They have harden locked in for the next 5 years, which means they're locked into 5 more years of first round exits
This is the biggest thing. Once Lin is gone and people on this forum find another punching bag on the team, if Mchale is still coaching your still going to see the same mistakes over and over again. I really can't see them holding on to Kevin Mchale. If they do, maybe this playoff series will wake him up, but two seasons already and there should be progress. We're still seeing late game closeouts end miserably throughout the season, and its even more magnified against a competent coach in Stotts with Portland in a high-pressure playoff atmosphere. We can't say this is a young team that needs to learn, because two seasons later you still see the same mistakes happen.
Agreed. There are positives in Lin's game. Showing poise late in games is not one of them. Sure, he's not bad in scoring opportunities(witness the OT win over Portland in March and OT in Game 1 of this series), but I would NOT want the ball in his hands with less the a minute left and leave the decision-making up to him.
one of the problems coaches will see is harden handling the ball too much and trying to get him to play off ball more and focus more on defense. A new coach will see lin as the next man up who can find other players push pace and get more assist. Yes he will struggle at times get turnovers (all guards do) but with a set system and a coach that trust him he will do better he has the skill set. so for the fans think lins minutes should be limited be careful what you wish for.
Regarding the foul, I think that was dictated by the bench, and there really were very few good options at that point as ESPN has analyzed it. By fouling early, you get an extra possession. My initial instinct was to play it out, but all that would mean is another iso-3 ball at the end (assuming Portland didn't score). I think I'd rather take 2-3 possessions over that play. the layup was a good play. He had daylight and just missed it. It's really no different than Matthews' opportunistic dunk at the end of game 2. An isolation play from Harden isn't really much better than a turnover. Besides, Harden could've actually played some defense and gotten to the 3 pt line to stick a hand in Batum's face. He was in position to do so. the failure to call timeout was a blunder. i put the blame on Lin for that.
Yeah, I agree. And while I don't think McHale was trying to throw Lin under the bus in the post game press conference, I do think he failed completely to 'fess up to, or maybe even understand, the fact that he was just as culpable if not more so than Jeremy.
leaving both harden and howard on the bench to start the first 4min of the 4th was utterly stupid. blew a 9pt lead yet again. when will this charlatan learn?
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Don't get excited yet... Let's see how Portland adjusts... After all, it's not like they have McHale at the helm...
Good plan. So basically we "just" need to stop them from scoring and we need to score...got it coach... If only I was a foot taller an played with Larry Bird...
Unbelievable how we repeatedly get beaten by 3's with very little to no time left. Remember Steve Blake, remember James Anderson
I won't watch near as many games next year if he is back. I can't get excited about something that I know will end badly.
