The Rockets’ abandonment of their game plan falls on the coach

The Houston Rockets sit at 13-6. Their season has been marked by extreme highs and severe lows. Unfortunately, for the Rockets, an NBA game takes place over the course of four quarters rather than just three. The impetus is on Coach Kevin McHale to instill discipline into his players and avoid lethargy. However, there are simple issues that are currently looming over the Rockets yet to be addressed. What could have been a signature and season defining streak close to November gave way to a frustrating reminder of the roster’s shortcomings in December.

When the Rockets shots aren’t falling, or the game isn’t coming easily to them, there is one maddening habit that they fail to break. The Rockets are consistently flopping and seeking a whistle to bail them out of poor shot selection. The Rockets consistently fail to establish Dwight Howard throughout the course of a game, let alone the beginning of one, and it results in reversion to old habits. The Rockets, in turn, settle for jump shots, poor drives, and panic-based turnovers. Even more maddeningly, the Rockets consistently attempt three-point shots and shy away from contact. Why, though, is this an issue?

It’s simple. The Rockets thrive on free throws, layups, and three-pointers. In their hesitance to drive or establish Dwight Howard in the post, the Rockets are abandoning their best chance to put points on the board. It really boils down to the simple fact that the Rockets will not get foul calls on three-point shots and they will not put their opponents in the penalty if they continue to seek to avoid contact. This has gotten even worse in recent games where the three-point shot becomes an obsession. The Rockets fall down on contested three’s. Not figuratively, literally. The shooter hits the deck and begs for a call. Nine times out of ten that call doesn’t come and the other team has a man advantage.

The Rockets 112-106 victory against the Spurs was the perfect opportunity for Houston to finally put their mark on the season. The Rockets played that game exactly as Daryl Morey had intended this team to play. The Rockets ran when they had the opportunity, kept pounding the ball inside, and didn’t shy away from getting to the basket. Against Utah the Rockets settled for jumpers, begged for calls, and failed to take advantage of Dwight Howard on the block. Injuries are a convenient excuse for the loss but there’s a point where these lapses can’t be forgiven. Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin will not solve the failure to use the post. That failure rests solely on McHale’s shoulders.

That’s not to say McHale’s coaching has been a complete nightmare this season. Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons will help to solve one major problem of this offense. The lack of consistent attacking is a problem that those two help to stabilize. James Harden, the most maligned Rocket in social media, is at once a savior and saboteur to the offense. His singular effort often helps propel the Rockets to victory but he also manages to shoot the team out of games when he gets complacent. That’s not even addressing his defensive woes. Ultimately, the Rockets fall victim to complacency that is more indicative of McHale’s “fast and loose” system of last season. Why is this an issue?

The majority of the roster wasn’t even present last season. NBA Players have a propensity of abandoning cohesive basketball when given the option of playing pick-up basketball. In the long-term that’s not sustainable. The Rockets offensive design lends itself well to rec-league basketball but it requires a structure; one with an offensive design and an endgame. When that endgame is abandoned the Rockets game plan falls apart. The defense goes completely absent and the efficiency the Rockets strive for causes an unmitigated collapse of the team.

On the back of this article, however, let’s not be alarmist. The Rockets are a brand new team with a brand new identity wholly separable from who they were last year. It’s a matter of time until it’s all put together and consistency gets established. The season is less than a quarter of the way over. The All-Star Break will be a fair appraisal point for the team. If the team fails to play as a cohesive unit and on a consistent basis, the Coach McHale may find himself on the hot seat in Houston. Something worth considering, however, is how much of that hot-seat is on McHale and how much of it is on his player’s free-will in abandoning the game plan?

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Total comments: 49
  • rocketrick says 10 hours ago In my opinion, Coach McHale was not at fault in the losses at Utah and at home earlier this week vs. Phoenix.

    And likewise, Coach McHale did nothing special in tonight's game vs. Golden State and the win is entirely due to the Rockets players intensity and commitment level.

    The players finally decided to hold themselves accountable and the effort on both ends of the court, particularly in the first half against Golden State, is very encouraging going forward. Harden played stellar defense in the first half, yes he did!
  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    RBF, surely you must understand that no NBA team goes 82-0. There are going to be disappointments along the way. It just seems you go crazy everytime the Rockets lose this season.

    By the way, even with all the disappointments, the Rockets currently have the 6th best record in the league.

    I just think you are trying to hard to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

    Headed to the game. Go Rockets!!!!

    no I mean for the way he handled T-Jones. that Utah game contradict your statement

    I completely disagree with the Drill Sargeant approach.

    I've been to all the home games and I don't recall Coach McHale taking T-Jones out of the game for anything other than ordinary substitution patterns.

    T-Jones was pulled from that game because McHale said he thought Casspi was playing better. while I agree with McHale's assessment, my beef is why aren't all players held accountable in this same manner?

  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    It's a long season sometimes the guys don't play real hard I wouldn't get to fired up about it unless it happens in a playoff game.


    I do agree. The link JG provided even lists that as one of the key coaching philosophy's, basically not to have the team peak too soon. Playoffs are a long way away.
  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    Actually I think both of us have an idea what makes a good coach. However, our philosophys are quite different.

    JG's link shows the various differences each successful Head Coach employed. There is no one magic method of coaching.

    true there is no iron clad method, however certain traits should be among all good coaches. JG's list provides some of those attributes. McHale is missing quite a few

  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    look at the product on the floor.........it doesn't take a genus to figure that out.


    did you watch the Utah game?


    RBF, surely you must understand that no NBA team goes 82-0. There are going to be disappointments along the way. It just seems you go crazy everytime the Rockets lose this season.

    By the way, even with all the disappointments, the Rockets currently have the 6th best record in the league.

    I just think you are trying to hard to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

    Headed to the game. Go Rockets!!!!
  • Cooper says 2 days ago It's a long season sometimes the guys don't play real hard I wouldn't get to fired up about it unless it happens in a playoff game.
  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    RBF must have secret access to the Rockets locker room as he keeps claiming Coach McHale supposedly "didn't make sure the team was ready to play". I guess he was napping in the coach's office or something instead?

    None of us know what goes on in the locker room or in the huddles and RBF simply making a statement doesn't make it so.

    look at the product on the floor.........it doesn't take a genus to figure that out.

    I completely disagree with the Drill Sargeant approach.

    I've been to all the home games and I don't recall Coach McHale taking T-Jones out of the game for anything other than ordinary substitution patterns.

    did you watch the Utah game?

  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    perhaps you aren't read my post fully. I already told you the drill sergeant isn't necessary, however it is important for a coach to be able to get his teams attention whenever he feels that's warranted. Ithink you should take a look at the link provided by JG because you clearly have no idea what makes a good coach


    Actually I think both of us have an idea what makes a good coach. However, our philosophys are quite different.

    JG's link shows the various differences each successful Head Coach employed. There is no one magic method of coaching.
  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    ahhh.........so you think since I like T-Jones McHale deserves credit for developing him? :lol:I will give McHale somecredit.....perhaps if he used the same approach with some of his other players the results would be better. if you noticed whenever T-Jones isn't following the coaches game plan he finds himself planted on the bench..........is Harden treated the same? how about D-12? each player must be held accountable.....not just a select few


    I completely disagree with the Drill Sargeant approach.

    I've been to all the home games and I don't recall Coach McHale taking T-Jones out of the game for anything other than ordinary substitution patterns.
  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    the bottom line is we lacked effort. we were not ready to play.........who's responsible for making sure the team is ready to play? McHale that's who


    RBF must have secret access to the Rockets locker room as he keeps claiming Coach McHale supposedly "didn't make sure the team was ready to play". I guess he was napping in the coach's office or something instead?

    None of us know what goes on in the locker room or in the huddles and RBF simply making a statement doesn't make it so.
  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    A decent checklist someone made for NBA head coaches and the necessary traits for being successful...food for thought. LINK


    Thanks JohnnyGold ! I remember seeing this previously and it was fun and informative to re-read
  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    Mchale is the GOAT

    GOAT?................may be goat as in the kind that goes bah bah :lol:

  • timetodienow1234567 says 2 days ago Mchale is the GOAT
  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    All this talk about the Utah game led me to the box score where I was not surprised at what I saw. It is almost guaranteed that in an NBA game the winners will post numbers like this:

    58.8% from three (10-17)

    81.3% free throw (13-16)

    54.4% from the field (43-79)

    While the losers line looks like this:

    32.1% from three (9-28)

    70.0% free throw (14-20)

    48.2% from the field (40-83)

    They shot well above average from 3...we shot below. They shot a high % from the line...we have Dwight. They were more efficient from the field and we took more shots while making less. It's not overly complicated. We make two more threes and sink 3 more free throws and it's a 3 pt. win for us. On the flip side, if they don't shoot crazy good from three it's a win for us. I just don't see how these little things become huge black clouds that blanket everything. I agree our energy was low, but that was to be expected. We came out flat in that first quarter, got down by 13, and that was the difference.

    The margin of victory in most NBA games is very small. 6 points may seem like a big enough win, but when viewed as a percentage of the whole game and all of it's plays it is very small. We came up short. By the way, Utah is not as bad as their record indicates. They haven't had their PG most of the season and lost their two leaders from last year. Growing pains are expected.

    the bottom line is we lacked effort. we were not ready to play.........who's responsible for making sure the team is ready to play? McHale that's who

  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    On another note, I just wanted to make the comment that I believe Coach McHale has been instrumental in turning Terrance Jones into a NBA quality Power Forward.

    ahhh.........so you think since I like T-Jones McHale deserves credit for developing him? :lol:I will give McHale somecredit.....perhaps if he used the same approach with some of his other players the results would be better. if you noticed whenever T-Jones isn't following the coaches game plan he finds himself planted on the bench..........is Harden treated the same? how about D-12? each player must be held accountable.....not just a select few

  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    That would go over splendidly, I'm sure, if Coach McHale (perhaps in your case, we should change his name to Sgt. McHale) sat Harden in the last minute of a closely contested game just to satisfy critics such as yourself.

    I don't ever recall Popovich or Phil Jackson or Pat Riley, etc. benching one of his stars in the last minute of a close game "because they didn't follow protocol".

    The surest and quickest way for Coach McHale to lose his players would be to follow your ill advised strategy.

    perhaps you aren't read my post fully. I already told you the drill sergeant isn't necessary, however it is important for a coach to be able to get his teams attention whenever he feels that's warranted. Ithink you should take a look at the link provided by JG because you clearly have no idea what makes a good coach

  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    A decent checklist someone made for NBA head coaches and the necessary traits for being successful...food for thought. LINK

    the man does seem like he knows what a good coach is. good link JG. I agree with the qualification listed

  • timetodienow1234567 says 2 days ago When their bench came back in we rallied because their bench sucks. When they put their starters back in we lost momentum. If they had a decent bench we would have been blown out.
  • thejohnnygold says 2 days ago

    All this talk about the Utah game led me to the box score where I was not surprised at what I saw. It is almost guaranteed that in an NBA game the winners will post numbers like this:

    58.8% from three (10-17)

    81.3% free throw (13-16)

    54.4% from the field (43-79)

    While the losers line looks like this:

    32.1% from three (9-28)

    70.0% free throw (14-20)

    48.2% from the field (40-83)

    They shot well above average from 3...we shot below. They shot a high % from the line...we have Dwight. They were more efficient from the field and we took more shots while making less. It's not overly complicated. We make two more threes and sink 3 more free throws and it's a 3 pt. win for us. On the flip side, if they don't shoot crazy good from three it's a win for us. I just don't see how these little things become huge black clouds that blanket everything. I agree our energy was low, but that was to be expected. We came out flat in that first quarter, got down by 13, and that was the difference.

    The margin of victory in most NBA games is very small. 6 points may seem like a big enough win, but when viewed as a percentage of the whole game and all of it's plays it is very small. We came up short. By the way, Utah is not as bad as their record indicates. They haven't had their PG most of the season and lost their two leaders from last year. Growing pains are expected.

  • 2016Champions says 2 days ago

    Failure to establish Dwight in the post? LOL. We need to run more PnRs with Dwight. Giving him the ball in the post constantly with his turnover issues and he'll get triple doubles(the bad kind).

    This.

    The constant need to "establish Dwight in the post" has been a hindrance in our ball movement, so increasing that need would do more harm that good. It's easy for everyone to judge McHale but it's not easy for McHale to make everyone happy, his players want to play a certain way that McHale doesn't want them to play (Harden likes to iso, Dwight likes to post), and McHale has been trying to find a way to compromise or meet in the middle. Eventually the players will realize "hey, what I want to do isn't working so I'm just going to just listen to the coach", but usually it takes the pain of defeat before players succumb to that train of thought.

    Speaking of train of thought, I also agree on the things you said about it being easier for coaches who have already won to get their players to buy into the system.

  • RudyT1995 says 2 days ago

    That would go over splendidly, I'm sure, if Coach McHale (perhaps in your case, we should change his name to Sgt. McHale) sat Harden in the last minute of a closely contested game just to satisfy critics such as yourself.

    I don't ever recall Popovich or Phil Jackson or Pat Riley, etc. benching one of his stars in the last minute of a close game "because they didn't follow protocol".

    The surest and quickest way for Coach McHale to lose his players would be to follow your ill advised strategy.

    I don't know if it's the same thing, but I'm pretty sure that Pop, Jackson, and Riley have all publicly shamed or openly challenged some of their stars at one point or another and done it with success.

    The difference with them is that I think they waited until after they had won a championship to pull stuff like that. I don't know if that works if you're like McHale and have yet to really accomplish anything as a coach.

  • thejohnnygold says 2 days ago

    A decent checklist someone made for NBA head coaches and the necessary traits for being successful...food for thought. LINK

  • rocketrick says 2 days ago On another note, I just wanted to make the comment that I believe Coach McHale has been instrumental in turning Terrance Jones into a NBA quality Power Forward.
  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    one reason I use to love VanGundy when he was here is win lose or draw his teams consistently bring effort every night. I haven't seen that under McHale. I could pull out a number of games last year and the year before where McHale coached teams took the night off.


    I liked Jeff Van Gundy as a Head Coach and just as a really good human being.

    However, Van Gundy managed to lose a 2-0 playoff lead to the Dallas Mavericks with home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs a few years ago and followed that up with losing to the Utah Jazz a couple of years later 4-3. In both series, the Rockets had Game 7 at home.

    Perhaps you liked Van Gundy's personality and style, but it sure didn't end with positive results.
  • rocketrick says 2 days ago

    no doubt a coach needs his stars to buy in, but showing those stars who is in control is the first step. if I was coach and Harden played iso ball after I called a play I would sit his a$$ on the bench. by doing that you show the whole team that going off the grid is unacceptable. if you want playing time you need to focus on playing the game the way outlined by the coach


    That would go over splendidly, I'm sure, if Coach McHale (perhaps in your case, we should change his name to Sgt. McHale) sat Harden in the last minute of a closely contested game just to satisfy critics such as yourself.

    I don't ever recall Popovich or Phil Jackson or Pat Riley, etc. benching one of his stars in the last minute of a close game "because they didn't follow protocol".

    The surest and quickest way for Coach McHale to lose his players would be to follow your ill advised strategy.
  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    A great general still needs a strong lieutenant who supports him and the system.

    In the case of Pop, he has Duncan. Phil had Kobe. They both implemented a great system with their teams.

    Pop is more lucky in that regard as he can chew out Duncan anytime.

    I don't think McHale has this same level of commitment with at the minimum from one of his star players yet and its unclear to me of his system other than the more obvious 4th quarter strategy.

    no doubt a coach needs his stars to buy in, but showing those stars who is in control is the first step. if I was coach and Harden played iso ball after I called a play I would sit his a$$ on the bench. by doing that you show the whole team that going off the grid is unacceptable. if you want playing time you need to focus on playing the game the way outlined by the coach

  • TeamBall says 2 days ago

    A great general still needs a strong lieutenant who supports him and the system.

    In the case of Pop, he has Duncan. Phil had Kobe. They both implemented a great system with their teams.

    Pop is more lucky in that regard as he can chew out Duncan anytime.

    I don't think McHale has this same level of commitment with at the minimum from one of his star players yet and its unclear to me of his system other than the more obvious 4th quarter strategy.

  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    You cannot compare McHale and Pop if you are trying to understand the situation. You also cannot compare Pop now to the coach he was three years into his San Antonio tenure. I mean Pop is basically a head coach and general manager, you can't just compare what Pop did last week to what McHale isn't doing.

    my point in comparing the two is Pop has the ability to get his teams notice whenever he feels the need.........I'm not sure McHale has that ability. McHale will never even be in the same universe as Pop as a coach........however any coach should be able to get his teams attention if he feels that the situation warrants. forget about Pop.....heck this is basic 101 for coaches. how can the coach enforce his will on the team if he can't even get their attention? McHale has been preaching sticky ball movement for two years, yet his team continues to show that they(mainly Harden) aren't listening. is that why we continue to see iso ball? if he can't get the team to play to his wishes why is he here? I'm a results guy. I don't buy excuses. it's the coaches job to control his team in ALL aspects of play. so why do our guys keep going off the grid? our players seem willing, but are they being lead properly? these are valid questions to me. I'm not expecting McHale to change into Phil Jackson, but I am expecting him to follow basic coachingprotocol. bottom line is McHale doesn't consistently make good coaching decisions. I posed a question in another post on who is really running the team. based on some of the things I'm looking at that's a valid question because a coach can only enforce his will if he has the power and control (your point about Pop). if McHale lacks that then he would be unable to perform his job in asatisfactory manner. I believe he has control, he just doesn't have a clue what the heck he is doing. should he be called out for that? IMO..........YES

  • Steven says 2 days ago

    Based on the list of coaches who have won a championship recently(20 years), who does Mchale compare favorably to? Is he great at timeouts coming up with plays? No. Is he a great motivator? Iffy. Does he make players better? Idk not enough of a track record.

    I personally don't think he's a bad coach, I just don't think he's a championship calibre coach. I will root for him to succeed as long he's a Rockets coach, I just don't see many positive signs.

    McHale > Spolestra.

    Anyone who losses a seven game series because of JJ Barea instantly moves to worst HC in the history of basketball.
  • timetodienow1234567 says 2 days ago Based on the list of coaches who have won a championship recently(20 years), who does Mchale compare favorably to? Is he great at timeouts coming up with plays? No. Is he a great motivator? Iffy. Does he make players better? Idk not enough of a track record.

    I personally don't think he's a bad coach, I just don't think he's a championship calibre coach. I will root for him to succeed as long he's a Rockets coach, I just don't see many positive signs.
  • Sir Thursday says 2 days ago

    You can't compare pop to mchale because he had more authority.

    You can't compare Phil to mchale because he had Jordan, Shaquille, Kobe,etc...

    Based on the list of guys that I've decided you can compare him to, he's doing great.

    That's a specious line of argument. You can't really compare any two coaches perfectly (or indeed players) unless they have been in exactly the same situation. All comparisons between individuals have to take into account individual circumstances, and failure to do so renders a comparison invalid. So no, you can't compare Phil or Pop or anyone else to McHale unless you take the situational differences into account.

    ST

  • timetodienow1234567 says 2 days ago You can't compare pop to mchale because he had more authority.

    You can't compare Phil to mchale because he had Jordan, Shaquille, Kobe,etc...

    Based on the list of guys that I've decided you can compare him to, he's doing great.
  • feelingsupersonic says 2 days ago

    players do share fault rocketrick, but effort......not just from one guy......the team? that's coaching........when we were in that San Antonio game and Pop thought the spurs weren't bringing it..........what happened? he chewed on their butts like he was eating prime rib :lol: you don't have to be a drill sergeant, however being able to get the teams attention is a requirement of the job. I give McHale credit when it's due, but find myself seeing far more negative than positive. this team is stacked at every position. we have the necessary talent. the deployment of that talent is McHale's job. the buck stops on his chair



    You cannot compare McHale and Pop if you are trying to understand the situation. You also cannot compare Pop now to the coach he was three years into his San Antonio tenure. I mean Pop is basically a head coach and general manager, you can't just compare what Pop did last week to what McHale isn't doing.
  • rockets best fan says 2 days ago

    And Popovich's Drill Sargeant moment as you succinctly desribedresulted in................a Spurs loss to the Rockets in San Antonio.

    I digress.

    true but they came from 23 down to take a lead in that game

    According to RBF, the players are never accountable, it's always on Coach McHale, when the Rockets lose a winnable game.

    it's hard to keep the car moving straight when the man driving keeps falling asleep at the wheel. you may be willing to give McHale a pass....I'm not. when I see a spade I call it a spade. no sugar coating for me. McHale either gets the job done or replace him with someone who can get the job done. this team has too much talent to lose games like the Utah game.

  • Chai says 2 days ago

    I don't see how this loss is on McHale... You can't blame the coach when the players can't rebound, or when the Jazz just had an excellent shooting night

  • timetodienow1234567 says 2 days ago You always bash people for putting any blame on mchales head so. I inferred it. I apologize if I misread the context of your statements.
  • rocketrick says 2 days ago And I stated that when in which topic??
  • timetodienow1234567 says 3 days ago According to rocketrick, Mchale is never accountable, only the players.
  • rocketrick says 3 days ago

    According to RBF, the players are never accountable, it's always on Coach McHale, when the Rockets lose a winnable game.

  • rocketrick says 3 days ago

    players do share fault rocketrick, but effort......not just from one guy......the team? that's coaching........when we were in that San Antonio game and Pop thought the spurs weren't bringing it..........what happened? he chewed on their butts like he was eating prime rib :lol: you don't have to be a drill sergeant, however being able to get the teams attention is a requirement of the job. I give McHale credit when it's due, but find myself seeing far more negative than positive. this team is stacked at every position. we have the necessary talent. the deployment of that talent is McHale's job. the buck stops on his chair

    And Popovich's Drill Sargeant moment as you succinctly desribedresulted in................a Spurs loss to the Rockets in San Antonio.

    I digress.

  • Alituro says 3 days ago

    I think this assessment of McHale is a little harsh at this point in the season, and wouldn't mind a revisit of this topic later on, near the break. McHale probably has one of the most desirable and yet challenging tasks of all the coaches in the NBA. He's got two superstar talents who just freshly got joined and a roster replete with outstanding, young, up-and-coming talents. The task is daunting enough to figure out how best to use all of the roster's talents, that, for the time being he needs to defer to his player's personalities until he is able to establish solid credibility as a coach among his roster. That could take the entire season. Pop's has the luxury of being able to deliver a tongue lashing at his players when they are underperforming because his core unit has been together for so long and he has established himself among them as THE premier coach in the league. In the first couple years, Parker didn't respond to Pop's yelling like he does today, Timmy neither. I seriously doubt that either Harden or Howard would be positively receptive of such a lashing from McHale, at this point and we all know Lin hasn't responded well to such things. McHale simply needs to make his statements, for now, by pulling the poor performers from the floor. Case in point: the bench played the entire 4th quarter against Memphis. I think he does a good job with his rotations and game strategies, and as Sir Thursday said, the fault in the ugly loss to Utah lies on the defensive effort at the end of the game. Also largely because we were missing 30+ points from Lin and Parsons, where the loss of one of them is absorb-able but both being gone is hard to make up for.

    As far as giving Howard more post touches, I don't know if you've noticed, but, unless he is dunking, his shots don't stand a very good chance of falling, even easy layups. I also don't know if you've noticed, but teams are fouling him the second he gets the ball in his hands. Posting him up is not a good option considering these factors. His best scoring opportunities come off the roll, the lob, and on rebounds, and that is how he is used, so no complaints here. I wouldn't mind seeing more PnRs with him involved. I would also like to see how he operates on the elbow more because he is a good passer, and with all of the motion swirling around him, he probably won't draw the intentional fouls at the elbow unless he decides to drive, the defenses will dare him to shoot from there as well.

  • rockets best fan says 3 days ago

    players do share fault rocketrick, but effort......not just from one guy......the team? that's coaching........when we were in that San Antonio game and Pop thought the spurs weren't bringing it..........what happened? he chewed on their butts like he was eating prime rib :lol: you don't have to be a drill sergeant, however being able to get the teams attention is a requirement of the job. I give McHale credit when it's due, but find myself seeing far more negative than positive. this team is stacked at every position. we have the necessary talent. the deployment of that talent is McHale's job. the buck stops on his chair

  • rocketrick says 3 days ago

    That's what I love about RBF.

    It's always Coach McHale's fault when the Rockets lose games they have no business losing.

    With only begrudging, at best, compliments from time to time when the Rockets win tough games on the road, etc.

    Apparently, the Rockets players can do no wrong when the Rockets are losing by this logic.

    I believe Sir Thursday gave an excellent summary of the last 5 minutes of the Rockets-Jazz game and showed the problem was primarily with the Rockets lack of defense. Coach McHale can preach defense all day, everyday, but sometimes the players are not going to listen when they should and because of the 82 game regular season grind, every team is going to have bad losses. Heck, Miami lost by 10 to Detroit tonight. Practically every night in the NBA there is a team that should easily win that ends up losing.

    Welcome to the NBA!

    Final point being if Coach McHale turns into a drill sergeant, he is going to lose this team as any head coach that turns into a drill sergeant historically always has.

  • rockets best fan says 3 days ago

    I think part of it is also the grind of an 82 game regular season that goes on and on for 5 1/2 months, lots of long distance travel, nagging injuries all season long, etc.

    It's just impossible for any team to play at their maximum ability each and every game (well, maybe except the Harlem Globetrotters since they play the same sorry Washington Generals team just in different cities on their tour).

    If some want to blame Coach McHale, well, he understands that comes with the territory. However, he can't shoot the ball or rebound the ball or play defense for his team. The guys on the floor have to perform, and like I said, it's not that easy to be on top of your game each and every night.

    I disagree. it's McHale's job to have this team focused for the task at hand. excuses don't cut it for me. it's games like this game that separate the good from the elite. while I'm not expecting 82-0, effort is something I want to see every night. fact is this team wasn't ready to play. dress it up how ever you want, but that's the bottom line. they were still giddy over the San Antonio win. they didn't have their game faces on. if the coach is unable to keep the team focused and we are less than a quarter of the way on the season, what happens when we play game # 48? 58? 68? the separation between the top seed in the conference and probably the 6th seed will only be a hand full of games. we can't afford to be letting games like this slip through our fingers. that falls on coaching IMO. one reason I use to love VanGundy when he was here is win lose or draw his teams consistently bring effort every night. I haven't seen that under McHale. I could pull out a number of games last year and the year before where McHale coached teams took the night off.

    As for establishing Howard. this is a flaw I have been paying attention to. we are not using Howard properly. whether we post him up or use him in P&R isn't so much the issue as the fact we forget we have the best center in the game at crunch time. we get 3 ball happy as this article has pointed out. that's coaching problem. I want to believe in McHale, but the eye test says McFail. I'm seeing flaws in the play of this team. I don't expect any coaches to always make the greatest moves. it's like any other position......there will be mistakes. however McHale doesn't make good moves consistently. could be we have an inconsistent team because we have an inconsistent coach. I say give him more time at this point, but if the results don't improve a change may be in order.

  • Buckko says 3 days ago Agreed.
  • rocketrick says 3 days ago I think part of it is also the grind of an 82 game regular season that goes on and on for 5 1/2 months, lots of long distance travel, nagging injuries all season long, etc.

    It's just impossible for any team to play at their maximum ability each and every game (well, maybe except the Harlem Globetrotters since they play the same sorry Washington Generals team just in different cities on their tour).

    If some want to blame Coach McHale, well, he understands that comes with the territory. However, he can't shoot the ball or rebound the ball or play defense for his team. The guys on the floor have to perform, and like I said, it's not that easy to be on top of your game each and every night.
  • Sir Thursday says 3 days ago

    Sorry, but I have to disagree with the premise of this article. The problem is the defence, not the offence. The last 5 minutes of the game last night showed the problem in a microcosm. The Rockets were within 2 at 91-93 when the Jazz called a timeout with 4:43 left in the game. After that point, the outcome of their possessions was as follows:

    - Howard layup

    - Brooks three

    - Brooks freethrows x2

    - Harden turnover (Jazz score)

    - Harden dunk

    - Brooks missed shot (5 foot hook in paint)

    - Harden three

    - Brooks blocked shot

    If you're counting, that's 12 points on 8 possessions. The turnover is painful, but apart from that you'd be hard-pressed to look at that and say the offence wasn't clicking down the stretch. Now let's look at the Jazz's last 5 minutes:

    - Williams missed jumper [Favors offensive rebound>

    - Favors freethrows x2

    - Burke missed long two [Favors offensive rebound>

    - Haywood missed midrange jumper [Williams offensive rebound>

    - Favors layup

    - Burke layup

    - Burke freethrows x2

    - Williams made basket off turnover

    - Burks 7ft make

    - Williams three

    - Burke missed jumper

    - Burke freethrow (1/2) [Burke offensive rebound>

    Speaks for itself, really. 4 offensive rebounds, and only one trip down the floor that didn't end in the Jazz scoring points in nine attempts. You can't win a close game if you let your opposition do that to you, it doesn't matter how well your offence is clicking.

    ST

  • timetodienow1234567 says 3 days ago

    Failure to establish Dwight in the post? LOL. We need to run more PnRs with Dwight. Giving him the ball in the post constantly with his turnover issues and he'll get triple doubles(the bad kind).

  • RyanB says 3 days ago

    Too pessimistic?

    I know Mc Hale ain't Rivers or Pop' but a lot has to do with mental issues.

    Perimeter defense along with consistent and persevering attack are both IMHO depending on mental toughness.

    A coach for sure has smg to do with it.

    With all that said i don't see why Mc Hale would be on the hot seat.

    He's proven he can adjust to matchups and showed no problem in benching Howard or Harden when they're not playing well.