None of the Rockets starters did well because they played like high schoolers against the highly paid veterans and yet are either young or still within their primes.
Although Beverley played 2 more minutes and didn't play any better than Lin, I bet the Clutch idiots and McHale think that Beverley played better than Lin. LOL, Typical..... Beverley scored 9 points (to Lin's 8), HOWEVER the stats for those two were overall very similar UNTIL the garbage minute: Beverley's 5 points came in the GARBAGE TIME: a 3-point jumper came with 1:37 remaining when the confident Grizzlies were up by 14, and Beverley drove to the paint like the game was still up for grabs with just 41 SECONDS left to score 2 more points (free throws) - I wouldn't be surprised if McHale & Sampson always ask Beverley to pad his stats, so that he would look better than Lin in boxscores.
KHuang point taken about pf mismatch, but I can't agree on the coaching. even if you'll lose, there has to be some way to learn as a team. this was tanking.
I thought Rockets just got an honest to goodness but kicking tonight; nothing more, nothing less.
For playoffs and beyond, hope players can put aside individual egos and get back to playing that beautiful, free flowing, high octane offense they did like those earlier season victories against Knicks and Chicago.
I don't blame players or coaches this game.
If I had to pick anyone out, it would be Morey for trading away Patrick Patterson in midst of playoff chase (except I actually like the trade longer term).
Still more upset about Indiana loss and how, at least to me, James short-circuited the comeback by not letting Jeremy help him lead team back to even in the game. Also thought Harden should have gone to bench then when Beverley normally subs for Lin and see what Lin can do with TRob and Smith. Harden could always come back in to start fourth after a few minutes breather on bench.
No amount of coaching can transform a PANSY into a LION.
I respect Carlos Delfino because even though he's woefully undersized and incapable of defending opposing power forwards, he's a gritty veteran with COJONES and PRIDE. He's the toughest frontcourter on the Rockets.
You said it KHuang - no.amount.of.coaching. You just won't look at it any other way, bro. I however try to look at it many ways, and you just don't do this to pro players. It's a professional activity. You do your best in real times, and you go to off-sites to work out your differences. Sorry KHuang, but on this one, I think you are playing the refrain and it's not a pleasant tone.
I think what frustrated us the most was not because the Rox lost this game but because of how the game was played and coached. You just have to fight hard until the end with your best players and see the final outcome. You never called it quit especially the game was still winnable. This is not a good way to boost up your team's morale going into the playoffs. You got to have some confidence in your players knowing that they will get it done. This is just bad coaching.
I said repeatedly, Roberlin, that Harden and Lin came to play.
Your personal hatred for McHale twist my words. I'm OK with you hating McHale, but DON'T MISQUOTE ME.
I know it's not pleasant, JoeTeam.
This is the NBA where TOUGHNESS matters.
Many guys who were athletic and bouncy and looked like they could fly over the world in balloons have come and gone in the NBA.
However, lay a HIT on those guys and the majority of them disappear. That's what happened this game.
Today, NBA teams have all these fancy stat gurus measuring things like leaping ability and fancy passes and highlight reel moves and acceleration. But there is absolutely no stat that can track TOUGHNESS.
In my experience watching the NBA, toughness is not an acquired skill. You either have it or you don't. Jeremy Lin has it, and actually Jeremy Lin is the TOUGHEST player I've ever seen in the NBA as far as being able to withstand adversity and keep going after taking hits. But this young statistically assembled Rockets team is showing that it's not NBA tough, especially when confronted with real NBA tough guys like Randolph who has historically terrorized his own team!
Fear is something that is conquered by exposure. The only one that has made any attempts to involve the bigs have been Lin. Mchale however, has never seen the benifit of allowing Lin to attack the middle and forcing the bigs to play. By allowing Harden and Parsons to dominate the offense, he has stunted the growth of an important part of the team. How does a team during clutch time all of a sudden expect a bunch of guys who have been basiclly ignored to know what do? How does ball hogging all season by Harden help to develop the bigs into a confident group of support players? Fear must be confronted daily by repeated exposure.
Lin's TOs have been always about involving the whole team, that is why the team often wins when he makes more of them. The bigs are scared but by force feeding them, Lin makes them believe they can do it. Lin shows his trust and confidence in them by continueing to feed them. By the 4 quarter, they get comfortable and is more able to help the team win. By the end if the season they are more mentally tough.
This dynamic per game if repeated through a season of exposure, toughens them into believing they can charge the rim. Mchale in his short sightedness has placed all the pressure on Harden and Parsons to carry the team so the rest of the team has like unused muscles, atrophied. The Rox is paying the price for not letting Lin involve the whole team in the scoring. Mchale's lack of vision is coming home to ruse.
I do not believe that fear in the NBA can be conquered by exposure.
I've seen so many guys just WILT under pressure or disappear when they get hit.
For example, Kwame Brown entered the NBA as a bruising 6'11" 260 lb Dwight Howard physical clone - not of the skinny Dwight as a rookie, but Dwight NOW. He had bashed around Tyson Chandler in front of Michael Jordan en route to being chosen #1. But when training camp started, journeymen tough guys like Popeye Jones hit Brown and down he went. Jones and other players would hit Brown, Brown would cry, and Jones would growl at Brown "GET UP" in order to toughen him up. But Kwame Brown never did acquire that NBA toughness because it wasn't part of his elemental makeup.
Then there are guys like Lin who get bashed every game and bounce back up ready to go. No player I've ever seen, big or small, gets bashed more than Lin does on and off the court. He takes hits not just from opponents, but from teammates and coaches and media and other people trying to criticize him and tear his game down. And Lin not only weathers it, he uses it to become EVEN TOUGHER.
Lin is the toughest guy in the NBA, and he's always been that tough since he was little. Toughness is an INBORN TALENT that cannot be truly taught.
Besides, Lin DID attack the middle and play point guard.
He also got double teamed HARD.
Below, I reminded people here that the Rockets sent Patterson and Morris out to the 3 point line in order to clear driving space for Lin and Harden because they'd shoot those uncontested bombs to make teams pay for doubling.
Lin can drive from anywhere on the court, which he actually did this game. But unless his fear stricken teammates make their cuts and shoot the ball with confidence, Lin will just be thwarted at every turn like he was today.
Ok, I get what you are saying, but it was still a poor coaching decision to sit the starters all Q4. It was dumb to sit Lin for 4th - they say take bad logic to it's conclusion to convince people who are stubborn, and I guess McHale just did to convince himself.
@KHunag, And where are the counter play plans designed by the Rox coaches? Because the Rox frontcourts are pansies as you described, coaches decided to not do anything about it?
janelin7, I'm not saying that the Rockets coaches are perfect.
I have criticized them long and hard. You know that.
That said, it doesn't matter what coaching genius is throwing out advice if the players are so physically afraid of being bashed by their opponents that they actively avoid physical contact.
When confronted by tough guys like Gasol and especially Randolph, the Rockets cannot afford to back down like they did tonight. That's why Gasol and Randolph controlled the game on both ends, because they were UNCHALLENGED.
The NBA is a man's league. No amount of coaching strategy can work with fearful intimidated players like in tonight's game.
Chicago's Phil Jackson was coaching Scottie Pippen in the playoffs against the Knicks (I think) in Michael Jordan's first retirement.
Pippen had been bashed around all game, which is something that opponents had started to do in midseason once they realized that Pippen was not as macho tough without Jordan beside him.
Phil Jackson drew up a play for Toni Kukoc, who was a legendary European player and a very fine NBA player. Pippen got so mad that he wasn't getting the shot that Pippen pouted and refused to enter the game. Kukoc hit the shot and Pippen looked like an ass.
Pippen was PANSY when it counted, and not even the great Phil Jackson could get through Pippen's snit fit.
Brother KHuang, we're just not going to agree on this, and we don't even have to agree to disagree because I think that's a weak way to communicate (just like someone saying "I don't disagree".) I just don't agree, straight up, bro.
What I'm going to be steadfast on is McHale's choice to sit everybody out the 4th means he's a poor coach, period. You keep saying Grizz had closed out the starters, and so on. Bottom line is, as a coach fighting in game time, you have to make adjustments and he did not.
Instead, you are using good valid points to avoid facing one thing ... it was dumb to keep the 2nd team in on tired legs. It was basically saying - we're done, with about 8 - 9 minutes left. The time slipped away on him, and he had escalation of commitment error. That happens to him often, especially around Lin's minutes on the bench. (Look up escalation of commitment ... there should be a good management or coaching science article on it.)
They might win Clips, etc. but anyway, tonight was a separate and yet another bad coaching moment.
Behind the scenes, he might be a good type of touch coach, but for sure in game-time, he makes poor decisions. So, maybe he's a good assistant coach, I dunno.
I personally believe that the Rockets would've lost the game by a LARGER margin had the starters come back in.
Memphis game planned for the starters but not against the bench. That's why they were so effective in completely shutting down the Rockets starters on both ends of the court for 3 quarters.
This kind of dynamic I've seen time and time again in the NBA. It's how good teams like Memphis play.
@KHuang, we all can speculate all we want and make prediction, but the true outcome is unknown unless we see it through. Down by 9 and still have 6-7 mins remaining and you think the Rox can't do anything but just lose the game? How did the Rox beat the Grizzilies last time? Shots were just didn't fall for the starters in this game, but what if they started to go in in the 4th? As a coach you got to encourage your players to give you a 110% until the end and win or lose you will be happy for the effort. Benching all your starters when the game is still winnable is just a dumb move. You just let the whole world know that you can't coach for shit. Not just that but you also destroy your team's confidence of playing against good and elite teams. Now they just expect to lose every time they face these teams?
Rox had Morris and Patterson raining 3s and opening the lanes last time, that's how they won.
Also, Memphis is still mad from letting John Wall shoot all those uncontested midrange jumpers for 47 points. So they committed themselves to trapping Lin and Harden and daring the minimum wagers to win the game.
Like I said, this was not a game where Lin and Harden bricked open shots. Memphis came in with a PLAN and had the max contract personnel to execute it.
Why is this all so hard for people to understand???
wonder how Rockets will fare on the playoffs,if they get into the playoffs? Rockets' past 2 games were played against top defensive teams, McHale outcoached again with his questionable substitution patterns and no adjustments on Rockets offense (dribble drive - shoot 3s all day - ISO Harden), even both Pacers and Grizz have better offense, Rockets not playing defense,lack of frontcourt depth,teams are out to stop Harden....
I don’t want to comment on McHale’s usage of Jeremy further. *irritated*
For months, I've been writing that the Rockets will get SWEPT.
And still, I would consider it a super successful season!
Minimum wage teams like the Rockets, especially when the next lowest paid team has a significantly higher payroll, usually don't make the playoffs at all let alone be the 7th seed!
That's because there's never been a minimum wage superstar who was overlooked and undervalued the way Lin was.
If Lin were any color other than Asian, he'd have been a much more highly paid lottery pick and would be leading a team like Minnesota or Detroit into the 1st round with a team with a higher payroll and thus better players around him.
I do think that it was a good move by McHale to rest all the starters for most of the 2nd half and the entire 4th. The Rockets host the Clippers tomorrow..... It's true that the bench played fairly well, and at one time (with about 6 to 7 minutes left in the game) they closed the gap to within 7 or 9 points, BUT I never thought the Rockets had a chance. The Grizzlies starters were in their zone.
You need to watch the Knicks-Pacers playoff game in the 90s, when up by 8 points with 8 seconds left in the game, the Knicks had the game totally in the bag.
I'm still in shock from that game. Damn you Reggie Miller.
Nahhhh..... Sometimes, the rockets are capable of coming back from even 15 points behind with 7 minutes left. But I didn't think they could have came back in this game.
ztrta, so what if you "think" the team was going to lose? As Herm Edwards says, you play to win the game. And McHale - he did not coach to win the game, period, by keeping out all his starters in the fourth in a game that by no stretch of the imagination could be called a "blow-out."
Reggie Miller had Rik Smits, the Davis boys, I think Austin Croshere, Jalen Rose, and I think also Chris Mullin to set picks and shoot open shots.
Without those highly paid quality players (particularly the underrated Smits), Reggie Miller wouldn't have been able to enjoy the career he did by shooting the shots that guys like Smits helped him get.
Giving up is something Jordan or Tiger Woods would never do. They never let that mind set into their mind. Mental toughness comes with the will to win and believing in it with total delusion. Jordan and Tiger never lose, they just run out of time!!!
I had a top player who had the talent, but didn't have the heart. He'd inevitably would find any excuse to give up. I studied sports psychology for 10 years reading books on the subject from zen to Christianity to philosophy and clinical psychology. Choking is the hardest if not impossible to help a player get over. No mattere how great or skilled a player is, if they don't have the self belief and heart, they will amount to nothing. Thus, i have coined the phase " if you believe, your mind follows, if your have heart, your body follows, if you have will, destiny follows." A coach that gives up and allows his players to even accept defeat is leading them down a slippery slope of excuses. That is the lowest of the low of coaching.
The same Michael Jordan who got beaten left and right in his early Chicago days and learned playoff lesson after lesson the hard way?
Jordan had to LEARN how to win in the NBA. He had to learn that he couldn't do it alone, that his teammates had to play too, that he couldn't constantly bully guys just to show people how great he was. Jordan didn't start really winning until he learned those lessons at the hands of more experienced NBA opponents. In his case, he actually had to learn how GIVE UP a little in order for the team to play better!
Jeremy Lin is learning too. Actually, he's not all that different from Jordan in mental makeup and even game winning impact.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as a "top talent" that doesn't have total innate toughness too. I've seen guys with no apparent ability but the heart of a champion just DESTROY supposedly supertalented guys who weren't as strong mentally.
Jeremy Lin is the DEAN of those tough guys, though he also has super athletic talent to go with his super innate toughness!
Like I said, repeated exposure to fear is the only sure way to separate the ones that can handle it and the ones that will wilt.
I have used the analogy of walking a straight line acrossed a wooden plank on the ground to illustrate how fear makes the easiest things we do become impossible. Putting the plank across the top of 2 skyscrapers makes it near impossible for ordinary people even dare to walk across. How do daredevils walk across Niagara Falls on a high wire? They begin by exposing the self to fear near the ground. They train their brain to ignore it and to trust what each of us are quite capable of doing, to walk in balance in a straight line. Their real talent is not walking straight, it's handling fear of death.
There will always be some who can't handle it, but giving the opportunity to develop it, experience it and train for it is how you toughen yourself to the pain of elbows and bruising blows. Marshal artists have been able to train themselves to ignore pain by smashing their hands into cement blocks or bricks. Boxers have been able to train themselves into not to fear being knocked out.
Human beings are incredibly adaptable. I believe that to get the best out of anyone, it's best to foster it with trust and respect. Many athletes however have done amazingly well with "tough love". The best example of this Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras. Andre was toughened up by a crazy father who rigged a ball machine to shoot balls at him at top speed to make him react faster. It was straight out of "Dodge Ball" the movie! Sampras came from a set of parents that just trusted his coaching to his coach and never interfered. Ultimately, the difference was that it took Andre a lot longer to develop as a tough minded player to win majors because he didn't have the trust and belief of his parents.
" if you believe, your mind follows, if your have heart, your body follows, if you have will, destiny follows."
right-click, save.
I say:
We have to practice to win at will. From that, we build a season, and after that, a dynasty. I've applied that in sports teams and work teams. The issue of time, effort, heart ... this kind of standard separates people and teams, and for sure, it's rate in a lifetime to experience a dynasty. A few wins, a season maybe two.
I hav to admit it is puzzling why McHell didn't even give the bench group ANY BREATHER for the last 15 minutes:
It was shocking that Harden and Parsons were benched as well; probably was done to show that they too got benched.
Very recently, for the first time, Morey & McHale started a little bit of damage control by rebuking Lin fans and also the stilted and smiling McHale doing some photo op with Lin (Lin looked bored and no eye contact. Good for Lin, LOL).
The starters were shut down by an effective Memphis game plan. The bench was unscouted and could run wild. But the bench couldn't pull the game out, and that's why they're the bench. McHale was going to try to eke out a victory with the unscouted 2nd unit.
The way the starters were manhandled by that superior Memphis team, they deserved to sit the 4th quarter. And the thing is that it wasn't a punishment. Memphis was just that much better.
McHale values 'energy' over talent and 'spark' over strategy. I've never heard a coach talk about 'energy' and 'spark' with the same mesmerized eyes-glazed-over cluelessness as this clown.
Hahahaha..... McHell's post-game comments are so hilarious in a foolish way. LOL..... I think McHale has more substantive (though biased) comments in his head, but he probably feels that he's being tactful to Lin by commenting as Patrick's (and formerly Douglas') "energy" and "spark"...... Hahahaha Hehehehe, LOL with teary eyes and a tummy ache.
McHale has not once talked about his game plan in a sustained and thoughtful way in an interview. His analysis never goes deeper than 'I just thought...' or 'I just felt that...'
The word 'just' is very telling.
It's as if he is so pleased whenever his light bulb even shows a faint glimmer that he JUST has to go with it. Wow, I have a thought, a hunch, let's do it for an entire quarter.
I always thought that McHale has a lazy brain. People with lazy brains don't like to think or do anything much UNLESS it's something they LOVE to do. McHale is a basketball HOF because he LOVED to play. BUT he is clearly lazy in coaching (and HATES to coach most rookies and sophomores because it's more work) and organizing his thoughts in his head enough to spew out more substantive blurbs.
Morey has even tweeted that McHale should be considered for Coach of the Year. That comment made me question Morey's intelligence or integrity. Either he really believes that, or he'll say anything.
Once again, McHale demonstrates his cluelessness about DEFENSE.
The 2nd unit could bounce around with energy because they weren't game planned against by the Grizzlies.
Memphis came in with one goal: STOP THE HARDLINERS. Don't let the Hardliners destroy Conley and Bayless and the purported best defender in the NBA in Allen like they did last game.
To illustrate how hellbent Memphis was on stopping Lin and Harden, remember how Lin went coast to coast against Tony Allen for that highlight reel layup? Also remember how Harden TORCHED Tony Allen last game?
Memphis wasn't going to let that happen again, so they jammed the Hardliners all the way out to the 3 point line. The cowering Rockets big men were too AFRAID to make their cuts, so they couldn't make the Grizzlies pay for trapping the Hardliners.
True that the Rox got outplayed tonight, as in many nights this season. But we're talking about how McHale has generally talked ALL SEASON, repeatedly repeating the same old same old: Douglas Douglas, "I thought he gave us good energy", "He provided a spark"...... Beverley Beverley.... Ditto, Ditto. What do both have (had) in common? Lin's backup, of course.
Lin regarding tonight's game: That is an example of a team that has been together. A team that is well disciplined and WELL COACHED.
Hahahaha..... another subtle jab at McHell. I like it. let's have some more! Lin is showing that he may be disciplined and acts mature beyond his years, but he's NOT docile. (;~) LOL (;~O) (;~)))>
You give the Rockets too much credit and not enough credit to the Grizzlies.
I believe in some conspiracies, but this one NO WAY. That's silly. Besides they can help the Lakers with refereeing. The Rockets were plainly outmatched. The Rockets played better against the Grizzlies in preseason if you know what I mean. (;~/). IMO, Grizzlies would beat the Clippers in a playoff series, UNLESS the refs favor Chris Paul for ratings.
The Grizzlies KILLED the Spurs two seasons ago, and that was without Rudy Gay!
The Grizzlies now are even stronger and better. They are a very skilled and bruising old school type team that plays smashmouth basketball and has quality players.
In certain ways, the Grizzlies are the "anti Rockets". The Rockets have the best backcourt in the NBA and the worst frontcourt, the Grizzlies have the best frontcourt and a mediocre backcourt (can be very potent when my man Jerryd Bayless aka Modern Day Microwave gets going, though).
You trust your starters period. you know, the guys u r paying big bucks. This is not just one regular season game, the team is in a playoff hunt. You live and die with your starters. Imagine Miami or OKC doing this. This game was NOT a blowout by any stretch of the imagination. This would be perfectly reasonable if it was a blowout, but this was a WINNABLE game! This move totally epitomizes McHale as a coach.
I mean would he have done this in a playoff game? Because essentially every game matters from now on. To treat your starters in a playoff game like this is bordering on retardation.
McHale has already started a riot here. Today, I declare McHell is the most despicable coach I have ever since. He can throw away a winnable game by benching his starters for the whole quarter. A fine should be levied against him for a loafer like him.
I have no issues with either of them struggling with the constant traps today. I even felt that they both played unselfishly.
The rest of the starters? WEAKASS COWARD PLAY.
All night, those guys were avoiding physical smashmouth contact with Memphis's bruising front line. They were so PANSY SCARED that they didn't even cut to open spots because they were afraid of getting bashed, and that's why Memphis was able to double and triple both Lin and Harden.
I don't even blame McHale for the frontcourt fail. The frontcourters will make their cuts and get their position against lesser opposing frontcourts, so they know exactly where to go on both ends of the court. Instead, the frontcourters were giving Randolph and Gasol and Prince all sorts of bully leeway in the court. Guys were AFRAID of getting BRUISED.
I now understand why Delfino gets played against power forwards despite being physically incapable. Delfino is a FIGHTER and will actually bang, unlike the rookie power forward pansies that have pretty game but are terrified of muscling against a muscle freak like Randolph.
It sounds crazy, but I am not unhappy with Lin or Harden or McHale this game. Those guys showed up ready to rumble, but nobody else did.
Who cares if Delfino is a 'fighter.' I'm a fighter too but I ain't gonna do shit against ZBo if you put me on the court. The game isn't won by effort, man. That's so McHale.
He didn't prepare the team to handle Memphis and then goes by gut feeling about substitutions to mask his incompetence.
Oh please, the game was still winnable in the 4th quarter. Rox did not get their 'butts kicked.' The team was however ill-prepared for what they saw on the court tonight.
Well that is convenient. Blame the players for the coaches shortcomings. I'm very much aware that our forwards are relatively young guys, inexperienced, minimal wage and so on but that is not main or the only problem. I am sure you are well aware of that. This isn't and never just about 1 game. This is systemic problem that have been nurtured and prepared rigorously and meticulously since the start if not the before the season starts
Right, this game was not a butt-kicking; it was close at the half, the game got away in the third, but, no coach would quit in the third quarter, unless you're losing by 30 points.
We've seen Harden shoot crappy, then suddenly turn it on and go on a tear. Some adjustments to help him get Tony allen off his back would have helped. You know, that coaching stuff that coaches get paid to do.
It's IMMATURE AND INCORRECT to think that a veteran laden highly paid team like Memphis can't come out and actually BEAT a minimum wage minimum age Rockets team.
It's also totally incorrect that the Rockets could have won this game had the 1st unit been put back. When the starters get their butts kicked in 3 quarters, it's not as if magically they're going to suddenly undo that buttkicking in the 4th quarter! The 2nd unit was able to go off because the Grizzlies didn't prepare for them, having exerted all their preparation on the first unit.
I really dislike it when people harp all sort of incorrect blame on bad Rockets play when the reality is that the Grizzlies actually played well enough to deserve the win!
Not everything is Lin's fault or Harden's fault or McHale's fault. The other team can actually be BETTER.
Sure, Memphis deserved the win but sometimes teams that 'deserve' to win don't pull out the win. The starters should have gotten the chance to make a run at the end.
It's one thing to not anticipate a bad matchup and even worse to see a bad matchup completely maul the team -- Zach/Delfino -- and refuse to change course.
unless you are God or a psychic, what you are saying is absolutely ridiculous. And factually incorrect. The teams played evenly through two quarters, only in the third quarter did Memphis build a double-digit lead. And we'll never know how the starters would have done in the fourth, because the coach gave up on his team, the way he's given up on Lin for early mistakes or early poor play all season.
I agree that Zach vs. Delfino is a HORRIBLE matchup.
On the other hand, who on this statistically assembled team of fear quaking pretty boys is better suited to banging against the X men Juggernaut - I mean RANDOLPH - than the gritty Delfino who at least puts up a fight and has NBA toughness?
The fact is, Roberlin, that Houston NEVER THREATENED TO LEAD THE GAME.
You're hoping for one of those Linsanity outbursts, but those don't happen against teams like Memphis that have two essentially max contract big men that move their feet and jam Lin all the way out to the 3 point line.
You refuse to see that Randolph and Gasol physically controlled this game from the opening tip and made this game unwinnable because they INTIMIDATED the puny Rockets big men. Don't worry, you'll see that dynamic played out in future NBA games as you watch more NBA basketball.
Once again, you're TROLLING by using your imagination to invent words to put in my mouth.
I know that you're pissed with this game and especially McHale, but don't take it out on me. Like I wrote to you before, I'm not your enemy even though you act like I am.
The Rockets battled as hard as they could but got BEATEN by a better team. It's really that simple.
KHuang please, you do remember that we destroyed Memphis back in December last year right? At the time Memphis was leading the league in DEFENSE (points allowed per game) but Lin was not shackled and hot after the NY game and ran the offense beautifully.
I did not mean to take away the credits away from Memphis at all but what I have problem is how the coaching and how the way the team managed lately especially for Lin
At the time, the Rockets were sending Patterson and Morris to the 3 point line to draw defenders out of the paint and clear driving lanes for Lin.
Patterson and Morris are gone. Dmo and Trob are the power forwards. Dmo has the game but not the toughness, Trob has the toughness but not the game. Neither player is currently an on court threat to score the way Patterson or Morris were, though we'll all see that change DRASTICALLY in future years.
If I were Les Alexander, I still would have made those trades for the future. Sometimes one has to take two steps backwards in order to take 10 steps forward.
@KHuang, remember April 29, 2012? Clippers VS Grizzlies? Clippers were down by 21 in the 4th, what happened then? Did Vinny quit because he knew his team was outmatched and outplayed by the Grizzlies? Did Vinny just let his bench finish the 4th quarter knowing that he couldn't do anything to counter? Of course not,unlike McHale, he trusted his starters to fight with their utmost effort until the end. I'm sure you already the result of that game. Who would have thought that the Grizzlies lost that game? You, me, or the experts? No one in their basketball mind thought that comeback was possible but it happened. Down by 9 and 7mins to go is nothing in the NBA. Harden, Lin or Parsons could erase that in a few minutes if they got hot. I just wish that McHale could have just trust his starters and gave them a go at it. Win or lose, it would be a good learning experience. But instead, we're here picking our brains against each other on our views of the game. Peace!
Your comparison of one max contract team beating another team is unrelated to this discussion of Lin only fans insisting that the minimum contract Rockets can beat the max contract Grizzlies this late in the season with all the scouting done on Harden and Lin.
Few things... First this was obviously done prior to tonight's game. Second, McHale has "figured out" how to use these young inexperienced stars - so that is why he deserves accolades. So does that mean McHale will sticks with this gimmicky react and shoot next year or will he implement a more traditional offensive scheme which isn't so random in the years to come.
Bucher is only looking at it from how well this young teams had done despite the lack of experience. If you look at it face value, sure it looks pretty darn good.
But let's see how the rest of the season turns out. I would bet money that the Rox will back into the playoffs and potentially get swept in the first round. I can't see harden holding up ( he is really breaking down) and Lin was forced into a slump by this coach. People in the know recognize how bad of a coach he is.
Ric Bucher don't know shit. Mchale is a coach that is lucky that the Rox have good players that can win some games. He even says that he has no plays so how do you even call him a coach. He puts all kinds of line ups in hopes that he can pull a win out of his ass. If the Rox had a legit coach they would probably have at least another additional 7-10 wins.
All I know is after Lin joined the rockets, good things started to happen. Before long the rockets became a contender. Their 3 point shots became nightmares for many teams. There were quite a few of blown outs achieved by the team convincingly.
That's before the intrusion of Morey and his stupid trade. The trade that destroy a winning team. He claims to do it for the future. It's suicidal to mortgage for your future with self-destruction scheme. The team chemistry disappeared.
Beverly blocks Green in the Spurs game and all of a sudden it is like the "Play of the Season" for the Rox. Now someone on SB nation is making Beverly into a god of basketball again for that 1 block on Prince in today's game. Funny with all these "Let's make Beverly the starter comments" lmfao.
"Anyone that cares about Jeremy and the Rockets has been complaining about his mistreatment all season, and it's close to the end of the season, and the same BS still happens again and again, which leads me to suspect that M&M (McHale & Morey) did intend to tank the games from the very beginning. I fear they won't make it to the playoff <-- I do hope I am wrong."
I guess what I'm fearing of (Rox not making it to the playoff) make come true.
He's just stating the obvious. And a few games ago, he said the Rockets' offense had a lot of "randomness". That's not exactly a compliment either. No set plays, no plans = bad coaching.
cali7 "I didn't think that "randomness" comment was a compliment... haha."
Now that you mention it, I think you're right that Lin's comment was embedded criticism of the coaching staff. It includes an acknowledge of flow offense but it also shows how little they game plan. Worse, randomness does not focus on the strength of players in the roster.
"Well-coached" is common basketball-speak for one of two things.
1) "The other team isn't that good...so they must be well-coached." 2) "Our coaches suck."
I don't think Jeremy or anyone would say that Memphis sucks and played over their heads tonight. So yeah, I think it's a backhanded swipe at McHale. "Well-disciplined" is a self-criticism, though, so he's knocking the whole team.
I will never accept a coach allowing his team to accept defeat by laying down. It is cowardice and down right disrespectful to your opponents and fans. Players all face the nerves before a game, it's our fight or flight impulse that pumps adrenalin into our veins in anticipation of battle. No truly great athlete ever accept it, Tiger and MJ delude themselves into believing that they just ran out of time.
Good coaches makes use of time by making players work and focus on shorter intervals of time. If there is 10 minutes left, ask them to win the next 2 minutes. If there is 30 seconds left, ask them to win the next 2 possessions. Phil Jackson did that with the Lakers and squeezed out wins by changing the players focus from the losing momentum to focus on the present. He'll say to his teams poor play for 3 quarters by turning their minds on a positive like " we've played like crap, but we're still in it, we just need to win this quarter." But never, ever let the players leave the court with their tails between their legs and their heart trampled. That is inexcusable! That's leading them down a slippery slope of excuses.
I prefer to call garbage time, "oppertunity time". It is semantics but it makes players recognize that oppertunity to work on assignments and plays with different combinations of players. Game time situational play invaluable. Using it to promote better understanding of players allows coaches to assess plays and formations in the heat of battle.
Bruce lee said that a zen master would never waste time, they, however would SPEND time. Time is like money, it's valuable. You can choose to either waste it or spend it. But once passed, it's gone forever.
The Rox may have been out of the game, but wasting an oppertunity to try new formations and new combination of players for future battles is indeed time in the garbage.
LOL if they wanted to tank all along, I feel bad for Harden and Parsons for being over-used all season. Nope, they weren't planning to tank. Mr. Alexander probably wouldn't want that. And what superstar will come to the Rockets if they were not a playoff ready team?
Didn't see the game so maybe just talking, but this has been the same story all season. There doesn't appear to be much of a game plan or adjustments for each team they play. That is on the coach. The starters and players implement the coach's "system." The fault lies with McHale's failure to prepare the team.
Even assuming the front court is weak, McHale should know this and then try to create a strategy, no? I mean, what exactly is he paid to do?
I also agree with the first poster. Unknown/random bench players may appear to play better because they are not scouted. People say this about Lin last year, the same applies to this bench and any other player that hasn't been around the NBA.
Bottom line, McHale did not coach to win the game in the fourth quarter. He did to the whole starting squad tonight what he's been doing to Lin all season long.
Tomorrow's game will be interesting. If they get blown out, season may start to spiral straight to hell, like last year, as McHale will have lost his team again for the second straight year.
- to bench Lin, when he is hot - to bench Lin, when he is cold - to bench Lin, when he is outscoring the beard - to bench Lin, even when he is on bench
Hey, even I can do this, I can take over his job with less money.
No way! I was SO CERTAIN that the Jazz just weren't man enough tonight to come back from such a humongous deficit in the fourth. They played with fear the entire game, knowing they could never beat a team led by a man-beast-brute point guard like Damion Lillard. How in the world could they have erased their fear and pansiness and win the game???????
You can rest people when it's a blowout, not in games like this, esp at the end of the season. And it was obvious that the second unit did not have the juice to finish the game at their peak intensity. They also just looked lost on offense, jacking up low-percentage shots. Wasn't that OBVIOUS!
Resting the starters, lol. Well, since one person here is saying the Rockets lost the game before it started since the frontcourt were pansies who stood no chance of standing up to he-men brutes like Gasol, maybe McHale should have done a Popovich and just rested all of his starters so that they could be fully rested and refreshed for tomorrow's game. Also, resting the starters the whole game would finally have given Lin a chance to get some real minutes.
It's about 2 starters showing up to play and the other 3 starters being unable to play their game out of FEAR.
Ineffective - that's the best way to describe the starters' play when faced with that bonecrushing Memphis defense that all you McHale haters think means NOTHING.
KHuang, you need to stop arguing with some irrational people. Some people here honestly think that if Lin played heavy minutes every game and handled the ball every trip down, the Rockets would go 82-0 and win the championship easily. There is no such thing as that the other teams flat out have more talent with much higher payroll or just play better at any given night. Every win is due to the players or pure luck while every loss is McHale's fault lol.
An alternative to fear would be cluelessness. Players have pointed out many times -> no offense -> just random plays. Maybe they have reached a point where they no longer know what the coach expects from them. They keep getting criticised but they have no clue what the goal is.
Anyway - something is wrong with team chemnistry. JLin lost is smile couple of games back and he started posting bible phrases on twitter...
Whenever I see Beverly as PG with Hardin & Lin on the bench, it seems the offense is chaotic. Lin is definitely a better playmaker. Beverly is in there to provide a spark and defensive purposes.
I wish there is a gif of Chandler & Jeremy on the bench in the 4th. Someone noticed Chandler whispering to Jeremy, not paying attention to court play, and chuckling.
Hardin looked pissed and someone behind him started to talk to him. Also, Ho Chen tweeted that Hardin refused to talk to the media again.
One silver lining from this debacle - I think this benefits Lin, because he, for the first time, wasn't singled out for a fourth quarter benching, even the chosen one Harden got the Lin treatment. When the guy treating you like a total scrub also does it to Harden and Parsons, any concern that McHale may be right about Lin being a crappy player goes away, as it becomes absolutely clear that Mchale is truly clueless.
Just a hunch, but, I think Lin plays much looser and freer than he has been playing, and may, just may, play in the fourth quarter against the Clippers.
Tonight's game finally exposed McHale as the emperor with no brains to all the key Rocket players, and it could have a liberating effect on Lin and the team.
That's a meaningless consolation IMO. I guess that makes Lin feel less publicly dissed (but whatever, that's feelings, fuck feelings, but it's playing time that truly matters. PT is respect.
We all know how much Parsons always gets respect; he always plays a lot of minutes regardless of how poorly he plays. No one for a minute thinks that Parsons got disrespected tonight by McHale.
What I do hope comes from tonight is that McHale is out the door. There's no way that Harden is going to tolerate being benched for an entire 4th quarter. No star will tolerate shit like that.
Harden deserved to be benched because he SUCKS. Lin should have been getting the kid gloves Harden treatment all year long and harden should have been benched all year long because Harden TRULY SUCKS!!! U can't see that by now?
Anyone notice how DMo got really annoyed at Bev (gesturing with his arms, like 'Why aren't you passing to me?') when he was open on the right wing? Instead Bev takes a contested 3 himself.
About DMo, he made an excellent post-up move against Gasol. But the team was not looking to feed to him when he was in the block. And the rest of the time, he was not even standing in the block to be fed but instead camped on the 3.
The Rox don't have a clear idea what they are doing for spacing. Sometimes they spread all five players on the perimeter like Miami does, and sometimes they do unscripted ball movement, but too much watching Harden and too much of Harden not passing to people who have MUCH LESS defensive pressure on them.
Ever since last game, I've lost a lot of respect for Harden. If he is not getting his game average of points, he will insist on shooting till he gets his stats, even if it means ignoring teammates who are open. Once he's fixated on his stats, the game is lost, since he's holding the ball too much and the coaches ride his nuts so much they can't find a way to run the offense without going through Harden.
I get fucking mad seeing the 2nd unit. Why? Because Bev and Anderson get more screens set for them than Lin ever does. WTF.
Lets hope the Rox lose tomorrow night. Lets face it, it's gonna be difficult for Lin, because McHale will find a way to eff with him..
The only way that McHale will not be vindicated for tonight's move is if the lose tomorrow night. If the Rox win, heaps of praise will be bestowed on McHale for making the sound move tonight. That is the last thing I wanna see at this point.
I hope that they lose big .. Lin will be on the bench because I'm sure McHale will fault him for not stopping cp3. And if they lose, the rednation will go into a meltdown... That is what is hoping for at this point.
On CSNHouston: On McHale on goin bench all 4Q: "I thot they playd realy hard. I thot they came out there &gave good energy, so I thought I'd just go with em"
The starters got completely outclassed for 3 quarters with the lead expanding every time they played.
The unscouted bench ran wild because Memphis didn't bother scouting them. McHale recognized that and tried to attack Memphis. But in the end, Memphis's superior talent prevailed over the bench too.
Haha. McHale is an idiot. Harden knows he doesn't have what it takes. Everyone knows this. McHale had to bench the entire team just so it wouldn't look like his weird Lin substitution pattern wasn't just singling Lin out. Now, he had to tank the entire team just to cover himself. He's digging his own hole.
I definitely thought that was partly the case. McHale hasn't cared in the least before (because Morey was in on it), but just VERY recently there has been a BIT of damage control and a BIT of caring about the non-Lin-hating public's perception.
The other parts were that the Rockets play tomorrow against another tough team and the Grizzles were too much tonight. Grizzlies are a very good team that was trying to break their recent losing streak; they are also playing for #3 or #4 spot in the WC.
CF site is so funny. So many comments on how they respect Mchale for letting the 2nd unit play the whole 4th to teach the starters a lesson. Some CF people think that the Rox are a high school team. Bunch of ass clowns.
Does it really matter who played the 4th quarter? Memphis on the road trailing 10+ points going into the 4th is a 90% loss for most teams if not all the teams. What's good to tire out the starters on a back to back and still end up losing anyway? And then if the Rockets lost on the 2nd night of a back to back, people would say it's because McHale didn't know how to pace and rest his players accordingly on the 1st night. This has happened many times already, you could read back those comments.
@Cara ... because competition is about giving and getting your best, to ascent or transform. Look at all the kids who are watching that game. Should we have a society where we are all preserving our energies for a future challenge? Maybe, if you read Sun Tze and quote it, or if you life on Godfather quotes. A true champion will try his/her best to get up, every time.
ps - now that I think of it, McHale is a true champ, so no way he was thinking about throwing this game to get Clips. He thought 2nd team on tired legs would win.
What made you think that the starters would present a challenge to the Grizzlies other than tiring themselves out? Their performances in the 1st and 3rd quarters certainly did not give any hints. If anything, the bench at least kept the score close while starters looked like they would be getting blown out. It's okay to bash, but not okay to bash everything irrationally.
Rox were in the bonus way early in the fourth quarter and the Memphis starters, when they came back in, made many mistakes. It was a winnable game. It is absolute rubbish to throw the game away with 8-9 minutes left in the game. It was improbable but doable.
Rox were down 17 with like 7 minutes left in the OKC game, which they WON.
Being in the bonus early doesn't just mean getting to the line easier -- every time they get to the line, the clock stops. When the team is in the bonus, there is actually MORE useable time in the game than is indicated by the clock
Cara - what makes me think they could have played better in the 4th? Well, if you don't think they could, then you can always turn off the TV every fourth quarter. And then, why not just give up every time you are down in life too. There's always tomorrow. Srsly, Rox have come back from 15 down before.
There's no fixed answer, and that's the beauty of a free life.
I am not bashing. I am rational.
0ccupati0, I agree and thanks for speaking up for me given Cara's tone. Cara - no need to be snide (= mocking in an indirect way). I can disagree without being disagreeable, so go ahead and disagree and we're fine.
KHuang, I am not talking about giving Lin the ball. I am talking about McHale sitting out his starters in the 4th, which is a rare thing that we disagree on.
Bamboo Forest: you're right. A champion will try things out of the box. I'd advocate staying within the rules, the law, and common decency, but hey ... Captain Kirk reprogrammed the computers at Star Fleet, so even in fiction, there are legends of breakout thinking. I just love seeing a champion step up and making a difference, so what works I agree. Only, I don't get much out of MMA. I'm still an Ali fan and can remember all the years of sitting with my buds watching his fights. Rope a dope is thinking out of the box.
Cara is the rational one here, and her snide comments are APPROPRIATE.
Memphis is a terrific and well paid team. They're SUPPOSED to beat the Rockets.
You all can fantasize about the Rockets beating mighty Memphis in the 4th after getting TROUNCED for 3 quarters. The score didn't look like a blowout, but Houston's starters could not do a thing against Memphis's solid game plan.
If you all think you are smarter than McHale, FINE. Put up your analysis of how this minimim wage Rockets team was going to break that double teaming defense that shut down both Harden and Lin while causing everybody else to quiver in fear.
KHuang - no snide comments are not appropriate. It's to your statement it is not ok to flame people here. I was getting treated with a snide comment, and I am not trashing on McHale or people. I just think his call on Q4 was not the right call.
Championship talk is relevant and appropriate anytime you are watching sports, from teaching kids karate to high school and pro. It's not that Rox will be champs, but they have to have it in them as an ethic. It comes with the territory. This isn't learning to paint or study for a final. This is competition!
I don't give them a break for being young or lower pay than others. They are in the NBA, and they are a good team with potential to do very well this year.
I do not have McHale hate - I just don't think he made the right call, and I think he continues to make wrong calls in-game.
And, to end this, I don't think I'm smarter than McHale. But sure, he's a HOF playa, a rich guy, and the coach of the Rockets. That's all fine. I can as a fan criticize his decisions in-game. Outside of the game, I can't judge him and his program except by the overall results. During the game, I am seeing a lot of the same things he's seeing, and this decision was out of band so I'm pretty sure it's ok to stick to my observation that it was a wrong call. You can stick to yours, but you can't keep using non sequitur to make your point against mine. Use A+B logic, and address the basic point that he gave up for some reason. I'm fine with our PFs being weak, that we were losing, etc. I just don't agree with either thinking 2nd team can beat first team on tired legs, or it's ok to give up with 1 digit pt differential with 8 mins left. Either way, it's poor decision making, and we all want leaders who decide well for their peeps.
So, if McHale had played the starters till the 4minute or 2minute mark in the 4th quarter and then pulled them out, would you have criticized him as IRRATIONAL? Would you have said that after the game -- honestly? Cuz I seriously doubt you would say that.
Yet, when posters suggest precisely this, you can't for a moment entertain how that makes sense. There is no point to trying to have a conversation with people who brand those who disagree as irrational -- it's more fun talking to pompous asses than such self-styled rational people as this.
McHale -- who has never once tried to rest Harden for the long haul -- is now being credited with resting the starters. Is there any precedent or pattern for this? I think the answer is simply No. You're giving him too much credit. He seriously thought the bench could pull out this win. In his post game comments, he did NOT say he was resting the starters but that he liked how the bench was playing.
This is not loser talk. This is called playing the probability. Rockets coming back from that Thunder game didn't mean they can just come back from any games. You play well, you can stay on the court. You don't play well, you sit. This happens in all basketball court.
McHale is not prefect and has his flaws. But bashing him for everything and after every loss or even win is irrational. And Lin not putting up the numbers and not living up your unrealistic expectations is not his or McHale's fault. Please, the Rockets are not supposed to go 82-0 and Lin is not supposed to be better than Lebron James. No amount of coaching would change that.
Who here said the Rox are supposed to go 82-0? It's obnoxious to put words in other people's mouths and then bash them. You're not having a conversation with anyone except some strawman you've invented for your purposes.
And no one here said it was probable the Rox would win, or that every game is supposed to go like the comeback in the OKC game. Yes, it is about probability -- what is probable and improbable instead of the impossible. There is nothing gained by not trying.
You can say what you want. If you're going to dis those who disagree as 'irrational', then I'm done with you.
I'm sorry Cara but no one made the exaggerated statements that you are attributing to other posters, and it's uncalled for for anyone to say someone is being irrational simply because he/she has a different opinion.
In fact, neither JoeTeam nor OccupatiO "bashed" McHale. They were being critical of his decision(s), and are entitled to their opinions.
Although I don't like McHale's coaching for various reasons, I appreciate people like Khuang's opinion on McHale because it did make me think of the situation from a different viewpoint, and I could see how Lin could learn from McHale (although I think Lin's learned all McHale has to offer).
Ultimately, thank you, everyone for your contributions.
BTW, I'm not knocking you, Cara. There are some extremely exaggerated statements made at times, but some people really love Lin and think he can do no wrong.
Joeteam, the fundamental difference between us is that Cara and I know that the Rockets are nowhere as good as people here think they are.
All NBA teams compete, even the worst ones. These are professionals and they are trying as hard as they can most of the time.
You think the Rockets are a "good" team. I cannot agree with that. I see an overachieving minimum wage minimum age inexperienced team with major holes that cannot magically be solved by installing a coach not named "McHale." I see this team as having the WORST talent in the NBA that has won more games than it should because Jeremy Lin has put forth a HERCULEAN effort in trying to make guys on his team better.
Most people here have very high expectations for Lin and the Rockets. I do not. I'm amazed they've gone as far as they have and are in position to make the playoffs at all. So when they get jerked around by a much older and much more highly paid team like Memphis, I don't start blaming the coach for not getting the minimum contract guys to magically outplay the max contract guys.
There are many fans here who are new to Lin and new to basketball. After a few decades of watching the sport as intensely as they are, they'll eventually learn that their favorite players can't just go and beat opponents simply by changing the coaches.
If we can predict wins/losses based on talent and salary of the players alone, then there is no need to play the games. In the NBA, any team can beat any other team. It might be an uphill battle to win this game, but not impossible. To not play the starters at all in the 4th quarter is like waving the white flag and that's not what playing basketball is about.
So Sesshie, what makes you think that Lin and Harden would've exploded against this Memphis team that trapped those guys every time they touched the ball?
For 2 games straight, Harden has been stopped cold by Paul George and Tony Allen. Perhaps the game tape has shown enough for opposing coaches to figure out how to stop Harden.
The bad thing is they also forced Lin to give up the ball by double-teaming him to prevent penetration.
Clippers game will be another nightmare unless their 3PT shooting is really hot. I'm hoping for another appearance of ISO Harden ball, 2nd team in the fourth quarter as the offense is sputtering nearing the playoff.
What else can we expect from a random system with a random substitution pattern in search of random energy? Good teams systematically find ways to eliminate the randomness.
@psalm234 Me, I don't miss Melo at all, so maybe it's ok too if they do fine, McHale stays, and JLin is somewhere else where we get to know intimately a new set of characters. This set is a little lacking in Linspiration :-) I definitely won't miss CF, though I will some people. Poasting and Toasting was okay for a while there too.
@JoeTeam, I see you're feeling nostalgic about this team already :) Well, perhaps Lin is best in a no-stars or low ego team like Denver or Spurs but we don't know what the future holds although we know who holds the future.
Well, if Houston ends up being one-year stop, Lin still learned a lot about overcoming adversity. If not, we can hope Les feels the same way about McHale with us.
Only playoff performance will tell us a lot about the future direction.
Which place badly need a good PG again? Utah and where else?
I've never watched teams with such random plays and inability to adjust. It's very hard to watch because you never know what to expect.
Don't forget the max contract big men in Hibbert and Gasol and the bruising power forwards in Randolph and Psycho T when talking of Paul George and Tony Allen's defense, psalm234.
All season long, I have written that teams with max contract shotblocking or bruising big men are the BANE of the Rockets.
This is because when guys like Gasol trap Harden and Lin in the midrange, guys like Asik don't have enough game to make Gasol pay for trapping.
Outside of Jeremy Lin, there is no such thing in the NBA as a great perimeter defensive player without a max contract shotblocker behind him.
I gently disagree that the Nuggets are a "no star" team.
I view Denver as a highly paid team of stars that doesn't get a lot of individual media attention but can really play the game.
Lin would do well on that Denver team, definitely better than Ty Lawson who earns $12 million a year. But even Lin would have trouble against Memphis because Denver doesn't have a low post scoring presence to make Memphis pay for doubling the penetrators. That's why Ty Lawson struggles more than Lin does against the good teams.
Well, I didn't see this coming. I guess now I have to give McHale some credit for having the cajones to bench Harden and Parsons, I didn't think that would ever happen.
At least Lin's not being scapegoated by himself. But McHale should have done this a loooong time ago. By this point in the season, it would have been better to have some effective game plans for the starters.
Well, what an interesting game and last qtr?! The only positive thing i can make of this is that Lin wasn't the only one benched and now the others aside from Asik and DMo knows how it feels to be benched and watch a game slip by and not be able to do a thing about it. I think maybe McHale wanted to "punish" the starters for their continuous slow starting of a game and having to play catch up later to result in a loss or victory, mostly losing the game. maybe the Pacers game was the last and he had enough off always playing catch up that wastes up a lot of their energy? Also i thought maybe to punish the team for the stickiness lately. They're barely assisting, tonights highest was 5? I think McHale wants to cost this game to teach them a lesson that this should be a team game and they need each other to win and that they need to quit with the slow start or else he'll purposely lose the game for them? idk, i'm not McHale. But then again McHale is a funny case, says one thing and does another, y'know? talk about riding the hot hand then yanking the hot hand for another that warms up to be hot then the other sits.....like Lin?! Anyhow I really thought this game could've been won but looking at his intentions in this crazy weird prospective eased my anger a little bit? I concluded this because everyone, i believe, even the players were a bit thrown off by this crazy tactic. But w.e it is there's always this thing that maybe McHale was just trying to prove that he plays no favor or he's really looking to be replaced? lol idk
The bench was able to perform because Memphis did not game plan for them. So they were able to have some fun in the sun while the Rockets starters got THROTTLED by a SUPERIOR team.
This is not about vendettas or roles or anything. This was a good ol' fashioned BEATDOWN by a superior team over a weaker one.
It's when people try to spin the reasons into Rockets coaching inadequacies that the reasons don't make sense.
Many years ago, I watched a Knicks Dallas regular season game.
Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell were the Knick gunners, just like James Harden and Jeremy Lin are the Rockets gunners.
Marcus Camby was the lone inside big man, just like Omer Asik is the lone Rockets inside big man.
Dallas trotted out a HUGE lineup of Dirk Nowitzki, Juwan Howard, Wang Zhi Zhi, and Danny Manning. I think there was another 7 footer in that game for Dallas. The Knicks saw that and got spooked.
Dallas had an aggressive defensive guard named "Greg Buckner" who was a faster, stronger, and BETTER defender than Tony Allen is. Dallas dropped their 7 footers into the lane and Buckner jammed Allan Houston all the way to the 3 point line. Houston and Sprewell got shut down, just like Lin and Harden got shut down.
Marcus Camby tried to battle those Dallas 7 footers by himself, but they just overwhelmed him. They scored on him, rebounded over him, dunked off passes when he tried to play help defense.
New York didn't lose the game by a lot of points because Dallas took mercy, but it was a BLOWOUT by the 3rd quarter.
Harden is pissed, he refused to speak to the media after the game. This could be a major turning point with the team. Maybe Harden and the team gets the message and turns up their defense. Or this is the beginning of McHale losing the locker room.
Anyways, McHale set this situation up for himself, because he never benched Harden for any reason the entire season, then all of the sudden, he does it today. Of course Harden was caught off guard.
Lol you spoke like the opposing teams had no scouts. Yeah opposing teams should just be content continuing to let Lin get 23/6 every game and don't bother defending him. If Lin got 23/6 shooting at 59% every game, he would be the best guard in the nba and even more dominant than Lebron James. Do you really believe that?
Beverley get more opportunities now because he had that horrible stretch before and teams didn't see him as a threat and didn't bother defending him. When he played more and actually performed, teams would scout him and shut him down too.
You say Jeremy has never been scouted before? Seriously? You say these teams (that he had a good game against) didnt prepare to defend againstn him? Or do you say that JLin completely changed his game during that stretch? Nobody knows what your point is but you sure tread on other peoples opinion.
Also - Beverlys been having a lot of minutes lately. You seriously believe that teams havent scouted him yet? You act like scouting is a science project that takes time, goverment money and a lot of staff.
"Beverley get more opportunities now because he had that horrible stretch before and teams didn't see him as a threat and didn't bother defending him."
Sure - these days Beverly just walks to the hoop and scores in bunches and opponents dont even hinder him. I play crappy too. Where do I sign up to become McHales most favorite PG?
JLin should try it too. Play crappy - maybe he will get his chance - oh wait - he already tried.
People new to the NBA don't realize that teams scout everybody but don't necessarily plan against everybody.
The guys that get the most defensive attention are players like Lin that score tons of points when single covered and get the entire team going on both ends. All opposing teams try to limit guys like Lin, even if they don't think he's a "good" player.
Guys like Patrick Beverley that can't score, can't pass, can't defend, and can't win are ALLOWED to run wild to kill their own teams. This is no different than most teams allowing Harden to go isolation but will send that double team right at Lin in the same game.
Like I keep saying, there are a lot of well meaning but NOVICE fans of Lin and the NBA who are incensed by this game. After a few more decades of watching the NBA, they'll notice the trends and patterns that makes longtime watchers like me groan "We've seen that before".
Why are certain players on your team scouted for and planned for? Is it because they are your best players? So you don't play your best players because of the fact that they are scouted for and planned for and you as the coach have no countermeasure in place?
So the solution is to play your sub-level players because they were not scouted and planned for and hope the other team to play down to their level? Something is wrong with this logic...
So Sesshie, are you saying that Houston's big men should've been clowning max contract Gasol and Randolph every time those two abandoned the Rockets minimum wagers to double Harden and Lin?
When I was told that there was nothing personal between McHale and Lin, I could only counter with the fact that there must be a hidden agenda for McHale working against Lin game after game.
He's so determined to take away Lin's minutes and opportunity to win games for the rockets. It seems that he is telling Lin: you're here to take the shame and Harden is to take the glory. That's your role, period.
It is undeniable that Lin can move the team better than Harden. Teammates believe in Lin more than Harden, the ball hogging idiot. He just ate a humble pie from Paul George. There'll be many more to come because his failure would be scouted so well that history would repeat itself. What a franchise player; this is an overblown marketing scam. I'm glad the Pacers did that should have been done long ago.
The fact that Harden refused to speak to the media again jut shows what a two-bit, classless, immature punk he is. Very immature. Has Jeremy ever done that? No, despite being disrespected, mind-fucked, and mentally tortured by McHale just about every game. This is what happens when you deem a young, selfish punk like Harden your "superstar". What a joke! This is what happens, when crybaby never is held accountable for his lack of defense and hero ball selfishness on offense. When you treat such people with kid gloves all the time, this is the punk you get. Know that jackass Harden knows what it feels like for Jeremy to be benched every night. Did you see Harden's disinterested face on the bench as he was almost laying down on his chair? Would Lin ever do that? No!! Despite being treated line shot, even on the bench, Lin is engaged and is supporting his teammates on the floor. Harden is nothing but a much worse version of that punk Melo. Lin has got to get his ass out of Houston at the end of this year no matter why happens ! He doesn't need or want teammates like Harden!!!
@Spencer Haywood, touche`, i hve said all along that Harden is only going to do Harden. I also think that Lin's playing time has been shut down because of Harden. he is intimidated by Lin's style of play. Lin is a much better play maker than he and if Lin is given free reign like him, Lin would go off, and this team would actually look like a contender for the play-offs.I also personally think that Morey i setting Mchale to fail, so this his handpicked coach, could take his spot, which is Finch.
The difference is though McHale will still treat harden like superstar and Lin will be looked down on by McHale. Lin can act the good teammate all he wants but it really hasn't gotten him anywhere this season except clapping on the bench in crunch time.
Sometimes u need to let the coach know u r pissed. Don't u think McHale will think twice about benching his superstar next time? Lin? Well he makes it too easy for McHale to do whatever he pleases.
I normally agree with Khuang but not this time. They are professionals, just because you are outplayed in the first 3 qtr, it does not mean you should give up before it is over. I know McHale was thinking the Clipper game tonight. But when the score was close enough in the 4th, he should have brought the starters back in to give it one last push. Rox had come back many times this season. The reserves gave them a chance but McHale's mind set was saving the energy for tomorrow's game when the current one was winnable. I sure hope they get blown out again tonight against the Clippers so all the "Energy Saving" was a waste. They had a better chance against the Grizzles with those "Saved Energy".
I do believe the team will be blown out again by the Clippers. Telling a team to give up by benching them at the fourth quarter is easy. Telling them again to overcome and believe in themselves the next day would not be that convincing with what they have just done today.
Players played with emotions and the coaches are not leading the team but virtually turned the players from playing. It's so ironic. I don't think McHale will ever move the team to success again. He's such a dismal coward who taught nothing but throwing away a game which is within reach.
It's really difficult to earn the trust of their players to play again with McHale's coaching. What a loser!
The rockets in this season defeated SA, OKC the top teams in the league. With a coach that can better use the talent of this team, the rockets can beat any team. No other team in the NBA now could use the 3 pointers to perfection in blowing out Utah, GS and Dallas. Teams have started following the rockets in applying this successful formula; notably the GS. Lin told us they have a winning team and he was languished for the trade to destroy the team. At the peak of his emotion, he helped to blow off the OKC by scoring 29 points roaring with disapproval.
See, the notion that Houston can and shoukd just come in and beat any team in the NBA is why I disagree with everyone here.
Any team can get hot and beat any other team. Any team can also GO COLD and be beaten, like the Rockets did tonight due to fierce defense.
People here are mad at McHale for not making Houston invincible, for not winning this game in the 4th quarter. My advice for them is to keep watching the NBA, as they'll figure out that many games are just not winnable!
I'm a firm believer in process. Winning and losing is not an indication or indictment of performance, it's a marker of personal process. The thing about competition is that you can play like crap, but if your opponent plays worst, you win! If you are satisfied by just winning, or use it as personal measurement of success, then you are failing in process. You should never be happy as an athlete or personal development with measuring yourself against someone else. Use your interaction as a measure of your own personal development instead.
Once you change to this dynamic, your inner battle becomes one of fighting yourself, believing in your work, trusting in your process and never giving up. This is why Lin is so inspirational. He is a perfectionist not for someone else, it is for his own process.
As a coach / teacher, you must instill this self desire to become better. It's a bit bit like teaching. If you teach a child to be curious and develop that desire to learn, then you can just guide that path to knowledge.
Harden has been pushed up to the top of the mountain of success by Mchale, building him up to be the top of the heap of the Rox's mountain. The problem is if you measure yourself by winning and stats, it's like climbing a mountain. It's easy to chase the top of the mountain looking up. The problem is that at the top of the mountain, there is nowhere else to go but look down. Both Harden and Parsons are choking because they are looking down. Process is not like a mountain, it's a long personal journey made of daily small steps. A good coach is one that guides his players on that journey. By improving each day, wins and losses become less important. They become markers on a journey. They become less fearful of failure, in fact the only fear they have then is the fear of losing desire.
A successful team is built not only of talents but of characters. There're talents in the NBA but they don't always succeed because they don't have the character to pull through hardship.
What McHale has taught the young team is to throw away a game at hand for another game.That's cowardly. If when the rockets are well-prepared, there is no guarantee that you can take down the clippers. If you watch the game between the Clippers and the Kings. The Kings grind it out with TD and Patterson and virtually demolish the powerful Clippers. Blake Griffin is powerful, even more physical than Zandolph.
You need a team of high level of togetherness. The Kings with TD and Patterson playing at the fourth quarter can beat any team. They even blew out Chicago. The toughness and the willingness comes from the coach. With a coach like McHale, he simply took it for granted. He's too selfish to foster togetherness as team.
The best talent don't always win. The best team will. Look at the heroics of the Boston. They suffered injury after injuries. Do they ever quit? When the going gets tougher, the tough gets going.
What McHale has fostered in the team is cowardice. The fire in the team makes Lin tell us that they have already had a winning team because they play together and they always find a winning way. It's not McHale's game plans. We know it's nothing but shit. It's the guys who believe in themselves. It's easier to speak than done; killing Utah with 3 pointers; blowing out GS with 3 pointers. They had the determination to use the 3 pointers people back away with. It's concentration and confidence that excels. Whatever they have achieved, it's history. Morey destroyed the team but not the mighty combination of TD and Patterson. The Kings applied them so successfully. The rockets have lost the invaluable duals. The scores for each game has been declining to low score games. That's not how the rockets winning games.
Morey was the culprit bragging with his advanced statistics, and money buying power in capsize management and by dispensing good players at will. What rockets have achieved in the past were more than money can buy. Morey still think they can buy a better team which they already had and gave up.
What a loser!!!! Thus McHale complied to Morey was another loser. Lin was the toughest player and never gave up trying. Playing for McHell is just like hell for Lin.
Because Houston is the YOUNGEST and LOWEST PAID team in the league.
Lecturing about a max contract team like Boston that hits the court with a bunch of Hall of Famers is not convincing. Nor is Sacramento which is an UNDERACHIEVING team with all those high lottery picks.
People's singleminded hatred of McHale has bilinded them to the fact that Memphis KILLED the starters because of superior talent.
In every game, the outcome is either a win or a loss. To get a win is the optimal outcome, but even if it's a loss, there are good losses and bad losses. I think a good loss is a loss with your best effort and a lesson to be learned on how to get better. A bad loss is just giving up and leaving with a sense of confusion and resentment.
So the Rockets lost the game, big deal. But how the coach just gave up on his team in the 4th quarter is unacceptable.
Did you see how the Kings demolished the Clippers in the fourth quarter. Patterson played well and blended with the new team. The Kings let TD and Patterson played for the 4th quarter at the crunch time to turn away the Clippers.
It's the team that bombed the GS away with 3 pointers but lost heavily the next time when they met after the trade. Team chemistry is more important than talents, money and more. They had it but they lost it after the trade. Before that, the players can run any team out of the court when they believed in themselves they have a winning team. They could bombed their way against anyone. See now what they are playing is eye-soring. It's not the same team anymore. All those double standards and injustice poisoned the team chemistry.
Lin now is worrying more about staying on the court than winning because McHale pulled him out when he was playing well all the time not because he was tired but because they wouldn't let Lin played his best overshadowing Harden.
Lin played 23 minutes in this game. Harden played 26 minutes. Harden is allowed to play w/o Lin. Lin is not allowed to play w/o Harden. It's a safety measure in case Lin show up with Linsanity, Harden is in with him. Lin receives more respect from other teams than his own coaches.
Lin can play w/o Harden. The game that he scored 38 points w/o Harden against the Spurs was the proof. Yet Sampsons screwed up and took Lin away from the game and then the rockets lost. The coaches rotation of the rockets was unthinkable and stupid. The rotations sucks!
None of the Rockets starters did well because they played like high schoolers against the highly paid veterans and yet are either young or still within their primes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Beverley played 2 more minutes and didn't play any better than Lin, I bet the Clutch idiots and McHale think that Beverley played better than Lin. LOL, Typical..... Beverley scored 9 points (to Lin's 8), HOWEVER the stats for those two were overall very similar UNTIL the garbage minute: Beverley's 5 points came in the GARBAGE TIME: a 3-point jumper came with 1:37 remaining when the confident Grizzlies were up by 14, and Beverley drove to the paint like the game was still up for grabs with just 41 SECONDS left to score 2 more points (free throws) - I wouldn't be surprised if McHale & Sampson always ask Beverley to pad his stats, so that he would look better than Lin in boxscores.
wow, that was not pro bball.
ReplyDeleteKHuang point taken about pf mismatch, but I can't agree on the coaching. even if you'll lose, there has to be some way to learn as a team. this was tanking.
DeleteI thought Rockets just got an honest to goodness but kicking tonight; nothing more, nothing less.
DeleteFor playoffs and beyond, hope players can put aside individual egos and get back to playing that beautiful, free flowing, high octane offense they did like those earlier season victories against Knicks and Chicago.
I don't blame players or coaches this game.
If I had to pick anyone out, it would be Morey for trading away Patrick Patterson in midst of playoff chase (except I actually like the trade longer term).
Still more upset about Indiana loss and how, at least to me, James short-circuited the comeback by not letting Jeremy help him lead team back to even in the game. Also thought Harden should have gone to bench then when Beverley normally subs for Lin and see what Lin can do with TRob and Smith. Harden could always come back in to start fourth after a few minutes breather on bench.
No amount of coaching can transform a PANSY into a LION.
DeleteI respect Carlos Delfino because even though he's woefully undersized and incapable of defending opposing power forwards, he's a gritty veteran with COJONES and PRIDE. He's the toughest frontcourter on the Rockets.
You said it KHuang - no.amount.of.coaching. You just won't look at it any other way, bro. I however try to look at it many ways, and you just don't do this to pro players. It's a professional activity. You do your best in real times, and you go to off-sites to work out your differences. Sorry KHuang, but on this one, I think you are playing the refrain and it's not a pleasant tone.
DeleteMcHale was justified in benching the starters for the entire fourth in a winnable game because Harden, Lin, et al, played like "Pansies?"
DeleteI think what frustrated us the most was not because the Rox lost this game but because of how the game was played and coached. You just have to fight hard until the end with your best players and see the final outcome. You never called it quit especially the game was still winnable. This is not a good way to boost up your team's morale going into the playoffs. You got to have some confidence in your players knowing that they will get it done. This is just bad coaching.
DeleteI said repeatedly, Roberlin, that Harden and Lin came to play.
DeleteYour personal hatred for McHale twist my words. I'm OK with you hating McHale, but DON'T MISQUOTE ME.
I know it's not pleasant, JoeTeam.
This is the NBA where TOUGHNESS matters.
Many guys who were athletic and bouncy and looked like they could fly over the world in balloons have come and gone in the NBA.
However, lay a HIT on those guys and the majority of them disappear. That's what happened this game.
Today, NBA teams have all these fancy stat gurus measuring things like leaping ability and fancy passes and highlight reel moves and acceleration. But there is absolutely no stat that can track TOUGHNESS.
In my experience watching the NBA, toughness is not an acquired skill. You either have it or you don't. Jeremy Lin has it, and actually Jeremy Lin is the TOUGHEST player I've ever seen in the NBA as far as being able to withstand adversity and keep going after taking hits. But this young statistically assembled Rockets team is showing that it's not NBA tough, especially when confronted with real NBA tough guys like Randolph who has historically terrorized his own team!
Fear is something that is conquered by exposure. The only one that has made any attempts to involve the bigs have been Lin. Mchale however, has never seen the benifit of allowing Lin to attack the middle and forcing the bigs to play. By allowing Harden and Parsons to dominate the offense, he has stunted the growth of an important part of the team. How does a team during clutch time all of a sudden expect a bunch of guys who have been basiclly ignored to know what do? How does ball hogging all season by Harden help to develop the bigs into a confident group of support players? Fear must be confronted daily by repeated exposure.
DeleteLin's TOs have been always about involving the whole team, that is why the team often wins when he makes more of them. The bigs are scared but by force feeding them, Lin makes them believe they can do it. Lin shows his trust and confidence in them by continueing to feed them. By the 4 quarter, they get comfortable and is more able to help the team win. By the end if the season they are more mentally tough.
This dynamic per game if repeated through a season of exposure, toughens them into believing they can charge the rim. Mchale in his short sightedness has placed all the pressure on Harden and Parsons to carry the team so the rest of the team has like unused muscles, atrophied. The Rox is paying the price for not letting Lin involve the whole team in the scoring. Mchale's lack of vision is coming home to ruse.
Bob,
DeleteI always look forward to your words of wisdom. Very much appreciate your basketball knowledge.
I do not believe that fear in the NBA can be conquered by exposure.
DeleteI've seen so many guys just WILT under pressure or disappear when they get hit.
For example, Kwame Brown entered the NBA as a bruising 6'11" 260 lb Dwight Howard physical clone - not of the skinny Dwight as a rookie, but Dwight NOW. He had bashed around Tyson Chandler in front of Michael Jordan en route to being chosen #1. But when training camp started, journeymen tough guys like Popeye Jones hit Brown and down he went. Jones and other players would hit Brown, Brown would cry, and Jones would growl at Brown "GET UP" in order to toughen him up. But Kwame Brown never did acquire that NBA toughness because it wasn't part of his elemental makeup.
Then there are guys like Lin who get bashed every game and bounce back up ready to go. No player I've ever seen, big or small, gets bashed more than Lin does on and off the court. He takes hits not just from opponents, but from teammates and coaches and media and other people trying to criticize him and tear his game down. And Lin not only weathers it, he uses it to become EVEN TOUGHER.
Lin is the toughest guy in the NBA, and he's always been that tough since he was little. Toughness is an INBORN TALENT that cannot be truly taught.
Besides, Lin DID attack the middle and play point guard.
DeleteHe also got double teamed HARD.
Below, I reminded people here that the Rockets sent Patterson and Morris out to the 3 point line in order to clear driving space for Lin and Harden because they'd shoot those uncontested bombs to make teams pay for doubling.
Lin can drive from anywhere on the court, which he actually did this game. But unless his fear stricken teammates make their cuts and shoot the ball with confidence, Lin will just be thwarted at every turn like he was today.
Ok, I get what you are saying, but it was still a poor coaching decision to sit the starters all Q4. It was dumb to sit Lin for 4th - they say take bad logic to it's conclusion to convince people who are stubborn, and I guess McHale just did to convince himself.
DeleteIn the NBA, Lin has gone Linsane in the 4th quarter when he was bricking hittable shots in the 1st 3 quarters.
DeleteIt's another thing entirely when every move Lin makes is countered by not one but TWO or THREE defenders, as was the case this game.
Memphis gameplanned well to stop Lin and Harden. There was no game plan needed to deal with the 2nd unit.
Had Lin and the starters been reinserted, the lead would've been lost again because Memphis had a counter for every possible move Lin and Harden made.
The only thing that would've solved that is better play from Lin and Harden's terrified teammates.
@KHunag,
DeleteAnd where are the counter play plans designed by the Rox coaches? Because the Rox frontcourts are pansies as you described, coaches decided to not do anything about it?
janelin7, I'm not saying that the Rockets coaches are perfect.
DeleteI have criticized them long and hard. You know that.
That said, it doesn't matter what coaching genius is throwing out advice if the players are so physically afraid of being bashed by their opponents that they actively avoid physical contact.
When confronted by tough guys like Gasol and especially Randolph, the Rockets cannot afford to back down like they did tonight. That's why Gasol and Randolph controlled the game on both ends, because they were UNCHALLENGED.
The NBA is a man's league. No amount of coaching strategy can work with fearful intimidated players like in tonight's game.
Anecdote, janelin7:
DeleteChicago's Phil Jackson was coaching Scottie Pippen in the playoffs against the Knicks (I think) in Michael Jordan's first retirement.
Pippen had been bashed around all game, which is something that opponents had started to do in midseason once they realized that Pippen was not as macho tough without Jordan beside him.
Phil Jackson drew up a play for Toni Kukoc, who was a legendary European player and a very fine NBA player. Pippen got so mad that he wasn't getting the shot that Pippen pouted and refused to enter the game. Kukoc hit the shot and Pippen looked like an ass.
Pippen was PANSY when it counted, and not even the great Phil Jackson could get through Pippen's snit fit.
Brother KHuang, we're just not going to agree on this, and we don't even have to agree to disagree because I think that's a weak way to communicate (just like someone saying "I don't disagree".) I just don't agree, straight up, bro.
DeleteWhat I'm going to be steadfast on is McHale's choice to sit everybody out the 4th means he's a poor coach, period. You keep saying Grizz had closed out the starters, and so on. Bottom line is, as a coach fighting in game time, you have to make adjustments and he did not.
Instead, you are using good valid points to avoid facing one thing ... it was dumb to keep the 2nd team in on tired legs. It was basically saying - we're done, with about 8 - 9 minutes left. The time slipped away on him, and he had escalation of commitment error. That happens to him often, especially around Lin's minutes on the bench. (Look up escalation of commitment ... there should be a good management or coaching science article on it.)
They might win Clips, etc. but anyway, tonight was a separate and yet another bad coaching moment.
Behind the scenes, he might be a good type of touch coach, but for sure in game-time, he makes poor decisions. So, maybe he's a good assistant coach, I dunno.
"good type of 'tough' coach"
DeleteThat's OK, Joeteam.
DeleteI personally believe that the Rockets would've lost the game by a LARGER margin had the starters come back in.
Memphis game planned for the starters but not against the bench. That's why they were so effective in completely shutting down the Rockets starters on both ends of the court for 3 quarters.
This kind of dynamic I've seen time and time again in the NBA. It's how good teams like Memphis play.
@KHuang, we all can speculate all we want and make prediction, but the true outcome is unknown unless we see it through. Down by 9 and still have 6-7 mins remaining and you think the Rox can't do anything but just lose the game? How did the Rox beat the Grizzilies last time? Shots were just didn't fall for the starters in this game, but what if they started to go in in the 4th? As a coach you got to encourage your players to give you a 110% until the end and win or lose you will be happy for the effort. Benching all your starters when the game is still winnable is just a dumb move. You just let the whole world know that you can't coach for shit. Not just that but you also destroy your team's confidence of playing against good and elite teams. Now they just expect to lose every time they face these teams?
DeleteRox had Morris and Patterson raining 3s and opening the lanes last time, that's how they won.
DeleteAlso, Memphis is still mad from letting John Wall shoot all those uncontested midrange jumpers for 47 points. So they committed themselves to trapping Lin and Harden and daring the minimum wagers to win the game.
Like I said, this was not a game where Lin and Harden bricked open shots. Memphis came in with a PLAN and had the max contract personnel to execute it.
Why is this all so hard for people to understand???
wonder how Rockets will fare on the playoffs,if they get into the playoffs? Rockets' past 2 games were played against top defensive teams, McHale outcoached again with his questionable substitution patterns and no adjustments on Rockets offense (dribble drive - shoot 3s all day - ISO Harden), even both Pacers and Grizz have better offense, Rockets not playing defense,lack of frontcourt depth,teams are out to stop Harden....
ReplyDeleteI don’t want to comment on McHale’s usage of Jeremy further. *irritated*
For months, I've been writing that the Rockets will get SWEPT.
DeleteAnd still, I would consider it a super successful season!
Minimum wage teams like the Rockets, especially when the next lowest paid team has a significantly higher payroll, usually don't make the playoffs at all let alone be the 7th seed!
That's because there's never been a minimum wage superstar who was overlooked and undervalued the way Lin was.
If Lin were any color other than Asian, he'd have been a much more highly paid lottery pick and would be leading a team like Minnesota or Detroit into the 1st round with a team with a higher payroll and thus better players around him.
Mchale has no defensive game plan. His coaching is move the ball.
ReplyDeleteEven on defense...
DeleteI do think that it was a good move by McHale to rest all the starters for most of the 2nd half and the entire 4th. The Rockets host the Clippers tomorrow..... It's true that the bench played fairly well, and at one time (with about 6 to 7 minutes left in the game) they closed the gap to within 7 or 9 points, BUT I never thought the Rockets had a chance. The Grizzlies starters were in their zone.
ReplyDeleteYou need to watch the Knicks-Pacers playoff game in the 90s, when up by 8 points with 8 seconds left in the game, the Knicks had the game totally in the bag.
DeleteI'm still in shock from that game. Damn you Reggie Miller.
Nahhhh..... Sometimes, the rockets are capable of coming back from even 15 points behind with 7 minutes left. But I didn't think they could have came back in this game.
Deleteztrta, so what if you "think" the team was going to lose? As Herm Edwards says, you play to win the game. And McHale - he did not coach to win the game, period, by keeping out all his starters in the fourth in a game that by no stretch of the imagination could be called a "blow-out."
DeleteI felt that McHale did it partly because the Rockets play tomorrow against the more beatable (currently, in my opinion) Clippers.
DeleteReggie Miller had Rik Smits, the Davis boys, I think Austin Croshere, Jalen Rose, and I think also Chris Mullin to set picks and shoot open shots.
DeleteWithout those highly paid quality players (particularly the underrated Smits), Reggie Miller wouldn't have been able to enjoy the career he did by shooting the shots that guys like Smits helped him get.
Giving up is something Jordan or Tiger Woods would never do. They never let that mind set into their mind. Mental toughness comes with the will to win and believing in it with total delusion. Jordan and Tiger never lose, they just run out of time!!!
DeleteI had a top player who had the talent, but didn't have the heart. He'd inevitably would find any excuse to give up. I studied sports psychology for 10 years reading books on the subject from zen to Christianity to philosophy and clinical psychology. Choking is the hardest if not impossible to help a player get over. No mattere how great or skilled a player is, if they don't have the self belief and heart, they will amount to nothing. Thus, i have coined the phase " if you believe, your mind follows, if your have heart, your body follows, if you have will, destiny follows." A coach that gives up and allows his players to even accept defeat is leading them down a slippery slope of excuses. That is the lowest of the low of coaching.
Jordan?
DeleteThe same Michael Jordan who got beaten left and right in his early Chicago days and learned playoff lesson after lesson the hard way?
Jordan had to LEARN how to win in the NBA. He had to learn that he couldn't do it alone, that his teammates had to play too, that he couldn't constantly bully guys just to show people how great he was. Jordan didn't start really winning until he learned those lessons at the hands of more experienced NBA opponents. In his case, he actually had to learn how GIVE UP a little in order for the team to play better!
Jeremy Lin is learning too. Actually, he's not all that different from Jordan in mental makeup and even game winning impact.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as a "top talent" that doesn't have total innate toughness too. I've seen guys with no apparent ability but the heart of a champion just DESTROY supposedly supertalented guys who weren't as strong mentally.
Jeremy Lin is the DEAN of those tough guys, though he also has super athletic talent to go with his super innate toughness!
Like I said, repeated exposure to fear is the only sure way to separate the ones that can handle it and the ones that will wilt.
DeleteI have used the analogy of walking a straight line acrossed a wooden plank on the ground to illustrate how fear makes the easiest things we do become impossible. Putting the plank across the top of 2 skyscrapers makes it near impossible for ordinary people even dare to walk across. How do daredevils walk across Niagara Falls on a high wire? They begin by exposing the self to fear near the ground. They train their brain to ignore it and to trust what each of us are quite capable of doing, to walk in balance in a straight line. Their real talent is not walking straight, it's handling fear of death.
There will always be some who can't handle it, but giving the opportunity to develop it, experience it and train for it is how you toughen yourself to the pain of elbows and bruising blows. Marshal artists have been able to train themselves to ignore pain by smashing their hands into cement blocks or bricks. Boxers have been able to train themselves into not to fear being knocked out.
Human beings are incredibly adaptable. I believe that to get the best out of anyone, it's best to foster it with trust and respect. Many athletes however have done amazingly well with "tough love". The best example of this Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras. Andre was toughened up by a crazy father who rigged a ball machine to shoot balls at him at top speed to make him react faster. It was straight out of "Dodge Ball" the movie! Sampras came from a set of parents that just trusted his coaching to his coach and never interfered. Ultimately, the difference was that it took Andre a lot longer to develop as a tough minded player to win majors because he didn't have the trust and belief of his parents.
The Rockets wilted tonight, like they have wilted all season long.
DeleteThey've ALREADY been exposed as not being strong enough to handle the pressure.
Not Lin and Harden, though. They came to PLAY.
Those two are known for performing under pressure, and that's why they get paid the big bucks.
@Bob:
Delete" if you believe, your mind follows, if your have heart, your body follows, if you have will, destiny follows."
right-click, save.
I say:
We have to practice to win at will. From that, we build a season, and after that, a dynasty. I've applied that in sports teams and work teams. The issue of time, effort, heart ... this kind of standard separates people and teams, and for sure, it's rate in a lifetime to experience a dynasty. A few wins, a season maybe two.
So, thanks.
rate = rare
Delete@Roberlin.... @everybody,
DeleteI hav to admit it is puzzling why McHell didn't even give the bench group ANY BREATHER for the last 15 minutes:
It was shocking that Harden and Parsons were benched as well; probably was done to show that they too got benched.
Very recently, for the first time, Morey & McHale started a little bit of damage control by rebuking Lin fans and also the stilted and smiling McHale doing some photo op with Lin (Lin looked bored and no eye contact. Good for Lin, LOL).
It's not shocking at all.
DeleteMcHale wanted to WIN.
The starters were shut down by an effective Memphis game plan. The bench was unscouted and could run wild. But the bench couldn't pull the game out, and that's why they're the bench. McHale was going to try to eke out a victory with the unscouted 2nd unit.
The way the starters were manhandled by that superior Memphis team, they deserved to sit the 4th quarter. And the thing is that it wasn't a punishment. Memphis was just that much better.
'I thought they brought good energy.'
ReplyDeleteMcHale values 'energy' over talent and 'spark' over strategy. I've never heard a coach talk about 'energy' and 'spark' with the same mesmerized eyes-glazed-over cluelessness as this clown.
DeleteHahahaha..... McHell's post-game comments are so hilarious in a foolish way. LOL..... I think McHale has more substantive (though biased) comments in his head, but he probably feels that he's being tactful to Lin by commenting as Patrick's (and formerly Douglas') "energy" and "spark"...... Hahahaha Hehehehe, LOL with teary eyes and a tummy ache.
McHale has not once talked about his game plan in a sustained and thoughtful way in an interview. His analysis never goes deeper than 'I just thought...' or 'I just felt that...'
DeleteThe word 'just' is very telling.
It's as if he is so pleased whenever his light bulb even shows a faint glimmer that he JUST has to go with it. Wow, I have a thought, a hunch, let's do it for an entire quarter.
I always thought that McHale has a lazy brain. People with lazy brains don't like to think or do anything much UNLESS it's something they LOVE to do. McHale is a basketball HOF because he LOVED to play. BUT he is clearly lazy in coaching (and HATES to coach most rookies and sophomores because it's more work) and organizing his thoughts in his head enough to spew out more substantive blurbs.
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DeleteYou nailed it.
DeleteMorey has even tweeted that McHale should be considered for Coach of the Year. That comment made me question Morey's intelligence or integrity. Either he really believes that, or he'll say anything.
Once again, McHale demonstrates his cluelessness about DEFENSE.
DeleteThe 2nd unit could bounce around with energy because they weren't game planned against by the Grizzlies.
Memphis came in with one goal: STOP THE HARDLINERS. Don't let the Hardliners destroy Conley and Bayless and the purported best defender in the NBA in Allen like they did last game.
To illustrate how hellbent Memphis was on stopping Lin and Harden, remember how Lin went coast to coast against Tony Allen for that highlight reel layup? Also remember how Harden TORCHED Tony Allen last game?
Memphis wasn't going to let that happen again, so they jammed the Hardliners all the way out to the 3 point line. The cowering Rockets big men were too AFRAID to make their cuts, so they couldn't make the Grizzlies pay for trapping the Hardliners.
One of my favorite coaches, John Wooden said,
Delete"never mistake activity for achievement"
If the team looked lost, it is because they had energy, but no direction! That is just poor coaching.
A team can look lost because they got OUTPLAYED, which is what happened tonight.
DeleteSuperior talent costs more for a good reason.
True that the Rox got outplayed tonight, as in many nights this season. But we're talking about how McHale has generally talked ALL SEASON, repeatedly repeating the same old same old: Douglas Douglas, "I thought he gave us good energy", "He provided a spark"...... Beverley Beverley.... Ditto, Ditto. What do both have (had) in common? Lin's backup, of course.
DeleteLin regarding tonight's game: That is an example of a team that has been together. A team that is well disciplined and WELL COACHED.
DeleteHahahaha..... another subtle jab at McHell. I like it. let's have some more! Lin is showing that he may be disciplined and acts mature beyond his years, but he's NOT docile. (;~) LOL (;~O) (;~)))>
My theory is This is a tank job so Lakers can still be in it. Directive from the nba?
ReplyDeleteYou give the Rockets too much credit and not enough credit to the Grizzlies.
DeleteI believe in some conspiracies, but this one NO WAY. That's silly. Besides they can help the Lakers with refereeing. The Rockets were plainly outmatched. The Rockets played better against the Grizzlies in preseason if you know what I mean. (;~/). IMO, Grizzlies would beat the Clippers in a playoff series, UNLESS the refs favor Chris Paul for ratings.
The Grizzlies KILLED the Spurs two seasons ago, and that was without Rudy Gay!
DeleteThe Grizzlies now are even stronger and better. They are a very skilled and bruising old school type team that plays smashmouth basketball and has quality players.
In certain ways, the Grizzlies are the "anti Rockets". The Rockets have the best backcourt in the NBA and the worst frontcourt, the Grizzlies have the best frontcourt and a mediocre backcourt (can be very potent when my man Jerryd Bayless aka Modern Day Microwave gets going, though).
I still want Rockets to make it to playoffs, so their weaknesses can be exposed.
ReplyDeleteYou trust your starters period. you know, the guys u r paying big bucks. This is not just one regular season game, the team is in a playoff hunt. You live and die with your starters.
ReplyDeleteImagine Miami or OKC doing this. This game was NOT a blowout by any stretch of the imagination. This would be perfectly reasonable if it was a blowout, but this was a WINNABLE game! This move totally epitomizes McHale as a coach.
I mean would he have done this in a playoff game? Because essentially every game matters from now on. To treat your starters in a playoff game like this is bordering on retardation.
DeleteExactly. And, these games are almost as important as playoff games and should be treated as such.
DeleteIf McHale did this in NY, the fans would have been rioting at the end and he would have neeeded a police escort leaving the building, lol.
McHale has already started a riot here.
DeleteToday, I declare McHell is the most despicable coach I have ever since.
He can throw away a winnable game by benching his starters for the whole quarter.
A fine should be levied against him for a loafer like him.
I thought Lin and Harden did fine.
ReplyDeleteI have no issues with either of them struggling with the constant traps today. I even felt that they both played unselfishly.
The rest of the starters? WEAKASS COWARD PLAY.
All night, those guys were avoiding physical smashmouth contact with Memphis's bruising front line. They were so PANSY SCARED that they didn't even cut to open spots because they were afraid of getting bashed, and that's why Memphis was able to double and triple both Lin and Harden.
I don't even blame McHale for the frontcourt fail. The frontcourters will make their cuts and get their position against lesser opposing frontcourts, so they know exactly where to go on both ends of the court. Instead, the frontcourters were giving Randolph and Gasol and Prince all sorts of bully leeway in the court. Guys were AFRAID of getting BRUISED.
I now understand why Delfino gets played against power forwards despite being physically incapable. Delfino is a FIGHTER and will actually bang, unlike the rookie power forward pansies that have pretty game but are terrified of muscling against a muscle freak like Randolph.
It sounds crazy, but I am not unhappy with Lin or Harden or McHale this game. Those guys showed up ready to rumble, but nobody else did.
Who cares if Delfino is a 'fighter.' I'm a fighter too but I ain't gonna do shit against ZBo if you put me on the court. The game isn't won by effort, man. That's so McHale.
DeleteHe didn't prepare the team to handle Memphis and then goes by gut feeling about substitutions to mask his incompetence.
If you must, take your anger out on Morey for trading away PPat in midst of playoff chase.
DeleteIMO, this one is not on McHale, Sampson, or any of the other coaches.
We just got our buts kicked tonight.
Hopefully team learns from it and just moves on.
Oh please, the game was still winnable in the 4th quarter. Rox did not get their 'butts kicked.' The team was however ill-prepared for what they saw on the court tonight.
DeleteWell that is convenient. Blame the players for the coaches shortcomings. I'm very much aware that our forwards are relatively young guys, inexperienced, minimal wage and so on but that is not main or the only problem. I am sure you are well aware of that. This isn't and never just about 1 game. This is systemic problem that have been nurtured and prepared rigorously and meticulously since the start if not the before the season starts
DeleteRight, this game was not a butt-kicking; it was close at the half, the game got away in the third, but, no coach would quit in the third quarter, unless you're losing by 30 points.
DeleteWe've seen Harden shoot crappy, then suddenly turn it on and go on a tear. Some adjustments to help him get Tony allen off his back would have helped. You know, that coaching stuff that coaches get paid to do.
It's IMMATURE AND INCORRECT to think that a veteran laden highly paid team like Memphis can't come out and actually BEAT a minimum wage minimum age Rockets team.
DeleteIt's also totally incorrect that the Rockets could have won this game had the 1st unit been put back. When the starters get their butts kicked in 3 quarters, it's not as if magically they're going to suddenly undo that buttkicking in the 4th quarter! The 2nd unit was able to go off because the Grizzlies didn't prepare for them, having exerted all their preparation on the first unit.
I really dislike it when people harp all sort of incorrect blame on bad Rockets play when the reality is that the Grizzlies actually played well enough to deserve the win!
Not everything is Lin's fault or Harden's fault or McHale's fault. The other team can actually be BETTER.
Sure, Memphis deserved the win but sometimes teams that 'deserve' to win don't pull out the win. The starters should have gotten the chance to make a run at the end.
DeleteIt's one thing to not anticipate a bad matchup and even worse to see a bad matchup completely maul the team -- Zach/Delfino -- and refuse to change course.
unless you are God or a psychic, what you are saying is absolutely ridiculous. And factually incorrect. The teams played evenly through two quarters, only in the third quarter did Memphis build a double-digit lead. And we'll never know how the starters would have done in the fourth, because the coach gave up on his team, the way he's given up on Lin for early mistakes or early poor play all season.
DeleteI agree that Zach vs. Delfino is a HORRIBLE matchup.
DeleteOn the other hand, who on this statistically assembled team of fear quaking pretty boys is better suited to banging against the X men Juggernaut - I mean RANDOLPH - than the gritty Delfino who at least puts up a fight and has NBA toughness?
The fact is, Roberlin, that Houston NEVER THREATENED TO LEAD THE GAME.
DeleteYou're hoping for one of those Linsanity outbursts, but those don't happen against teams like Memphis that have two essentially max contract big men that move their feet and jam Lin all the way out to the 3 point line.
You refuse to see that Randolph and Gasol physically controlled this game from the opening tip and made this game unwinnable because they INTIMIDATED the puny Rockets big men. Don't worry, you'll see that dynamic played out in future NBA games as you watch more NBA basketball.
Well, then, according to you, they should have just quit after the second quarter. Game over. Right?
DeleteOr was it over after the first quarter? Did garbage time start in the second quarter?
Once again, you're TROLLING by using your imagination to invent words to put in my mouth.
DeleteI know that you're pissed with this game and especially McHale, but don't take it out on me. Like I wrote to you before, I'm not your enemy even though you act like I am.
The Rockets battled as hard as they could but got BEATEN by a better team. It's really that simple.
KHuang please, you do remember that we destroyed Memphis back in December last year right? At the time Memphis was leading the league in DEFENSE (points allowed per game) but Lin was not shackled and hot after the NY game and ran the offense beautifully.
DeleteI did not mean to take away the credits away from Memphis at all but what I have problem is how the coaching and how the way the team managed lately especially for Lin
That was a different team, Rikki M.
DeleteAt the time, the Rockets were sending Patterson and Morris to the 3 point line to draw defenders out of the paint and clear driving lanes for Lin.
Patterson and Morris are gone. Dmo and Trob are the power forwards. Dmo has the game but not the toughness, Trob has the toughness but not the game. Neither player is currently an on court threat to score the way Patterson or Morris were, though we'll all see that change DRASTICALLY in future years.
If I were Les Alexander, I still would have made those trades for the future. Sometimes one has to take two steps backwards in order to take 10 steps forward.
Speaking of McHale and effort, he as a player once said "Effort doesn't count, talent does".
DeleteHe then made an anecdote that stuck with me: "I could put out 12 plumbers out there and they wouldn't win any games".
I keep saying that in the NBA, toughness is its own form of talent!
@KHuang, remember April 29, 2012? Clippers VS Grizzlies? Clippers were down by 21 in the 4th, what happened then? Did Vinny quit because he knew his team was outmatched and outplayed by the Grizzlies? Did Vinny just let his bench finish the 4th quarter knowing that he couldn't do anything to counter? Of course not,unlike McHale, he trusted his starters to fight with their utmost effort until the end. I'm sure you already the result of that game. Who would have thought that the Grizzlies lost that game? You, me, or the experts? No one in their basketball mind thought that comeback was possible but it happened. Down by 9 and 7mins to go is nothing in the NBA. Harden, Lin or Parsons could erase that in a few minutes if they got hot. I just wish that McHale could have just trust his starters and gave them a go at it. Win or lose, it would be a good learning experience. But instead, we're here picking our brains against each other on our views of the game. Peace!
DeleteWhoop de do, IHoopzalot.
DeleteYour comparison of one max contract team beating another team is unrelated to this discussion of Lin only fans insisting that the minimum contract Rockets can beat the max contract Grizzlies this late in the season with all the scouting done on Harden and Lin.
Everybody here expects TOO MUCH of Jeremy Lin.
RicBucher praises Rockets head coach Kevin McHale
ReplyDelete- comments?
Few things... First this was obviously done prior to tonight's game. Second, McHale has "figured out" how to use these young inexperienced stars - so that is why he deserves accolades. So does that mean McHale will sticks with this gimmicky react and shoot next year or will he implement a more traditional offensive scheme which isn't so random in the years to come.
DeleteBucher is only looking at it from how well this young teams had done despite the lack of experience. If you look at it face value, sure it looks pretty darn good.
But let's see how the rest of the season turns out. I would bet money that the Rox will back into the playoffs and potentially get swept in the first round. I can't see harden holding up ( he is really breaking down) and Lin was forced into a slump by this coach. People in the know recognize how bad of a coach he is.
Ric Bucher don't know shit. Mchale is a coach that is lucky that the Rox have good players that can win some games. He even says that he has no plays so how do you even call him a coach. He puts all kinds of line ups in hopes that he can pull a win out of his ass. If the Rox had a legit coach they would probably have at least another additional 7-10 wins.
DeleteHow much did they pay this guy? I kid...
DeleteAll I know is after Lin joined the rockets, good things started to happen. Before long the rockets became a contender. Their 3 point shots became nightmares for many teams. There were quite a few of blown outs achieved by the team convincingly.
DeleteThat's before the intrusion of Morey and his stupid trade. The trade that destroy a winning team. He claims to do it for the future. It's suicidal to mortgage for your future with self-destruction scheme. The team chemistry disappeared.
Fire Morey the moron. Fire McHale the McHell.
HOUSTON LOSES IN MEMPHIS 103-94
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ReplyDeleteThe only positive thing tonight was Robinson's two absolutely disgusting slams. Shit was straight up evil.
ReplyDeleteI think Robinson will come along nicely. But the trade will not help this year - just the opposite.
DeleteUnlike the severely limited Morris and Patterson, Thomas Robinson actually has PHYSICAL UPSIDE.
DeleteHe's a vastly better player right now than Morris and Patterson were in their first two years.
With time, Robinson will become a fine basketball player in the Josh Smith mold.
Beverly blocks Green in the Spurs game and all of a sudden it is like the "Play of the Season" for the Rox. Now someone on SB nation is making Beverly into a god of basketball again for that 1 block on Prince in today's game. Funny with all these "Let's make Beverly the starter comments" lmfao.
ReplyDeleteThey can't remember an asian guy who viciously blocked Josh Smith, Aaron Brooks, and so on
DeleteThey also can't remember that horrible ankle breaking move that Lin put on Prince when he was a Golden State rookie.
DeleteToday, that would be on "Shaqtin a Fool" with Shaq growling "Prince got LINBARRASSED!"
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ReplyDeleteIn the pregame thread, I mentioned:
ReplyDelete"Anyone that cares about Jeremy and the Rockets has been complaining about his mistreatment all season, and it's close to the end of the season, and the same BS still happens again and again, which leads me to suspect that M&M (McHale & Morey) did intend to tank the games from the very beginning. I fear they won't make it to the playoff <-- I do hope I am wrong."
I guess what I'm fearing of (Rox not making it to the playoff) make come true.
"That is an example of a team that has been playing together, a team that is well-disciplined and well-coached."
ReplyDelete- Jeremy Lin
hmmm...Jeremy Lin said Griz "well-coached", does that imply anything?
He's just stating the obvious. And a few games ago, he said the Rockets' offense had a lot of "randomness". That's not exactly a compliment either. No set plays, no plans = bad coaching.
DeleteI don't think so.
DeleteI had NO PROBLEM with McHale's coaching tonight.
Jeremy Lin would've scored more had he not been JAMMED by big men cheating off Lin's cowering teammates.
Pretty boys like the Rockets frontcourters don't last in the NBA against BRUTES like Randolph and Gasol.
Agree Sesshie. I didn't think that "randomness" comment was a compliment... haha.
DeleteSo basically, you're saying Asik and DMo aren't man-enough (pansies, pretty boys) to play against brutes like Mark Gasol.
DeleteUh, interesting language. And I'm sure Asik would be flattered to be called a pretty boy.
That's right.
DeleteThe game results show it too.
Not really my call.
cali7 "I didn't think that "randomness" comment was a compliment... haha."
DeleteNow that you mention it, I think you're right that Lin's comment was embedded criticism of the coaching staff. It includes an acknowledge of flow offense but it also shows how little they game plan. Worse, randomness does not focus on the strength of players in the roster.
What, Lin doesn't just kiss ass and call all his coaches "offensive geniuses?"
Delete"Well-coached" is common basketball-speak for one of two things.
Delete1) "The other team isn't that good...so they must be well-coached."
2) "Our coaches suck."
I don't think Jeremy or anyone would say that Memphis sucks and played over their heads tonight. So yeah, I think it's a backhanded swipe at McHale. "Well-disciplined" is a self-criticism, though, so he's knocking the whole team.
I will never accept a coach allowing his team to accept defeat by laying down. It is cowardice and down right disrespectful to your opponents and fans. Players all face the nerves before a game, it's our fight or flight impulse that pumps adrenalin into our veins in anticipation of battle. No truly great athlete ever accept it, Tiger and MJ delude themselves into believing that they just ran out of time.
DeleteGood coaches makes use of time by making players work and focus on shorter intervals of time. If there is 10 minutes left, ask them to win the next 2 minutes. If there is 30 seconds left, ask them to win the next 2 possessions. Phil Jackson did that with the Lakers and squeezed out wins by changing the players focus from the losing momentum to focus on the present. He'll say to his teams poor play for 3 quarters by turning their minds on a positive like " we've played like crap, but we're still in it, we just need to win this quarter." But never, ever let the players leave the court with their tails between their legs and their heart trampled. That is inexcusable! That's leading them down a slippery slope of excuses.
Wellllll, garbage time does exist in the NBA for a reason....
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DeleteI prefer to call garbage time, "oppertunity time". It is semantics but it makes players recognize that oppertunity to work on assignments and plays with different combinations of players. Game time situational play invaluable. Using it to promote better understanding of players allows coaches to assess plays and formations in the heat of battle.
DeleteBruce lee said that a zen master would never waste time, they, however would SPEND time. Time is like money, it's valuable. You can choose to either waste it or spend it. But once passed, it's gone forever.
The Rox may have been out of the game, but wasting an oppertunity to try new formations and new combination of players for future battles is indeed time in the garbage.
Bob C F Chan, well said brother. Well said, indeed.
DeleteLOL if they wanted to tank all along, I feel bad for Harden and Parsons for being over-used all season. Nope, they weren't planning to tank. Mr. Alexander probably wouldn't want that. And what superstar will come to the Rockets if they were not a playoff ready team?
ReplyDeleteDidn't see the game so maybe just talking, but this has been the same story all season. There doesn't appear to be much of a game plan or adjustments for each team they play. That is on the coach. The starters and players implement the coach's "system." The fault lies with McHale's failure to prepare the team.
ReplyDeleteEven assuming the front court is weak, McHale should know this and then try to create a strategy, no? I mean, what exactly is he paid to do?
I also agree with the first poster. Unknown/random bench players may appear to play better because they are not scouted. People say this about Lin last year, the same applies to this bench and any other player that hasn't been around the NBA.
Bottom line, McHale did not coach to win the game in the fourth quarter. He did to the whole starting squad tonight what he's been doing to Lin all season long.
DeleteTomorrow's game will be interesting. If they get blown out, season may start to spiral straight to hell, like last year, as McHale will have lost his team again for the second straight year.
"what exactly is he paid to do?"
Delete- to bench Lin, when he is hot
- to bench Lin, when he is cold
- to bench Lin, when he is outscoring the beard
- to bench Lin, even when he is on bench
Hey, even I can do this, I can take over his job with less money.
Jazz WON! The came back from a 8 points deficit with over 6 minutes to go.
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DeleteNo way! I was SO CERTAIN that the Jazz just weren't man enough tonight to come back from such a humongous deficit in the fourth. They played with fear the entire game, knowing they could never beat a team led by a man-beast-brute point guard like Damion Lillard. How in the world could they have erased their fear and pansiness and win the game???????
DeleteJazz coach believes in his starters to finish the game LOL.
DeleteAlso, they were as Lin would put it "well-coached."
DeleteClutchFan fools are defending McHale's throwing tonight's game away as resting the starters. I cannot believe what I am reading.
DeleteYou can rest people when it's a blowout, not in games like this, esp at the end of the season. And it was obvious that the second unit did not have the juice to finish the game at their peak intensity. They also just looked lost on offense, jacking up low-percentage shots. Wasn't that OBVIOUS!
DeleteBeverley can't run an offense. They were like 5 chickens running around with their heads cut off.
DeleteResting the starters, lol. Well, since one person here is saying the Rockets lost the game before it started since the frontcourt were pansies who stood no chance of standing up to he-men brutes like Gasol, maybe McHale should have done a Popovich and just rested all of his starters so that they could be fully rested and refreshed for tomorrow's game. Also, resting the starters the whole game would finally have given Lin a chance to get some real minutes.
DeleteIt's not about resting the starters.
DeleteIt's about 2 starters showing up to play and the other 3 starters being unable to play their game out of FEAR.
Ineffective - that's the best way to describe the starters' play when faced with that bonecrushing Memphis defense that all you McHale haters think means NOTHING.
KHuang, you need to stop arguing with some irrational people. Some people here honestly think that if Lin played heavy minutes every game and handled the ball every trip down, the Rockets would go 82-0 and win the championship easily. There is no such thing as that the other teams flat out have more talent with much higher payroll or just play better at any given night. Every win is due to the players or pure luck while every loss is McHale's fault lol.
DeleteAn alternative to fear would be cluelessness. Players have pointed out many times -> no offense -> just random plays. Maybe they have reached a point where they no longer know what the coach expects from them. They keep getting criticised but they have no clue what the goal is.
DeleteAnyway - something is wrong with team chemnistry. JLin lost is smile couple of games back and he started posting bible phrases on twitter...
Whenever I see Beverly as PG with Hardin & Lin on the bench, it seems the offense is chaotic. Lin is definitely a better playmaker. Beverly is in there to provide a spark and defensive purposes.
DeleteI wish there is a gif of Chandler & Jeremy on the bench in the 4th. Someone noticed Chandler whispering to Jeremy, not paying attention to court play, and chuckling.
Hardin looked pissed and someone behind him started to talk to him. Also, Ho Chen tweeted that Hardin refused to talk to the media again.
One silver lining from this debacle - I think this benefits Lin, because he, for the first time, wasn't singled out for a fourth quarter benching, even the chosen one Harden got the Lin treatment. When the guy treating you like a total scrub also does it to Harden and Parsons, any concern that McHale may be right about Lin being a crappy player goes away, as it becomes absolutely clear that Mchale is truly clueless.
ReplyDeleteJust a hunch, but, I think Lin plays much looser and freer than he has been playing, and may, just may, play in the fourth quarter against the Clippers.
Tonight's game finally exposed McHale as the emperor with no brains to all the key Rocket players, and it could have a liberating effect on Lin and the team.
I hope. Lol.
"the emperor with no brains"-very clever and creative. me like it.
DeleteThat's a meaningless consolation IMO. I guess that makes Lin feel less publicly dissed (but whatever, that's feelings, fuck feelings, but it's playing time that truly matters. PT is respect.
DeleteWe all know how much Parsons always gets respect; he always plays a lot of minutes regardless of how poorly he plays. No one for a minute thinks that Parsons got disrespected tonight by McHale.
What I do hope comes from tonight is that McHale is out the door. There's no way that Harden is going to tolerate being benched for an entire 4th quarter. No star will tolerate shit like that.
Harden deserved to be benched because he SUCKS. Lin should have been getting the kid gloves Harden treatment all year long and harden should have been benched all year long because Harden TRULY SUCKS!!! U can't see that by now?
DeleteAnyone notice how DMo got really annoyed at Bev (gesturing with his arms, like 'Why aren't you passing to me?') when he was open on the right wing? Instead Bev takes a contested 3 himself.
ReplyDeleteAbout DMo, he made an excellent post-up move against Gasol. But the team was not looking to feed to him when he was in the block. And the rest of the time, he was not even standing in the block to be fed but instead camped on the 3.
The Rox don't have a clear idea what they are doing for spacing. Sometimes they spread all five players on the perimeter like Miami does, and sometimes they do unscripted ball movement, but too much watching Harden and too much of Harden not passing to people who have MUCH LESS defensive pressure on them.
Ever since last game, I've lost a lot of respect for Harden. If he is not getting his game average of points, he will insist on shooting till he gets his stats, even if it means ignoring teammates who are open. Once he's fixated on his stats, the game is lost, since he's holding the ball too much and the coaches ride his nuts so much they can't find a way to run the offense without going through Harden.
I get fucking mad seeing the 2nd unit. Why? Because Bev and Anderson get more screens set for them than Lin ever does. WTF.
Lets hope the Rox lose tomorrow night. Lets face it, it's gonna be difficult for Lin, because McHale will find a way to eff with him..
ReplyDeleteThe only way that McHale will not be vindicated for tonight's move is if the lose tomorrow night. If the Rox win, heaps of praise will be bestowed on McHale for making the sound move tonight. That is the last thing I wanna see at this point.
I hope that they lose big .. Lin will be on the bench because I'm sure McHale will fault him for not stopping cp3. And if they lose, the rednation will go into a meltdown... That is what is hoping for at this point.
On CSNHouston: On McHale on goin bench all 4Q: "I thot they playd realy hard. I thot they came out there &gave good energy, so I thought I'd just go with em"
ReplyDeleteYou Thought Wrong! Idiot.
No he didn't think wrong.
DeleteThe starters got completely outclassed for 3 quarters with the lead expanding every time they played.
The unscouted bench ran wild because Memphis didn't bother scouting them. McHale recognized that and tried to attack Memphis. But in the end, Memphis's superior talent prevailed over the bench too.
Haha. McHale is an idiot. Harden knows he doesn't have what it takes. Everyone knows this. McHale had to bench the entire team just so it wouldn't look like his weird Lin substitution pattern wasn't just singling Lin out. Now, he had to tank the entire team just to cover himself. He's digging his own hole.
ReplyDeleteI definitely thought that was partly the case. McHale hasn't cared in the least before (because Morey was in on it), but just VERY recently there has been a BIT of damage control and a BIT of caring about the non-Lin-hating public's perception.
DeleteThe other parts were that the Rockets play tomorrow against another tough team and the Grizzles were too much tonight. Grizzlies are a very good team that was trying to break their recent losing streak; they are also playing for #3 or #4 spot in the WC.
CF site is so funny. So many comments on how they respect Mchale for letting the 2nd unit play the whole 4th to teach the starters a lesson. Some CF people think that the Rox are a high school team. Bunch of ass clowns.
ReplyDeleteDoes it really matter who played the 4th quarter? Memphis on the road trailing 10+ points going into the 4th is a 90% loss for most teams if not all the teams. What's good to tire out the starters on a back to back and still end up losing anyway? And then if the Rockets lost on the 2nd night of a back to back, people would say it's because McHale didn't know how to pace and rest his players accordingly on the 1st night. This has happened many times already, you could read back those comments.
Delete@Cara ... because competition is about giving and getting your best, to ascent or transform. Look at all the kids who are watching that game. Should we have a society where we are all preserving our energies for a future challenge? Maybe, if you read Sun Tze and quote it, or if you life on Godfather quotes. A true champion will try his/her best to get up, every time.
Deleteps - now that I think of it, McHale is a true champ, so no way he was thinking about throwing this game to get Clips. He thought 2nd team on tired legs would win.
DeleteJoeTeam, I'd argue a true champion will do whatever works.
DeleteWhat made you think that the starters would present a challenge to the Grizzlies other than tiring themselves out? Their performances in the 1st and 3rd quarters certainly did not give any hints. If anything, the bench at least kept the score close while starters looked like they would be getting blown out. It's okay to bash, but not okay to bash everything irrationally.
DeleteCara, with your loser attitude, Rox would never have won the OKC game either.
DeleteRox were in the bonus way early in the fourth quarter and the Memphis starters, when they came back in, made many mistakes. It was a winnable game. It is absolute rubbish to throw the game away with 8-9 minutes left in the game. It was improbable but doable.
DeleteRox were down 17 with like 7 minutes left in the OKC game, which they WON.
Being in the bonus early doesn't just mean getting to the line easier -- every time they get to the line, the clock stops. When the team is in the bonus, there is actually MORE useable time in the game than is indicated by the clock
DeleteCara, you were right above.
DeletePeople here genuinely think that the minimum wage Rockets can just go out and beat any team any time by simply handing Lin the ball.
I like Lin, but he's not THAT good. No player is!
No one said this is about Lin -- who said that? If you didn't get the memo, bball is a team sport.
DeleteCara - what makes me think they could have played better in the 4th? Well, if you don't think they could, then you can always turn off the TV every fourth quarter. And then, why not just give up every time you are down in life too. There's always tomorrow. Srsly, Rox have come back from 15 down before.
DeleteThere's no fixed answer, and that's the beauty of a free life.
I am not bashing. I am rational.
0ccupati0, I agree and thanks for speaking up for me given Cara's tone. Cara - no need to be snide (= mocking in an indirect way). I can disagree without being disagreeable, so go ahead and disagree and we're fine.
KHuang, I am not talking about giving Lin the ball. I am talking about McHale sitting out his starters in the 4th, which is a rare thing that we disagree on.
DeleteBamboo Forest: you're right. A champion will try things out of the box. I'd advocate staying within the rules, the law, and common decency, but hey ... Captain Kirk reprogrammed the computers at Star Fleet, so even in fiction, there are legends of breakout thinking. I just love seeing a champion step up and making a difference, so what works I agree. Only, I don't get much out of MMA. I'm still an Ali fan and can remember all the years of sitting with my buds watching his fights. Rope a dope is thinking out of the box.
Cara is the rational one here, and her snide comments are APPROPRIATE.
DeleteMemphis is a terrific and well paid team. They're SUPPOSED to beat the Rockets.
You all can fantasize about the Rockets beating mighty Memphis in the 4th after getting TROUNCED for 3 quarters. The score didn't look like a blowout, but Houston's starters could not do a thing against Memphis's solid game plan.
If you all think you are smarter than McHale, FINE. Put up your analysis of how this minimim wage Rockets team was going to break that double teaming defense that shut down both Harden and Lin while causing everybody else to quiver in fear.
Oh, what's with this CHAMPION talk?
DeleteWe have a minimum wage team consisting of 1st time starters and now we're trying to have a "champion" mindset?
Let's not go overboard in this McHale hate by trashing his coaching because he cannot turn this Rockets team into a contender.
KHuang - no snide comments are not appropriate. It's to your statement it is not ok to flame people here. I was getting treated with a snide comment, and I am not trashing on McHale or people. I just think his call on Q4 was not the right call.
DeleteChampionship talk is relevant and appropriate anytime you are watching sports, from teaching kids karate to high school and pro. It's not that Rox will be champs, but they have to have it in them as an ethic. It comes with the territory. This isn't learning to paint or study for a final. This is competition!
I don't give them a break for being young or lower pay than others. They are in the NBA, and they are a good team with potential to do very well this year.
I do not have McHale hate - I just don't think he made the right call, and I think he continues to make wrong calls in-game.
And, to end this, I don't think I'm smarter than McHale. But sure, he's a HOF playa, a rich guy, and the coach of the Rockets. That's all fine. I can as a fan criticize his decisions in-game. Outside of the game, I can't judge him and his program except by the overall results. During the game, I am seeing a lot of the same things he's seeing, and this decision was out of band so I'm pretty sure it's ok to stick to my observation that it was a wrong call. You can stick to yours, but you can't keep using non sequitur to make your point against mine. Use A+B logic, and address the basic point that he gave up for some reason. I'm fine with our PFs being weak, that we were losing, etc. I just don't agree with either thinking 2nd team can beat first team on tired legs, or it's ok to give up with 1 digit pt differential with 8 mins left. Either way, it's poor decision making, and we all want leaders who decide well for their peeps.
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DeleteSo, if McHale had played the starters till the 4minute or 2minute mark in the 4th quarter and then pulled them out, would you have criticized him as IRRATIONAL? Would you have said that after the game -- honestly? Cuz I seriously doubt you would say that.
DeleteYet, when posters suggest precisely this, you can't for a moment entertain how that makes sense. There is no point to trying to have a conversation with people who brand those who disagree as irrational -- it's more fun talking to pompous asses than such self-styled rational people as this.
McHale -- who has never once tried to rest Harden for the long haul -- is now being credited with resting the starters. Is there any precedent or pattern for this? I think the answer is simply No. You're giving him too much credit. He seriously thought the bench could pull out this win. In his post game comments, he did NOT say he was resting the starters but that he liked how the bench was playing.
This is not loser talk. This is called playing the probability. Rockets coming back from that Thunder game didn't mean they can just come back from any games. You play well, you can stay on the court. You don't play well, you sit. This happens in all basketball court.
DeleteMcHale is not prefect and has his flaws. But bashing him for everything and after every loss or even win is irrational. And Lin not putting up the numbers and not living up your unrealistic expectations is not his or McHale's fault. Please, the Rockets are not supposed to go 82-0 and Lin is not supposed to be better than Lebron James. No amount of coaching would change that.
Who here said the Rox are supposed to go 82-0? It's obnoxious to put words in other people's mouths and then bash them. You're not having a conversation with anyone except some strawman you've invented for your purposes.
DeleteAnd no one here said it was probable the Rox would win, or that every game is supposed to go like the comeback in the OKC game. Yes, it is about probability -- what is probable and improbable instead of the impossible. There is nothing gained by not trying.
You can say what you want. If you're going to dis those who disagree as 'irrational', then I'm done with you.
I'm sorry Cara but no one made the exaggerated statements that you are attributing to other posters, and it's uncalled for for anyone to say someone is being irrational simply because he/she has a different opinion.
DeleteIn fact, neither JoeTeam nor OccupatiO "bashed" McHale. They were being critical of his decision(s), and are entitled to their opinions.
Although I don't like McHale's coaching for various reasons, I appreciate people like Khuang's opinion on McHale because it did make me think of the situation from a different viewpoint, and I could see how Lin could learn from McHale (although I think Lin's learned all McHale has to offer).
Ultimately, thank you, everyone for your contributions.
BTW, I'm not knocking you, Cara. There are some extremely exaggerated statements made at times, but some people really love Lin and think he can do no wrong.
DeleteJoeteam, the fundamental difference between us is that Cara and I know that the Rockets are nowhere as good as people here think they are.
DeleteAll NBA teams compete, even the worst ones. These are professionals and they are trying as hard as they can most of the time.
You think the Rockets are a "good" team. I cannot agree with that. I see an overachieving minimum wage minimum age inexperienced team with major holes that cannot magically be solved by installing a coach not named "McHale." I see this team as having the WORST talent in the NBA that has won more games than it should because Jeremy Lin has put forth a HERCULEAN effort in trying to make guys on his team better.
Most people here have very high expectations for Lin and the Rockets. I do not. I'm amazed they've gone as far as they have and are in position to make the playoffs at all. So when they get jerked around by a much older and much more highly paid team like Memphis, I don't start blaming the coach for not getting the minimum contract guys to magically outplay the max contract guys.
There are many fans here who are new to Lin and new to basketball. After a few decades of watching the sport as intensely as they are, they'll eventually learn that their favorite players can't just go and beat opponents simply by changing the coaches.
If we can predict wins/losses based on talent and salary of the players alone, then there is no need to play the games. In the NBA, any team can beat any other team. It might be an uphill battle to win this game, but not impossible. To not play the starters at all in the 4th quarter is like waving the white flag and that's not what playing basketball is about.
DeleteSo Sesshie, what makes you think that Lin and Harden would've exploded against this Memphis team that trapped those guys every time they touched the ball?
DeleteFor 2 games straight, Harden has been stopped cold by Paul George and Tony Allen. Perhaps the game tape has shown enough for opposing coaches to figure out how to stop Harden.
ReplyDeleteThe bad thing is they also forced Lin to give up the ball by double-teaming him to prevent penetration.
Clippers game will be another nightmare unless their 3PT shooting is really hot.
I'm hoping for another appearance of ISO Harden ball, 2nd team in the fourth quarter as the offense is sputtering nearing the playoff.
What else can we expect from a random system with a random substitution pattern in search of random energy? Good teams systematically find ways to eliminate the randomness.
@psalm234
DeleteMe, I don't miss Melo at all, so maybe it's ok too if they do fine, McHale stays, and JLin is somewhere else where we get to know intimately a new set of characters. This set is a little lacking in Linspiration :-) I definitely won't miss CF, though I will some people. Poasting and Toasting was okay for a while there too.
@JoeTeam, I see you're feeling nostalgic about this team already :)
DeleteWell, perhaps Lin is best in a no-stars or low ego team like Denver or Spurs but we don't know what the future holds although we know who holds the future.
Well, if Houston ends up being one-year stop, Lin still learned a lot about overcoming adversity. If not, we can hope Les feels the same way about McHale with us.
Only playoff performance will tell us a lot about the future direction.
Which place badly need a good PG again? Utah and where else?
I've never watched teams with such random plays and inability to adjust. It's very hard to watch because you never know what to expect.
Don't forget the max contract big men in Hibbert and Gasol and the bruising power forwards in Randolph and Psycho T when talking of Paul George and Tony Allen's defense, psalm234.
DeleteAll season long, I have written that teams with max contract shotblocking or bruising big men are the BANE of the Rockets.
This is because when guys like Gasol trap Harden and Lin in the midrange, guys like Asik don't have enough game to make Gasol pay for trapping.
Outside of Jeremy Lin, there is no such thing in the NBA as a great perimeter defensive player without a max contract shotblocker behind him.
I gently disagree that the Nuggets are a "no star" team.
DeleteI view Denver as a highly paid team of stars that doesn't get a lot of individual media attention but can really play the game.
Lin would do well on that Denver team, definitely better than Ty Lawson who earns $12 million a year. But even Lin would have trouble against Memphis because Denver doesn't have a low post scoring presence to make Memphis pay for doubling the penetrators. That's why Ty Lawson struggles more than Lin does against the good teams.
Well, I didn't see this coming. I guess now I have to give McHale some credit for having the cajones to bench Harden and Parsons, I didn't think that would ever happen.
ReplyDeleteAt least Lin's not being scapegoated by himself. But McHale should have done this a loooong time ago. By this point in the season, it would have been better to have some effective game plans for the starters.
Well, what an interesting game and last qtr?! The only positive thing i can make of this is that Lin wasn't the only one benched and now the others aside from Asik and DMo knows how it feels to be benched and watch a game slip by and not be able to do a thing about it.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe McHale wanted to "punish" the starters for their continuous slow starting of a game and having to play catch up later to result in a loss or victory, mostly losing the game. maybe the Pacers game was the last and he had enough off always playing catch up that wastes up a lot of their energy?
Also i thought maybe to punish the team for the stickiness lately. They're barely assisting, tonights highest was 5? I think McHale wants to cost this game to teach them a lesson that this should be a team game and they need each other to win and that they need to quit with the slow start or else he'll purposely lose the game for them? idk, i'm not McHale. But then again McHale is a funny case, says one thing and does another, y'know? talk about riding the hot hand then yanking the hot hand for another that warms up to be hot then the other sits.....like Lin?!
Anyhow I really thought this game could've been won but looking at his intentions in this crazy weird prospective eased my anger a little bit? I concluded this because everyone, i believe, even the players were a bit thrown off by this crazy tactic.
But w.e it is there's always this thing that maybe McHale was just trying to prove that he plays no favor or he's really looking to be replaced? lol idk
McHale actually just wants to WIN.
DeleteThe bench was able to perform because Memphis did not game plan for them. So they were able to have some fun in the sun while the Rockets starters got THROTTLED by a SUPERIOR team.
This is not about vendettas or roles or anything. This was a good ol' fashioned BEATDOWN by a superior team over a weaker one.
It's when people try to spin the reasons into Rockets coaching inadequacies that the reasons don't make sense.
Many years ago, I watched a Knicks Dallas regular season game.
ReplyDeleteAllan Houston and Latrell Sprewell were the Knick gunners, just like James Harden and Jeremy Lin are the Rockets gunners.
Marcus Camby was the lone inside big man, just like Omer Asik is the lone Rockets inside big man.
Dallas trotted out a HUGE lineup of Dirk Nowitzki, Juwan Howard, Wang Zhi Zhi, and Danny Manning. I think there was another 7 footer in that game for Dallas. The Knicks saw that and got spooked.
Dallas had an aggressive defensive guard named "Greg Buckner" who was a faster, stronger, and BETTER defender than Tony Allen is. Dallas dropped their 7 footers into the lane and Buckner jammed Allan Houston all the way to the 3 point line. Houston and Sprewell got shut down, just like Lin and Harden got shut down.
Marcus Camby tried to battle those Dallas 7 footers by himself, but they just overwhelmed him. They scored on him, rebounded over him, dunked off passes when he tried to play help defense.
New York didn't lose the game by a lot of points because Dallas took mercy, but it was a BLOWOUT by the 3rd quarter.
That game was just like today's game.
That other giant 7 footer, you mean Shawn Bradly?
DeleteI think you're right, Rikki M.
DeleteI have seen so many games, so I can't remember every detail off the top of my head.
Harden is pissed, he refused to speak to the media after the game. This could be a major turning point with the team. Maybe Harden and the team gets the message and turns up their defense. Or this is the beginning of McHale losing the locker room.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, McHale set this situation up for himself, because he never benched Harden for any reason the entire season, then all of the sudden, he does it today. Of course Harden was caught off guard.
There's not enough skill and experience in the frontcourt for the season and Lin's role to turn around.
DeleteJust accept and appreciate Lin's efforts as they are.
Lin is doing his best despite his team being overmatched every game.
Harden not talking to media after losses is nothing new. I wouldn't read anything into that.
DeleteLin has a great 3-game stretch, averaging 23 pts, 6 ast, 2.3 to, 59% fg, 50% 3pt. Where did that lead to? 4th quarter benchings.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Beverley has a horrendous 6-game stretch, shooting 2-19 (10.5%). Where did that lead to? More minutes.
Lol you spoke like the opposing teams had no scouts. Yeah opposing teams should just be content continuing to let Lin get 23/6 every game and don't bother defending him. If Lin got 23/6 shooting at 59% every game, he would be the best guard in the nba and even more dominant than Lebron James. Do you really believe that?
DeleteBeverley get more opportunities now because he had that horrible stretch before and teams didn't see him as a threat and didn't bother defending him. When he played more and actually performed, teams would scout him and shut him down too.
Whats exactly your point Cara?
DeleteYou say Jeremy has never been scouted before? Seriously? You say these teams (that he had a good game against) didnt prepare to defend againstn him? Or do you say that JLin completely changed his game during that stretch? Nobody knows what your point is but you sure tread on other peoples opinion.
Also - Beverlys been having a lot of minutes lately. You seriously believe that teams havent scouted him yet? You act like scouting is a science project that takes time, goverment money and a lot of staff.
"Beverley get more opportunities now because he had that horrible stretch before and teams didn't see him as a threat and didn't bother defending him."
Sure - these days Beverly just walks to the hoop and scores in bunches and opponents dont even hinder him.
I play crappy too. Where do I sign up to become McHales most favorite PG?
JLin should try it too. Play crappy - maybe he will get his chance - oh wait - he already tried.
I agree with Cara.
DeletePeople new to the NBA don't realize that teams scout everybody but don't necessarily plan against everybody.
The guys that get the most defensive attention are players like Lin that score tons of points when single covered and get the entire team going on both ends. All opposing teams try to limit guys like Lin, even if they don't think he's a "good" player.
Guys like Patrick Beverley that can't score, can't pass, can't defend, and can't win are ALLOWED to run wild to kill their own teams. This is no different than most teams allowing Harden to go isolation but will send that double team right at Lin in the same game.
Like I keep saying, there are a lot of well meaning but NOVICE fans of Lin and the NBA who are incensed by this game. After a few more decades of watching the NBA, they'll notice the trends and patterns that makes longtime watchers like me groan "We've seen that before".
Why are certain players on your team scouted for and planned for? Is it because they are your best players? So you don't play your best players because of the fact that they are scouted for and planned for and you as the coach have no countermeasure in place?
DeleteSo the solution is to play your sub-level players because they were not scouted and planned for and hope the other team to play down to their level? Something is wrong with this logic...
So Sesshie, are you saying that Houston's big men should've been clowning max contract Gasol and Randolph every time those two abandoned the Rockets minimum wagers to double Harden and Lin?
DeleteWhen I was told that there was nothing personal between McHale and Lin, I could only counter with the fact that there must be a hidden agenda for McHale working against Lin game after game.
DeleteHe's so determined to take away Lin's minutes and opportunity to win games for the rockets. It seems that he is telling Lin: you're here to take the shame and Harden is to take the glory. That's your role, period.
It is undeniable that Lin can move the team better than Harden. Teammates believe in Lin more than Harden, the ball hogging idiot. He just ate a humble pie from Paul George. There'll be many more to come because his failure would be scouted so well that history would repeat itself. What a franchise player; this is an overblown marketing scam. I'm glad the Pacers did that should have been done long ago.
The fact that Harden refused to speak to the media again jut shows what a two-bit, classless, immature punk he is. Very immature. Has Jeremy ever done that? No, despite being disrespected, mind-fucked, and mentally tortured by McHale just about every game. This is what happens when you deem a young, selfish punk like Harden your "superstar". What a joke! This is what happens, when crybaby never is held accountable for his lack of defense and hero ball selfishness on offense. When you treat such people with kid gloves all the time, this is the punk you get. Know that jackass Harden knows what it feels like for Jeremy to be benched every night. Did you see Harden's disinterested face on the bench as he was almost laying down on his chair? Would Lin ever do that? No!! Despite being treated line shot, even on the bench, Lin is engaged and is supporting his teammates on the floor. Harden is nothing but a much worse version of that punk Melo. Lin has got to get his ass out of Houston at the end of this year no matter why happens ! He doesn't need or want teammates like Harden!!!
ReplyDelete@Spencer Haywood, touche`, i hve said all along that Harden is only going to do Harden. I also think that Lin's playing time has been shut down because of Harden. he is intimidated by Lin's style of play. Lin is a much better play maker than he and if Lin is given free reign like him, Lin would go off, and this team would actually look like a contender for the play-offs.I also personally think that Morey i setting Mchale to fail, so this his handpicked coach, could take his spot, which is Finch.
DeleteThe difference is though McHale will still treat harden like superstar and Lin will be looked down on by McHale. Lin can act the good teammate all he wants but it really hasn't gotten him anywhere this season except clapping on the bench in crunch time.
DeleteSometimes u need to let the coach know u r pissed. Don't u think McHale will think twice about benching his superstar next time? Lin? Well he makes it too easy for McHale to do whatever he pleases.
I normally agree with Khuang but not this time. They are professionals, just because you are outplayed in the first 3 qtr, it does not mean you should give up before it is over. I know McHale was thinking the Clipper game tonight. But when the score was close enough in the 4th, he should have brought the starters back in to give it one last push. Rox had come back many times this season. The reserves gave them a chance but McHale's mind set was saving the energy for tomorrow's game when the current one was winnable. I sure hope they get blown out again tonight against the Clippers so all the "Energy Saving" was a waste. They had a better chance against the Grizzles with those "Saved Energy".
ReplyDeleteI do believe the team will be blown out again by the Clippers. Telling a team to give up by benching them at the fourth quarter is easy. Telling them again to overcome and believe in themselves the next day would not be that convincing with what they have just done today.
DeletePlayers played with emotions and the coaches are not leading the team but virtually turned the players from playing. It's so ironic. I don't think McHale will ever move the team to success again. He's such a dismal coward who taught nothing but throwing away a game which is within reach.
It's really difficult to earn the trust of their players to play again with McHale's coaching. What a loser!
And you honestly believe the minimum contract Rockets can beat the Clippers with a different coach?
DeleteI sure hope they get blown out tomorrow.
DeleteI can't wait to see McHale's postgame interview.
The rockets in this season defeated SA, OKC the top teams in the league.
DeleteWith a coach that can better use the talent of this team, the rockets can beat any team.
No other team in the NBA now could use the 3 pointers to perfection in blowing out Utah, GS and Dallas. Teams have started following the rockets in applying this successful formula; notably the GS.
Lin told us they have a winning team and he was languished for the trade to destroy the team. At the peak of his emotion, he helped to blow off the OKC by scoring 29 points roaring with disapproval.
See, the notion that Houston can and shoukd just come in and beat any team in the NBA is why I disagree with everyone here.
DeleteAny team can get hot and beat any other team. Any team can also GO COLD and be beaten, like the Rockets did tonight due to fierce defense.
People here are mad at McHale for not making Houston invincible, for not winning this game in the 4th quarter. My advice for them is to keep watching the NBA, as they'll figure out that many games are just not winnable!
My theory is This is a tank job so Lakers can still be in it. Directive from the nba?
ReplyDeleteWhere were the bad calls?
DeleteLin didn't even gwt reffed out of this game. He got SHUT DOWN, just like James Harden.
I'm a firm believer in process. Winning and losing is not an indication or indictment of performance, it's a marker of personal process. The thing about competition is that you can play like crap, but if your opponent plays worst, you win! If you are satisfied by just winning, or use it as personal measurement of success, then you are failing in process. You should never be happy as an athlete or personal development with measuring yourself against someone else. Use your interaction as a measure of your own personal development instead.
ReplyDeleteOnce you change to this dynamic, your inner battle becomes one of fighting yourself, believing in your work, trusting in your process and never giving up. This is why Lin is so inspirational. He is a perfectionist not for someone else, it is for his own process.
As a coach / teacher, you must instill this self desire to become better. It's a bit bit like teaching. If you teach a child to be curious and develop that desire to learn, then you can just guide that path to knowledge.
Harden has been pushed up to the top of the mountain of success by Mchale, building him up to be the top of the heap of the Rox's mountain. The problem is if you measure yourself by winning and stats, it's like climbing a mountain. It's easy to chase the top of the mountain looking up. The problem is that at the top of the mountain, there is nowhere else to go but look down. Both Harden and Parsons are choking because they are looking down. Process is not like a mountain, it's a long personal journey made of daily small steps. A good coach is one that guides his players on that journey. By improving each day, wins and losses become less important. They become markers on a journey. They become less fearful of failure, in fact the only fear they have then is the fear of losing desire.
True, wise, and well-said. The inner-game of winning.
DeleteA successful team is built not only of talents but of characters.
ReplyDeleteThere're talents in the NBA but they don't always succeed because they don't have the character to pull through hardship.
What McHale has taught the young team is to throw away a game at hand for another game.That's cowardly. If when the rockets are well-prepared, there is no guarantee that you can take down the clippers. If you watch the game between the Clippers and the Kings. The Kings grind it out with TD and Patterson and virtually demolish the powerful Clippers. Blake Griffin is powerful, even more physical than Zandolph.
You need a team of high level of togetherness. The Kings with TD and Patterson playing at the fourth quarter can beat any team. They even blew out Chicago. The toughness and the willingness comes from the coach. With a coach like McHale, he simply took it for granted. He's too selfish to foster togetherness as team.
The best talent don't always win. The best team will. Look at the heroics of the Boston. They suffered injury after injuries. Do they ever quit? When the going gets tougher, the tough gets going.
What McHale has fostered in the team is cowardice. The fire in the team makes Lin tell us that they have already had a winning team because they play together and they always find a winning way. It's not McHale's game plans. We know it's nothing but shit. It's the guys who believe in themselves. It's easier to speak than done; killing Utah with 3 pointers; blowing out GS with 3 pointers. They had the determination to use the 3 pointers people back away with. It's concentration and confidence that excels. Whatever they have achieved, it's history. Morey destroyed the team but not the mighty combination of TD and Patterson. The Kings applied them so successfully. The rockets have lost the invaluable duals. The scores for each game has been declining to low score games. That's not how the rockets winning games.
Morey was the culprit bragging with his advanced statistics, and money buying power in capsize management and by dispensing good players at will. What rockets have achieved in the past were more than money can buy. Morey still think they can buy a better team which they already had and gave up.
What a loser!!!! Thus McHale complied to Morey was another loser. Lin was the toughest player and never gave up trying. Playing for McHell is just like hell for Lin.
You know why I can't hear you guys?
DeleteBecause Houston is the YOUNGEST and LOWEST PAID team in the league.
Lecturing about a max contract team like Boston that hits the court with a bunch of Hall of Famers is not convincing. Nor is Sacramento which is an UNDERACHIEVING team with all those high lottery picks.
People's singleminded hatred of McHale has bilinded them to the fact that Memphis KILLED the starters because of superior talent.
In every game, the outcome is either a win or a loss. To get a win is the optimal outcome, but even if it's a loss, there are good losses and bad losses. I think a good loss is a loss with your best effort and a lesson to be learned on how to get better. A bad loss is just giving up and leaving with a sense of confusion and resentment.
DeleteSo the Rockets lost the game, big deal. But how the coach just gave up on his team in the 4th quarter is unacceptable.
Did you see how the Kings demolished the Clippers in the fourth quarter. Patterson played well and blended with the new team. The Kings let TD and Patterson played for the 4th quarter at the crunch time to turn away the Clippers.
DeleteIt's the team that bombed the GS away with 3 pointers but lost heavily the next time when they met after the trade. Team chemistry is more important than talents, money and more. They had it but they lost it after the trade. Before that, the players can run any team out of the court when they believed in themselves they have a winning team. They could bombed their way against anyone. See now what they are playing is eye-soring. It's not the same team anymore. All those double standards and injustice poisoned the team chemistry.
Lin now is worrying more about staying on the court than winning because McHale pulled him out when he was playing well all the time not because he was tired but because they wouldn't let Lin played his best overshadowing Harden.
Lin played 23 minutes in this game. Harden played 26 minutes. Harden is allowed to play w/o Lin. Lin is not allowed to play w/o Harden. It's a safety measure in case Lin show up with Linsanity, Harden is in with him. Lin receives more respect from other teams than his own coaches.
Lin can play w/o Harden. The game that he scored 38 points w/o Harden against the Spurs was the proof. Yet Sampsons screwed up and took Lin away from the game and then the rockets lost. The coaches rotation of the rockets was unthinkable and stupid. The rotations sucks!
Giving away a game is simply unacceptable.
DeleteMcHale did it.
What a loser!!!!!@***
You should look at the Kings' superior roster and payroll before crowing about how the Rockets should be able to beat this Grizzlies team/
DeleteThe rockets did beat SA, OKC. Are they better than the Grizzles team?
ReplyDeleteIf the Kings' roster is so superior, why did they use TD and Patterson in the last minutes playing against other teams.
Does it make sense at all?