player and currently a player development coach; don't really know much about him and his responsibilities. T. R. Dunn: a Rick Adelman guy; listed in the Playoff Media Guide but not on the Rockets website with the roster. Was an assistant with us when we had Adelman ('07-'11), and followed him to Minnesota. Presumably he should have a good understanding of in-game coaching having seen it for so long with Adelman - don't really notice him in-game though. Adelman had a decent idea of when to use timeouts to kill momentum; does McHale not get that input from his assistants now?
Someone gets it. Everyone knows McHale isn't an Xs Os guy. Morey hired him for leadership and championship experience. Players should've been able to relate to him and play hard for him. Now, it's becoming clear that the players are tuning him out and aren't going all out anymore. That's a red flag and Morey should consider making a change. As far as Xs and Os, adjustments, scouting, etc. go, that's on the assistants. They've clearly done a poor job of that and Morey should clean house. Look at the quality and quantity of the Clippers coaching staff. Doc Rivers (like McHale) isn't an Xs Os expert, but he has a great staff to help him with adjustments.
Chris Finch? I still don't believe he even exists. With all the buzz he had as the development league head coach, and the rumors Adelman quit over him... has anyone even heard him speak? No thanks. The Warriors D League coach is intriguing. Too bad The Mayor just had heart surgery... he seems like a really attractive choice.
I believe a movie that we've all seen before is going to show again but with different actors. It'll be a re-make of "Manning is Available", starring Tom Thibodeau as Peyton Manning, Les Alexander as Bob McNair, Daryl Morey as Rick Smith and Kevin McHale as Matt Schaub. Let's hope they rework the ending on the remake.
The Pelicans overachieved by making the playoffs this year and still fired their coach Monty Williams. That's an organization not willing to settle for a mediocre coach. Hope Morey is taking notes.
watching the adjustments he finally made are working for us is actually making me really mad. why wait until we are down 1-3 to make some meaning change? smh.
Really liked his staggering of Harden's minutes tonight. Didn't have those 2nd and 4th quarter collapses like usual.
Finally made a good adjustment and it paid off with a victory. Focus and let's go down to LA and win that one as well.
I love starting smith but honestly it shouldn't have taken him 4 games to see Jones is overpowered and overmatched vs Blake
Considering that harden supposedly has a cold, I wonder if Mchale will handle his minutes like this again next game
Doc just said we didnt play with enough intensity and thats always on the coach....Thats how a real coach Speaks, not say we need to play with more "juice" take responsibility cuz that is ALWAYS on the coach, and he has no clue it is
