143 replies to this topic

[timetodienow1234567]

Thenit,

 

I agree completely. Only diehard Mchale supporters would disagree with you.

[Mason Khamvilay]

When McHale goes small the defense goes down, but the offense goes up more than the defense goes down. I rarely see Delfino at the 4 though, it's usually Parsons at the 4 and Delfino at the 3 when McHale goes small.

[thejohnnygold]

Guess I'll chime in....I'm on the "keep Lin" side of the fence here.  I have no speculation regarding McHale and Lin's relationship...personally, I see no corresponding data to support any claims he doesn't like him.  I will refer back to a couple months ago....In a previous Lin thread I posted splits showing his minutes per game and subsequent production.  He was most effective in the 25-30 minute range.  Based on that, I concluded his stamina was the culprit.  Beverley's minutes have increased into the 20 minute range pushing lin to 28....which sounds ideal based on the previous assumption....and look at the combined effect....Our PG position is excellent.  Steals, threes, high shooting percentages, low turnovers....what more do you want?  It is a team and we are focusing on individuals.

 

Here are some more numbers from Lin's past month of play:

 

Jeremy Lin by quarter:

 

Quarter:           1st Q             2nd Q        3rd Q           4th Q

 

paint:                 53%              50%           48%            39%      

mid-range:         33%              43%           22%            38%

three:                 70%              43%           38%            38%

 

I will again re-assert that Lin's stamina is a big factor and is part of why we see him getting pulled/playing less.  I will also point out that aside from his mid-range shooting (which is sub-par) his numbers are pretty good.  He loses his legs and by the fourth can't finish in the paint or knock down threes as easily (38% is still above average).  I will also allow that, as the game progresses, the defense picks up on his limitations (i.e. unable to use left hand) and can hone in on his strengths and limit them.  Looking at his shot chart, one can see that as the game progresses he begins to shoot, and miss, more and more 2-3 foot jumpers from the right side of the rim...these are a result of driving and not being able to get to the rim and shooting a bad fall away.

 

The good news is, as has already been mentioned above, all of this is easily corrected with practice.  I believe, like some of the others here, that Lin is going to come back next year a much better, more complete player....hopefully with better stamina as well.

 

And I will re-iterate on Patrick Beverley since it seemed to go relatively unnoticed.  He has only taken 50 shots so far.  Let's see how he holds up as the volume increases....He is an excellent back-up and will remain so.

[timetodienow1234567]

When McHale goes small the defense goes down, but the offense goes up more than the defense goes down.

 

You and your Morey quotes. With that pic and the quotes, you sound like an acolyte.

[bob schmidt]

Personally, I am happy with McHale's handling of Lin. Jeremy is young and inexperienced. Having competition is always good, and Brooks is probably much more mature than he was back in the day. During his MIP season, his salary was only half of what Lowry's was, and his attitude must be very different now.

 

Until Lin beefs up his game in weak areas, he will probably continue to be among the missing when he ends up playing as a frustrated rookie unable to put it together. As to his future, he is in a solid position unless a CP3 opportunity comes along...

 

I do get frustrated with some of our fans who seem to think that they have better answers than our own coaching staff. While I would love to see a few of our guys like Terrence on the floor occasionally, I know better than to think that I know something that the coaches don't. I am thrilled to have a fun team to watch with exciting young players who want to succeed. Now, if only we could get cable tv to negotiate something reasonable with Comcast, we'd have a great couple of months ahead of us...

[Mario Peña]

I agree johnnygold that it was partially a stamina factor and staying effective. Considering the Rockets pace and the quality of point guards in the league I would believe that keeping Lin fresh would be a high priority.

[Chichos]

Look just because you believe Mchale doesn't like/trust lin doesnt mean thats there is nothing to it. I've been a Rockets fan since T-Mac got here. Lin is an average starter at the moment, but he is basically in his rookie season since he only had about 25 games of starts and a few spot games here and there the first few years. My opinion is that this team probable will make the 7th or 8th seed, but we arent going anywhere. Why not let Lin play through the good and bad times, at least we will have him develop and eventually find out what he will be for us. Worst thing that could happen is that we let the kid go and he goes on to a team average 18p and 8 ass somewhere else. In that 25 game stretch he showed what his ceiling his, and thats pretty high. We should just see if he can develop next to Harden, before we dump him.

 

I think rahat agrees that Mchale seems not to trust or like him. Because Lin was forced on him.

I like this assessment of Lin because I believe it shows how management views Lin.  Regardless of McHale's perceived views, Lin doesn't move without the GM picking up a phone.

 

There was a Stan Van Gundy quote at the Sloan conference that instantly made me think of McHale, 

 

"In coaching, you're trying to create a style of play and a culture. Every time you make an exception, you're breaking that down." 

-- Stan Van Gundy, former head coach of the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat

 

I think McHale sees coaching in this same light, which is why he appears to make boneheaded decisions on the court.  He is making a point to his players about the style and culture he expects from them.  Go find the Jalen Rose Grantland piece where he talks about how Sam Mitchel wouldn't let the Raptors double Kobe when he went for 81.  Coaches will send messages to players any way they can.  

 

McHale knows he has a young team and he knows management is all in for next season AND he knows he only has one player from last year!  McHale is doing all he can to create his culture and playing style while still winning games the "correct" way for the second season in a row.  Think about that, he did all this last year then showed back up to work with all new faces and did it all over again.  I think his handling of Lin is entirely about getting Lin to be the PG McHale expects him to be.  

 

We keep talking about when will McHale be replaced, but I think the better question is when will McHale quit?  That should be the new thread, how many times will Morey trade McHale's preferred players before he just drops trou and leaves a steamer on Morey's desk?

[timetodienow1234567]

I don't mind him setting up a culture if he treated ALL of his players the same way. To me, that doesn't seem to be the case. It's just a problem with Lin, imo.

[Chichos]

 

the whole think is great, but you can skip to the 2:20 mark to see the coach making a point stuff.

[thejohnnygold]

"We keep talking about when will McHale be
replaced, but I think the better question is when will McHale quit?
 That should be the new thread, how many times will Morey trade
McHale's preferred players before he just drops trou and leaves a
steamer on Morey's desk?"

 

That's funny...and somewhat valid.....but mostly funny.
 

 

I went ahead and rounded up our collective PG play (excluding Harden) from the last 10 games...

 

pts   blk    to    ast   reb  stl
13.3  .5    2.5   6.2   2.0  1.2
  6.7  .3      .9   3.9   3.1  1.3

20.0  .8    3.4  10.1   5.1  2.5

On roughly 45% shooting

 

Not too shabby, eh?

[timetodienow1234567]

Very few people want Lin to leave, but the vote is split on whether Lin can coexist with Mchale. Most people are firmly on one side or the other.

[Mario Peña]

From a Jack McCullum interview of Phil Jackson in Sports Illustrated last month:


"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."

I have been saying that McHale is here to establish a culture and yes I agree that he could play 'some' of the young guys more at times but there is a greater goal posed in both the VanGundy and Jackson quotes and establishing the philosophy is far greater than some young studs getting run. That establishing culture and philosophy is most important goal.




Read More: http://sportsillustr.../#ixzz2MUx2C79P

[Steven]

New York. Jeremy Lin will be a Knick next year.

[timetodienow1234567]

But what is that culture?

[Steven]

"Just Win Baby!"

[timetodienow1234567]

Lol

[ale11]

McHale is trying to win so when evaluation time comes, he won't lose his job.

Regarding Lin, he is basically a rookie with a 25 million contract, imagine what that must do to a player so unexperienced. I get the feeling that McHale might be harsher on Lin that anyone else, but so does Pop with Parker: because the PG is the on-court coach (or in most cases), it's like a quarterback in football, and is part of the learning curve. That's just a hope, more than a thought, that they can co-exist and that this is just a growing pain. Like many said, I haven't read anything about them having problems either, or maybe they are just keeping it behind doors which is the best way to overcome them.

It's also true that Lin was imposed to this team, it made sense because of the marketability, but he is a very good player. Flawed, like everyone. He is smart, be sure he would be working on his left hand and spot-up shooting next offseason.

 

By the way, I'm not Lin's fan, just a Rockets' fan (ever since the championship-era, but not for the rings, it was about the time I started to watch basketball and understand it a bit and my dad got me a Rockets' shirt, i was 6 when we got the second ring).

[Rahat Huq]

Personally, I am happy with McHale's handling of Lin. Jeremy is young and inexperienced. Having competition is always good, and Brooks is probably much more mature than he was back in the day. During his MIP season, his salary was only half of what Lowry's was, and his attitude must be very different now.

 

Until Lin beefs up his game in weak areas, he will probably continue to be among the missing when he ends up playing as a frustrated rookie unable to put it together. As to his future, he is in a solid position unless a CP3 opportunity comes along...

 

I do get frustrated with some of our fans who seem to think that they have better answers than our own coaching staff. While I would love to see a few of our guys like Terrence on the floor occasionally, I know better than to think that I know something that the coaches don't. I am thrilled to have a fun team to watch with exciting young players who want to succeed. Now, if only we could get cable tv to negotiate something reasonable with Comcast, we'd have a great couple of months ahead of us...

Bob - I respectfully disagree on the last part.  Because I don't think it's about feeling like one knows more than the coaching staff.  I think if you asked McHale and the staff who had the most potential, among players, they'd give the same answers as anyone.  It's about objectives.  McHale's objective is to keep his job and cement his reputation as a good coach.  He has to make the playoffs and win games.

 

Morey's objective is long term viability.  Many fans want the same thing.  To that end, had Morey not traded away Patterson and Morris, D-Mo would probably still be in RGV, even though everyone agrees he's the best of the three.

[timetodienow1234567]

Lin seems to be progressing. He had some growing pains while learning Mchale's system(or lack thereof) early in the season, but now that he has, I feel that Lin has started to EXCEL in the role he's been given. He's cut down his turnovers. He's shooting much better and lately hasn't been forcing up shots. I want Lin to do better, but to expect a lot more from the role he's been given is asenine. He will continue to improve his percentages and decrease his turnovers, but I don't see him averaging 20 and 12 in this system. In the role he's playing now, 15 and 7 is his ceiling. So since he's close to that, I think he's doing just fine. But a player like Beverley who has a better shooting touch right now is a better fit in this system. His defense is above average while Lin's is just average which is a HUGE plus since Harden plays close to zero defense(although he's looked a little better recently). I like Lin and he'll improve over the offseason, but since Mchale wants this system, it makes sense to me to either A) fire the coach, or trade Lin and free up the cap space to get somebody better. Very few people want Lin gone, but it makes sense if we're keeping mchale.

[SamC]

“Sometimes he’d rather have 29 points and nine turnovers and I tell him, ‘Jeremy, we’re trying to win,’ ” McHale said.

Read more: http://www.nydailyne...9#ixzz2MVPaR4ad

 

I was never one to believe that McHale had any issues with Jeremy until I read that quote.