53 replies to this topic

[bboley24]

At what point do we start looking to put someone's head on a stick?

This is the western conference.  You can't lose like this and expect to make the playoffs.  Yes it's early on.  But we aren't in the East.  We don't have that luxury to wait til it clicks.

Dwight only has a few good years left.

When do we start with the pitchforks????

[Willk]

I think you have to start to think about this. The things I would consider are:

1) putting Ty with the bench unit. he needs to get going some way somehow. I think this is the best way

2) fire Bickerstaff. Ever since game 4 of the series vs Dallas, the D has not been good. If the rox play better on D, the games will be closer

3) offer Thibeou whatever amount of money he wants to be the D coordinator

[rockets best fan]

I think you have to start to think about this. The things I would consider are:

1) putting Ty with the bench unit. he needs to get going some way somehow. I think this is the best way

2) fire Bickerstaff. Ever since game 4 of the series vs Dallas, the D has not been good. If the rox play better on D, the games will be closer

3) offer Thibeou whatever amount of money he wants to be the D coordinator

hold on ..................no pitchforks just yet. I'm not going to throw in the towel 10 games into the season. it is time to start trying something different that much I will agree. YES the roof is on fire, but there is still time to call 911. these are some of the measures I would be taking

 

1. you're right it's time for someone to go to the bench, but it ain't Lawson..........try Harden for a couple of games. that seems like the only way to get the ball out of his hands. in fact leave him there until he gets rid of that Kardashian girl  the curse is REAL  the only one I know who hasn't been damaged by dating one is West and that's because he was already damaged goods

2. move Ariza back to his natural position and leave him there. he is a SF

3. shelve the small ball. stop trying to match up to our opposition and make our opposition match up to us. T. Jones looks like he is going to be alright. he should return to the starting lineup. bring Thornton off the bench. bench Brewer and let KJ have a try.

4. ultimately McHale must be held accountable. it's his job to take the necessary steps to snap this team out of this funk. I'm not yet at the point of calling for his head on a platter, but a few more games like this an I will start gathering wood for the bonfire. I knew we would struggle at the beginning of the season, but it's not only that we are losing.........it's how we're losing. I'm not just for changing defensive coordinators.......if our staff can't get the job done.......I'm for cleaning house. the losses we have endured this season appear to have unraveled everything we built last season. we don't only stink defensively...........we stink offensively. in fact we can't do jack sh^t right. we are undisciplined in the fundamental manner in which the game should be played. IMO that's coaching

[thenit]

Agree with the small ball concept, it only works if you have 5 people who are moving off the ball and above average passer. You can't do that with Dwight and we aren't good enough shooting 3s to eliminate the poorer D.

I agree with the curse ass well. That family is poison.

[slick shoes]

https://vine.co/v/ebrjpzZeurr

Edited by slick shoes, 16 November 2015 - 03:16 PM.

[thejohnnygold]

Agree with the small ball concept, it only works if you have 5 people who are moving off the ball and above average passer. You can't do that with Dwight and we aren't good enough shooting 3s to eliminate the poorer D.

I agree with the curse ass well. That family is poison.

 

Not sure if it's a clever pun or a typo....

[Willk]

hold on ..................no pitchforks just yet. I'm not going to throw in the towel 10 games into the season. it is time to start trying something different that much I will agree. YES the roof is on fire, but there is still time to call 911. these are some of the measures I would be taking

 

1. you're right it's time for someone to go to the bench, but it ain't Lawson..........try Harden for a couple of games. that seems like the only way to get the ball out of his hands. in fact leave him there until he gets rid of that Kardashian girl  the curse is REAL  the only one I know who hasn't been damaged by dating one is West and that's because he was already damaged goods

2. move Ariza back to his natural position and leave him there. he is a SF

3. shelve the small ball. stop trying to match up to our opposition and make our opposition match up to us. T. Jones looks like he is going to be alright. he should return to the starting lineup. bring Thornton off the bench. bench Brewer and let KJ have a try.

4. ultimately McHale must be held accountable. it's his job to take the necessary steps to snap this team out of this funk. I'm not yet at the point of calling for his head on a platter, but a few more games like this an I will start gathering wood for the bonfire. I knew we would struggle at the beginning of the season, but it's not only that we are losing.........it's how we're losing. I'm not just for changing defensive coordinators.......if our staff can't get the job done.......I'm for cleaning house. the losses we have endured this season appear to have unraveled everything we built last season. we don't only stink defensively...........we stink offensively. in fact we can't do jack sh^t right. we are undisciplined in the fundamental manner in which the game should be played. IMO that's coaching

It is surprising that you are the one who is not leading the fire everybody brigade. I do not agree with a lot of what you stated here. Here is what I disagree with:

1) I would move Lawson to bench instead of Harden because Lawson has zero confidence in his game right now. The easiest way to get him going is to have him play against lesser opponents. Those opponents are on the bench of the opposite team. Lawson would replace Harden in the line-up at the end of the 1st quarter and run the whole show for the 2nd quarter. He would again run the show when Harden leaves with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. If he gets hot or is playing well you leave him in when Harden returns. There would be no better bench in the NBA right now then Lawson, Capela, Thornton, brewer, and Harrell. They would run and gun teams to death. Also, the team has looked better with Harden running the point then with Lawson. Against Sac-town, LAC, and OKC Harden played the point really well. Not to mention that Houston went on their big run against when Lawson was on the bench and Harden just drove the lane and got to the line continuously.

2) When you only have 3 bigs available, it is inevitable that Ariza will have to get some minutes at the 4. Nothing can be done about that because Morey did not sign/ draft enough bigs. Instead he decided to go SF heavy, which is hurting the team right now. 

3) The small ball line-up was 4-2. The traditional line-up is 0-4. Should it really be shelved? When the rockets go small, the offense is much more fluid. Small ball does not work when shots do not go down and the team does not team rebound. The two losses with the small ball line-up happened because the team could not rebound. against Miami, when Capela would sit, the tallest player was either Harrell or Hayes. Neither is taller then 6'8". Hassan Whiteside just dominated paint when Capela was not in. You know what would have helped? Another player who was taller then 6'8". That is on Morey. The Brooklyn game was the other small ball loss and that was due in large part to Brooklyn being taller then the Rockets at every position. The Nets would crash the offensive glass on every miss and they came up with a ton of 2nd chance points. This game was a case of bad team rebounding because there GIFs all over the internet of nobody boxing out their man in this game allowing players like Jarret Jack to get Offensive boards (Brooklyn also deployed this same strategy against Golden State and should have won that game as well). Small Ball should definitely be here to stay.

4) is Tjones going to be alright? Against Dallas he played well offensively against Charlie Villanueva, but defensive TJones would not leave the paint and Charlie hit a few jumpers forcing McHale to take Tjones off of Villanueva and putting Harden on him. TJones then had to guard the Dallas' SF and I use the word guard loosely. Also, when the Rockets were down by about 30 at half, how many boards did Tjones have? Just 1. I am not sold on TJones being alright already. 

5) Ultimately, This year is on the players and Morey. McHale is doing what he can with what he has. You claim he is not clever and creative, however, how many different line-ups have you seen him use? He is trying everything. The traditional line-up of a PG, SG, SF, PF, C has been blowout by Denver twice, Dallas, and Golden State. Going back to that does not seem clever. McHale has used the small ball line-up (which has gone 4-2). He has ever gone to a super small line-up of Lawson, Bev, Jet, and Harden when the team has played terribly. He is trying EVERYTHING to get this team going. The Only thing he has not tried has been a super Big line-up because Morey did not give enough Bigs to play this way. The Rockets roster and effort problem. These are some terrible rankings:

8th worst in transition points

25th worst ISO defense

28th worst in PPP in transition defense

28th worst in 2nd chance points

25th worst in Putback PPP

25th worst FG % in the restricted area

29th worst in FG % at the rim

On top of that, the opponents are shooting 38%

These stats show two things:

1) The Rockets are not hustling back on D (not McHale's fault because he has played everybody on the roster to try to correct this) and not hustling to get the loose balls on rebounds.

2) The Rockets are not big enough to get a high % of rebounds.

3) they are not big enough to guard the paint (Also, not McHale's fault because he does not have big enough players to protect the rim if capela or Howard are taken away from the basket)

McHale has played everybody except KJ, but Morey wants KJ in the D League. This is Morey's decision not McHale's.

However, when the Rockets get their defense set they are still pretty good:

8th against the PnR

14th against set shots

But getting back on D and getting set is an effort issue and the good thing about this is that effort can be improved. It is must be done by the players. However, it may not matter if Howard has to sit because of the no back-back thing and one of our PFs is injured (like TJones has been and Harrell may be). 2-3 bigs is not enough to constantly win.  

[rockets best fan]

@Willk

I respect your opinion, however I just don't see it that way. this team relies to heavily on Harden. Yes he is our alpha dog, but he is playing some bad ball right now. selfish, entitled, nonaggressive garbage. even if he is missing from downtown he just continues chucking. how about mixing in a drive to the basket. that's why I would leave Lawson in. somebody needs to actually start creating for the team. if we expect to get anything from Lawson we must remove the handcuffs.  

 

I agree to some degree about our shortage of bigs. AND YES T. Jones is going to be alright. before you start dragging Jones defense in the mud besides Howard who else is playing even average defense? our entire lack of ability to play competent defense doesn't rest on him alone. defense starts with each player guarding his man. the opposing teams we have played perimeter players are feasting because they are getting by the first wave of the defense to easily. our perimeter players are playing matador defense. either our schemes are garbage or our effort is garbage.....maybe even both. I agree with you Morey should have retained an additional big. we should have kept that kid Christian Wood. however I am still of the opinion we have enough to win. Dallas didn't even have their 3 best players. Raymond Felton had 19 points and so did Charlie V. do you know the last time either of those 2 put up those kind of numbers? we actually had them looking like legitimate players   if we allow that level of talent to beat us I would venture to say we can't guard a group of tall old ladies. that's not all on Jones. if you recall he did have 3 blocks in the game. how many did our perimeter players get combined? our defense stinks across the board. outside of Howard and Capela the rest of the team can't stop a 12 year old

 

as for any notion that McHale is without blame here. banish that thought. you say he's tried everything? granted I will admit some of the lineups he has put on the floor are definitely unusually structured. I don't care what you say Terry, Beverly, Harden, Thornton and either D-12 or Capela should never be on the floor together.........ever  you say we need more height yet do you really want to leave the few bigs we have on the bench. our small ball lineup CANNOT REBOUND THE BASKETBALL. if for no other reason that is worth shelving it. the offensive benefit does not outweigh the defensive abyss we fall into when playing that way. McHale looks confused......if the head coach is confused how can the troop not be confused? he is clueless when it comes to navigating this mess. I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will be able to right the ship. however at some point you have to call a spade a spade. my microscope will be focused in that direction these next few games NO DOUBT

[thenit]

Not sure if it's a clever pun or a typo....

 

Haha its a typo wish I could take the credit lol

[Cooper]

edging towards panic time, these aren't good teams we are losing to.

[txtdo1411]

edging towards panic time, these aren't good teams we are losing to.

 

I'm there. Absolutely every course of action is a possibility at this point. I'd almost consider benching Harden, Lawson, and Ariza for a couple of games. Put the players that are actually trying on the court. Run a line up of Terry, Thornton, KJ, Harrell, and Dwight/Capela out there. We would probably lose, but I guarantee the defensive effort would pick up. Maybe send a message to the starting unit to get their heads out of their kazoos. I don't know anymore. I don't think I've ever witnessed a team that plays like they have already given up 11 games in to the season.  

[bboley24]

I don't see why we don't play harrel as much.  The man is a beast.

[rockets best fan]

I don't see why we don't play harrel as much.  The man is a beast.

I disagree. while I have seen a few flashy dunks I am still unimpressed. he has a long way to go to become a decent NBA player. I like his motor, but there's not much else there right now. I don't think we had a good draft this year. I haven't seen anything in either Harrel or Deckker that has me excited for their next PT.

[slick shoes]

I haven't seen anything in either Harrel or Deckker that has me excited for their next PT.

 

Dekker has been hurt 98% of the time he's been with the team, and will now undergo back surgery. Harrell should develop more quickly with regular minutes. 

[bboley24]

Sooooooo this is the first time this has happened to me.

Start thread.
Discuss topics.
Blame Morey/Lin.
Topic answered.

Thread finished.

[redfaithful]

According to Wojnarowski: McHale fired, J.B. Bickerstaff, will become interim head coach, assistant Chris Finch will become associate head coach.

[slick shoes]

Could this be a result of yesterday's meeting? Who do we start to target now? Wayyyyyyyyyyyy too early for this move IMO. Who was the final decision maker? Morey? Les? I am clearly a bit confused.

[Mario Peña]

Look this was building for awhile. Looking back on it now, the first strange thing that I noticed before the season started was commentary about team building. Perhaps it was Harden that said that they had some great team workouts in Los Angeles for before the team reported to Houston for the preseason while McHale was dismissive about the team getting together on their own. Considering the nonexistent effort on defense, except the young guys (which would make sense since they have no real allegence to the veterans), it's easy to see this team gave up on McHale in my opinion.

The "why" is a bit troubling to me at this point and my gut tells me it's a reflection of questionable character (or developing character) but the truth is this is their chance. Now is the time for James and Dwight to step up. There will be a leadership vacuum despite what your opinion of McHale was and someone must emerge. To me the pressure is on Harden and this might be the first time I'm taking a "prove it" attitude towards him, I believe he can do it. Though I believe he could have taken them all the way, he was probably more the culture builder than the championship coach and he did a fine job.

Ballsy move by Dork Elvis. I wish we could have gotten Gentry dang it!

[slick shoes]

Mark Jackson anyone? 

[thejohnnygold]

Good observations, Mario.  Bickerstaff is ready to take a shot as head coach so I don't think we will rush to bring someone in...Unless the players have turned on him as well, but I don't think that is the case.

 

I don't know how I feel about it, but Adelman could do a lot with this roster.  I hope Morey calls Steve Nash.