How a Western Conference also-ran became the NBA's most exciting team

Nice little article on the Rockets' aggressive rebuild and the strategy behind it. Discusses McHale's role in the equation, which has always been interesting to me given that he's expressed some frustration in the constant roster reshuffling. He definitely deserves COY consideration.

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This season, McHale has given his players ample agency, and it's working. The Rockets, while playing at the league's fastest pace and shooting more 3-pointers than any other team, have league's sixth-best offense. As of April 5, Houston is 42-33, good for seventh place in the brutal Western Conference and on pace to make the playoffs.

The jet-fueled offense has steadily improved throughout the season, a testament to the coaching staff's impact. If you split the season by 10-game segments, Houston's offensive efficiency failed to increase once.

Despite these accomplishments, McHale and his assistants have received little public credit for their relatively hands-off approach. It's an issue of perception. McHale's effectiveness comes almost as much from what he's not doing during games as it does from what he accomplishes in practice.

But McHale's ability to guide without yanking too hard on the reins is a crucial, underappreciated skill. You can't encourage "flow and roll" -- McHale's pet term for how Houston's offense utterly flattens the opposition in a matter of minutes -- if the coach is interjecting himself into the action.

For McHale, the trick has been to let go of his coach's instinct to control the minutiae, to make peace with a style that requires the organization, from top to bottom, to be comfortable with extremes. With Morey's support and a roster designed to play a specific way, McHale learned to stop worrying and love the 3-pointer.

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