by debiler on Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:31 pm
I'm only going by what I was able to observe during this and last year's Rockets postseason, here: I blame Mike D'Antoni for 95% of what went down. In light of last season's playoff exit, a veteran coach with over 20 years of experience should be able to analyze and learn from their experience. I said it before this year: the Rockets' system was completely tailored towards getting a decent win% during the regular season, when losing a couple of games due to bad luck and cold hands doesn't matter. In the postseason, things are different. You need an alternative gameplan for when the opponent has your number and/or your star player has an off night. Think back to the 2011 finals, game 6 - Dirk was ice-cold at the beginning, so they adjusted. Or the 2019 finals, game 6 - Leonard was underwhelming, so FVV had to step up. Or 1997, also game six: Jordan didn't find Steve Kerr for the win by accident, you know. As head coach, you need to recognize the necessity to react to the flow of the game. Sometimes, you can't just shoot your way out of it. There needs to be balance between the game plan and trusting your players to make the right decisions. Sometimes I feel like D'Antoni is just playing the percentages - on average, giving Harden the ball and look at him go is in fact the best thing to do. But when the intensity gets turned up during the playoffs, there need to be other options, because you will not get as many easy looks. And from what I've seen, the Rockets had no alternative game plan whatsoever.
Confucius say: "Man go to bed with itchy butt wake up with smelly finger."