5 Hot Questions: Houston Rockets Playoff Preview Edition #1

"Hey guys, so I’m going to be starting a new series of posts where I take questions from my followers on Twitter (@rednation_hoops) about the Rockets (season, post-season, salary cap, free agency, etc..) and compile them along with Alykhan’s (@Rockets_Insider) Twitter follower questions and we’ll answer as many as we can. This time we took the 5 best questions and answered them as in-depth as we could for the time being. We’ll be releasing a more comprehensive one before the first round of the NBA Playoffs."

Mar 7, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Rockets head coach

during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Rockets won 114-100. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

1.) What is your assessment of Mchale’s system and game planning going into the playoffs?

Salman’s (@rednation_hoops):

My biggest gripes with Kevin McHale were these five things:

• His inability to produce a top-tier defense even after acquiring Dwight Howard

-JB Bickerstaff has done a fantastic job this season in making the Rockets a top-five defense for the majority of the season even without Dwight Howard so this problem has obviously been eradicated

• His very unorthodox style of substitutions

-McHale has this very odd method of substitutions that often plays guys out of their traditional positions (e.g. Jason Terry the point guard) and produced small lineups. Now this isn’t a huge problem but it can be frustrating with more suitable players for each position (Pablo Prigioni).

• His underuse of the Rockets bench

-The Rockets went from having the worst bench in the NBA to having one of the deepest teams in the league.  McHale should obviously be utilizing it right? Or am I crazy? The numbers show that McHale’s bench is among the lower half of the league in minutes. This is where I think McHale’s style will actually translate well into the playoffs because lineups are cut short anyways but during the season the bench could have been useful to rest starters just a little bit more. Overall, I don’t think this is a big issue heading into the playoffs.

Feb 20, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale speaks to his team during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

• His loyalty toward some players often cost Houston games

-I’ve seen this more with two players in the past 2 years. Patrick Beverley and Jeremy Lin. There were times last season where Lin would make an awful play/turnover and McHale would still continue to keep him in the game. The same applies to Beverley this year. Beverley’s defense hasn’t been up to par this year and he’s had some terrible shooting nights, but McHale insists on keeping him in the game in heavy minutes. In the playoffs this could potentially be a huge problem because The Rockets can’t afford to have a bad Beverley for extended minutes on the court.

• Little use of the Howard-Harden pick-and-roll

-Both Dwight Howard and James Harden are fantastic pick-and-roll players and I believe McHale should be running this play into the ground because few NBA teams can stop it. If McHale ran this play more instead of Harden-isolation plays and Howard-post ups, the offense would prosper a lot more smoothly and efficiently.

Overall, I think McHale’s done a fantastic job this season especially with the absence of Howard and other lingering issues on the roster. He’s done a great job at adjusting to situations and has helped produced a fantastic defense. I never had a problem with McHale’s “free-flowing offense” because it was not entirely free flowing. There were many instances of Princeton offense and motion-type offenses that are hard to spot but can be easily be confused with no offense whatsoever.

Alykhan (@Rockets_Insider):

Coach McHale is a player coach and anyone on the roster can attest to that. Players constantly praise his ability to coach and connect; he’s changed the team’s mentality coming off last season’s horrendous close. In terms of the strategic aspects, I believe he and the coaching staff have improved leaps and bounds, particularly defensively. It’s known they watch large amounts of film on players and teams they’ll face, picking out tendencies and patterns to exploit using double teams and playing more opportunistic. The defensive scheme has combined their aggressive on-ball pressure with a wing cheating on pick-and-roll from the weak-side and playing the passing lanes. They’ve done a great job creating a defense that compliments their offense, allowing them to play faster pace and get high-percentage looks on the break.

Mar 15, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale with center Joey Dorsey (8) and forward Trevor Ariza (1) during the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

As for game-planning, the Rockets’ defense is predicated to the personnel of the opposing team. When healthy, the Rockets have players on the roster who excel in certain areas and can be trusted to freely dissect screens and action. The coaching staff has done a great job of putting players in the right position to make plays and be opportunistic. However, the playoffs is totally different animal. Seven game series require coaches to constantly make in-game and in-series adjustments that change the scope of the series. After each game of the season I trust Coach McHale and coaching staff that much more, but we’ll have to wait and see the specific match-up and seeding before I can make a definitive statement.

Before moving onto the next question, I’d just like to praise the offensive system this season. We’ve knocked down on their SLOB (sideline out of bounds) sets, especially after time-outs, but McHale and coaching staff have improved vastly. They’re exploiting opposing players weaknesses or going in aggressive. More off-ball screens to open up a quick three-point shot or allow a cutter an open-look inside. Also, the Rockets are adapting their offense to the greatness of Harden. Putting the ball in his hands and running weak-side action with Harden pick and rolls that sets up multiple options on each possession.

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