221 replies to this topic

[rockets best fan]

Who thinks the Spurs assistant coach would be a good fit(Budenholzer). He's coached well in Pop's absence and the Spurs are a GOOD offensive team that plays defense. That's the kind of guy we need to go after. Pop's proteges succed in the NBA, unlike Phil's. Say what you like about Mike Brown, but he can coach some defense. Vinnie Del Negro has coached the Clips to a good record(albeit CP3 has a lot to do with that). Avery Johnson took a team to a finals(got run off by coach killer D-Will and Lopez being injured). Coach Williams with the Hornets looks good so far. So I think getting the assistant coach for the Spurs would be good. He's learned under Pop, but he's also been there during the transition from defense to offense oriented teams and so knows how to be flexible to fit his personnel.

I was with all the way up to that vinny del negro part vinny is lost plain and simple. if it wasn't for cp3 vinny would be gone already. avery rode dirk's cape. so studying under a good coach isn't a sure bet you will learn anything. i'm sure their are good examples both ways, but it come down to personality.

[Kade]

Kade:
welcome back...........I thought that morey contract extension news had chase you off while we don't always agree I look forward to some spirited discussions

Yea, can't live on the boards, got to work. That said, this reminds me of the Texans (don't even get me started with them), why start extending contracts?

[Steven]

the only thing we have in common with denver is the pace at which we play. denver has no star they are built around players who are boederline stars. we on the other hand are built around a star(harden). as for coaches who could coach a ring around mc hale? either van gundy jeff or stan(even though getting stan would not be good for a howard run) nate mc millian and brian shaw just to name a few. fact is mc hale couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag with one end open and a knife in hand. this is the main reason the rockets can not close out close games. if you look at the wins we have very few are in close games because when the game slows in the last few minutes he is unable to get the team in position to execute set plays. we simply fall on harden to iso more often than not. he has no plays we can execute at the end of a quater, half or end of games. trust me their are plenty of options when it comes to coaches. i'm not saying we should make an in season move, but end of this year........yes. it's time to stop babysitting mc hale and get a real coach.

What has Brian Shaw ever done in the league as a coach except hold Phil's seat cushion and special high chair? He runs the triangle which requires a big man with ball skills.

[rocketrick]

sort of like never wanting to fire Cheney and have Rudy T come in during season...oh wait, yea, no reason to ever fire a HC until after the season is over

Completely different situation then...........Chaney by the way won Coach of the Year in 1990-91 before being fired halfway through the following season and replaced by Rudy T. So it's not like Chaney was a "dud" of a Coach. Instead, as i recall the situation had much more to do with Olajuwan and his ongoing contract talks with the Rockets ownership which was having quite a debilitating affect on the entire team during Chaney's last season. That and Chaney never related well to his players, completely unlike the current situation with Coach McHale. I haven't heard of 1 single player having anything negative to say about Coach McHale. With all the change that has taken place in the past few months (Parsons and Greg Smith are the only remaining players left on the current roster from last season), the last thing the Rockets needs to do is make a coaching change. The players love playing for Coach McHale and that is good enough for me to say Coach McHale is our guy for the foreseeable future.

[rocketrick]

0/2? I said White, Morey and McHale need to be canned. Now, will that happen? Given the history of Houston sports teams usually they can people many years down the road than they should (go back to Oiler years as prime example all the way to present Texans and Rockets).

White is a bust and won't even last as a Rocket for long. He's in the d-league. Bust.

Look will Alexander smartly fire Morey and McHale? Most likely not but that doesn't mean by keeping them and extending their contracts = they will be successful. So far the only reason why he should is because he disregards the past and relies on "HOPE" that things will deviate and change.
Successful teams never employ this approach and you can separate the winners from the losers across all major sports. It's not a coinsidence that Houston isn't a winning city when it comes to sports. From the media to majority of fans, they don't expect and demand for winners. Instead, they look towards the future.
FYI: In the NBA the worst thing to have is a young across the board team. That's a common mistake from many fans that having one of the youngest teams is actually a bonus. It's actually the complete opposite.

On another note, I'm a huge Harden fan and wished last year watching him in the postseason that we could get a Harden like player. Make no mistake Morey was given a gift because of the screwups of other teams. This wasn't Morey working his magic. Any one of us could have been the GM and still got Harden.

Finally, anyone can rip my thread but the facts are smacking you in the face, Morey and McHale haven't been winners once since they have taken office or as a coach (or both). Rebuilding each year is the sign of a organization who are clueless. If you want to turn it around and say they are doing this to get the pieces they want and have to do this year after year then you either haven't followed the NBA or don't want to come to grips with reality.

Think of this, Lakers are having an epic all time worst season and they are only a handful of games back. Even getting in the postseason we are one and done. Will Houston throw a parade if that happens? Given the history I bet they will.

I love my teams but I won't stick up for them when they aren't running the teams I pull for the right way or the way you have to in order to win.

I stated 0/2 because Morey is receiving an extension on his contract and White has rejoined the Rockets and has started playing in the D-League. I don't agree with your position (or many others in this thread) regarding the need to fire Coach McHale. So technically you are 0/3 but until Coach McHale receives his first contract extension I will leave it as being 0/2 for the time being.

Morey will most likely win GM of the year, by the way. The players love playing for Coach McHale, I just don't see why anyone would expect that Coach McHale is on his way out so soon after joining the Rockets franchise. Wouldn't it be something if Royce White tears it up in the D-League and joins the Rockets before the end of the season and proves that he belongs in the NBA? May not happen, but it is more likely than not now that Royce is back on the court. Morey valued 2 particular players in the 2012 NBA draft as being a top 5---Royce White and Thomas Robinson. How many other teams have 2 of the top 5 valued players from that draft or any of the more recent drafts?

Great job by Coach McHale and the team by outlasting OKC tonight! Very exciting times to look forward to as our team continues to grow!!!

[rocketrick]

In the same way that chemistry is essential to team on court performance I also believe there is something to be said for chemistry among a coaching staff and specifically how the head coach leads the organization. I believe running plays are important but at this stage in the Rockets development other aspects of coaching are more important. I agree with what Phil Jackson said in an interview with Jack McCallum here and I believe it illustrates that you can get some good X's and O's guys on staff when a team core is in place and you are playing big games with big moments but until then it is just prologue.

SI: A final obvious question: What do you miss about coaching?
Jackson: What you might expect. Being around the other coaches, being around the guys. It's what I talked about in my book [Eleven Rings]. Coaching is about, "How do I get these people to play at their peak level?" Yeah, the X's and O's mean something, but you can get people to do that. And a lot of those guys have been hired. The Lawrence Franks and the Frank Vogels. Mike Brown was one of those guys. That's not a knock. Those guys know how to coach the game.
But coaching is much more than that. It is a spiritual quest. And if it's not that, you don't have a challenge, you don't have a mission. Forming a brotherhood and trying to move it forward, that's the part that I miss.
.

Thanks FSS, great insight into the mind of one of the all-time great coaches! Let's see if Coach MHale can channel some Phil Jackson..........

[Kade]

Completely different situation then...........Chaney by the way won Coach of the Year in 1990-91 before being fired halfway through the following season and replaced by Rudy T. So it's not like Chaney was a "dud" of a Coach. Instead, as i recall the situation had much more to do with Olajuwan and his ongoing contract talks with the Rockets ownership which was having quite a debilitating affect on the entire team during Chaney's last season. That and Chaney never related well to his players, completely unlike the current situation with Coach McHale. I haven't heard of 1 single player having anything negative to say about Coach McHale. With all the change that has taken place in the past few months (Parsons and Greg Smith are the only remaining players left on the current roster from last season), the last thing the Rockets needs to do is make a coaching change. The players love playing for Coach McHale and that is good enough for me to say Coach McHale is our guy for the foreseeable future.

Same thing and you recall incorrectly

[Kade]

I stated 0/2 because Morey is receiving an extension on his contract and White has rejoined the Rockets and has started playing in the D-League. I don't agree with your position (or many others in this thread) regarding the need to fire Coach McHale. So technically you are 0/3 but until Coach McHale receives his first contract extension I will leave it as being 0/2 for the time being.

Morey will most likely win GM of the year, by the way. The players love playing for Coach McHale, I just don't see why anyone would expect that Coach McHale is on his way out so soon after joining the Rockets franchise. Wouldn't it be something if Royce White tears it up in the D-League and joins the Rockets before the end of the season and proves that he belongs in the NBA? May not happen, but it is more likely than not now that Royce is back on the court. Morey valued 2 particular players in the 2012 NBA draft as being a top 5---Royce White and Thomas Robinson. How many other teams have 2 of the top 5 valued players from that draft or any of the more recent drafts?

Great job by Coach McHale and the team by outlasting OKC tonight! Very exciting times to look forward to as our team continues to grow!!!

I'm certainly not 0/3 . I said two needed to be fired and one player was a throw away pick. There's not a timetable and didn't put a deadline.
You thinking McHale is a great coach sort of speaks volumes about you. FYI OKC blew the F out of the rockets two times this year. Forgot that?

[Mario Peña]

Take it easy Kade. Let's keep this about basketball and refrain from personal attacks or suggestions about forum members. Of course that is to everyone, we don't make personal attacks, here on Red94 we have a higher standard so lets all adhere to that gents.

Back to the debate. Look you have a right to your opinion but opinions are not facts so do not overstep your bounds. Morey is looking like a great GM right now and he is definitely one of the best in the league. As far as McHale goes I don't believe anyone said he is a great coach but I do agree with Rocketrick that he is a very good coach, has players that are dedicated to him and is probably the perfect fit for the stage this team is at. Rocketrick and I are not alone, we don't forget too much considering how long we have been fans. Heck I have been a Rockets can since the mid 80's (probably similar to Rocketrick) almost 3 decades and that should speak volumes.

[timetodienow1234567]

I disagree about Mchale being a "very good" coach. He's more in the vein of average to slightly above averge.

[Mario Peña]

I know you disagree and that's fine but I would specifically say McHale is a very good coach for this team right now and that he is an above average coach and in reality the verdict is still out (not that opinions on forums mean anything at all) and he might end up being a very good or great coach by the time it's all said and done. In reality McHale is relatively early into his coaching career. I am sure we have different opinions on this but that one point about McHale is part of a larger view expressed in my post above. Everything should be considered in the context it was conveyed, this is a thread about Morey lest we forget.

[phaketrash]

I will also agree to disagree on McHale. Like I said before, I think he's learning as a coach, which is nice, and he's getting better, which is even nicer, but unlike players, I care less about my coach's personal development -- I'd rather just hire a better one. McHale isn't horribad, esp since he's improving, but I only find him "adequate." I'd keep him till end of the season for sure.

Players love him, analysts seem to like him, haha, so that does sort of matter. Playing for a coach you like helps a young, growing team. Maybe he's even the right coach for the Rockets right now, which was something Morey alluded to (though that was when he was considering going into tank mode, and not beast mode w/ Harden).

As for Morey, I'm really happy he got an extension. Often shows me why he's better than most other GMs in the league. Not saying Morey doesn't make mistakes -- in a way, drafting MM was a small mistake -- but I'm always confident he'll fix them. That's how much I like him -- where I feel like he'll turn that PHX 2nd round pick he got for MM into something we're all dazzled by in a yr, or at least into an asset to get another great piece. He's cool like that haha.

[thejohnnygold]

I am of the mind that the Rockets are doing it right--coaching-wise. As was talked about on the previous page, letting the kids develop chemistry and have fun learning the game under McHale is very wise and appropriate. In time, they will bring in an ASSISTANT coach who is all X's and O's to handle that portion of the game--strategy and execution. Maybe they already have him, but are content to let the kids learn...it's just like learning not to touch a hot stove....your parent's told you...but it only sunk in after you got burned.

And let's be frank, Phil Jackson wouldn't get this team to the finals this year....in fact, in my opinion, barring injury, the title stays in Miami until Lebron comes back to Earth. The guy is just way ahead of the pack every single night....and remember, he is "saving" himself for the playoffs. So, giving ourselves a 2 year target to peak wouldn't be a terrible idea....let Lebron cool off a little first.

[ale11]

Kade: assuming that we need winners, I guess you would like Morey to hire someone like Coach Pop, right? Why don't we do that? Right....because we can't! How many coaches who are still in the league or available have rings? Following your logic, Jerry Sloan is/was a bad coach, right? The Van Gundy brothers are bad? Not every guy who has coached less than 5 years can be as good as Thibodeau, just to name an example.

McHale is not a good coach, at least not yet, but he is improving, just like our players are. Like my dear johnnygold said, "Phil Jackson wouldn't get this team to the finals this year", so....what's the harm in letting McHale end his contract and reevaluate from there? We weren't playoff bound this year, not even with Harden, and now we are bitching about being only 3 games ahead of the Lakers? COME OOOOON! We are definitely overachieving, and even if McHale is or isn't the right coach for us, he is part of this team now, the ones who are overachieving (or "ahead of schedule regarding getting our way into contention in the mid-term future", call it what you like), why mess with what's working?

Two years from now, Harden will be entering his real prime, Asik will be set as a true starter in this league (and hopefully, offensively improved), Lin will be settled and more consistant, so....when McHale finishes his contract, you evaluate what's more adecuate: re-signing a probably improved McHale or sign a experienced coach that excels in the X's and O's.

McHale definitely was not the right man for last year's team, but it might be the right one for this roster. Other coaches I'd like to coach this current team are Monty Williams (because I truly believe he is better than McHale inside that mold of lack of experience, he could do so much more with our roster rather than NOLA's) or Pop (for painfully obvious reasons). I repeat, coaches to lead our CURRENT team, maybe in two years the answer is different.

Really glad to see Morey stick around a bit longer and continue with this project. He is one of the best in my opinion and is nice to have him on our side. Time will tell if we were all right or if we got fooled and Kade was right all along.

[miketheodio]

how well should this team be doing? i dont think any coach could get this team to the 5th spot and into the second round this year. you guys seem to be expecting a lot for the youngest team in the league.

seriously what should the rockets record be with a better coach?

[thejohnnygold]

So let me get this straight. You guys say I have lousy point guards and power forwards, but I'm supposed to be winning more games with these same "lousy" players? Which one is it?

I'm struggling to hear your reasoning over the sound of my winning record.

[phaketrash]

I remember that study awhile back that showed no real positive correlation between coach and a team's record. That coaches in the NBA are sort of like hood ornaments; have to be there, but don't really do anything for the car.

In light of that, I guess I see a coach as bringing a group together, what they teach the team, and also how they develop players. I can't really speak for the first few elements, but imagine McHale is pretty good at those (from what third sources say). My complaint with him has more to do with player development, in a sense. I don't really like how he distributes minutes. I don't like how erratic it seems, and I sometimes don't like the message it sends. Would our record be the same with a different coach? Probably -- but I wonder if players would have developed a bit differently too (for better or worse; imo, better).

[thejohnnygold]

McHale is not in charge of player development. That would be these guys:

Jesse Mermuys (College - Arizona)
Greg Buckner (College - Clemson)

I can see, somewhat, how his rotations might seem weird. Watching the game last night it is evident that those kids are still figuring out what a foul is and isn't....let alone how to avoid committing them. On offense, they seem to understand their roles pretty well and are able to execute. On defense, they are trying valiantly, but they can't stay on the floor for long once the sharks smell blood.

Don't believe me? Check out Andray Blatche goin' playground on D-Mo here:

[timetodienow1234567]

"A coach is nothing more than a hood ornament?" Lol. That has to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. There's no difference between Pop and Mchale since they're both hood ornaments? Head Coaches develop a system and are responsible for coaching that system and adapting it to the current player's strengths. Pop has changed his offense to be run through Parker not Duncan. Phil's triangle in LA was different than in CHI. The assistant coaches are responsible for coaching minute details and improving the skill levels of the players.

[thejohnnygold]

Now if he had said baseball managers....if ever there was a hood ornament

Now, in all fairness, Phaketrash did acknowledge that McHale has created an environment that is allowing this team to thrive. It's the difference between pee-wee basketball and college level. You don't spoil the fun for them by telling them how terrribly they do everything and running them into the ground with execution plays. You let them play and figure it out--then point out what they can do better. The time will come when that will not be enough--probably sooner than they would like--but for now let the kids play and learn and enjoy basketball. I'd say McHale understands that and is doing a great job of it.

These guys are still figuring out how to set legal screens...how are they supposed to run plays like the Spurs do?

Which reminds me, if anyone saw the closing minute of the Spurs/Warriors game it was the epitome of veteran coaching and veteran players getting it done in the end. The Spurs ended up losing in overtime cuz Jarret Jack forgot he was Jarret Jack and went full assassin on them--it happens.