Kevin McHale has seen it all...championships in the NBA, coaching ups and downs (NBA finals to firing), the broadcast booth, and personal tragedy. Who better than McHale to provide some perspective on the NBA and life?
First, the eponymous 'McHale Move'.
Watch it a few times and register key concepts:
- A great shot fake is a shot not taken.
- The move is not about speed; it is deliberate.
- The ball barely moves above his head. The higher the ball, the greater the likelihood of a traveling call (statistically)
First, some magnificent excerpts from a Gary Washburn piece:
“It’s more of a constant battle getting the guys on the team to put the team first. They can stray very, very quickly into individual first, team second. And that just never works..."
"...can they get the blend of guys to put team first and defend at a level where they can win tight games?"
"The mark of a great player is when he’s having a bad shooting night, he’s able to help his team."
"Red Auerbach always used to say when the ball’s going in the hole and you have 40, the guy in the last row in the arena knows you had a good game. Can you help your team win when the ball’s not going in the hole?"
"The essence of the NBA game to me is very, very simple — you’ve got to be able to draw two [defenders]. And then you pass it and four of your offensive guys play against three of their guys."
Here are some other gems from McHale:
"Chemistry's a strange thing...when you've got it, everyone plays a little bit better. When you don't have it, everyone plays just a little bit worse."
"What we need are basketball players."
From this Abby Chin podcast:
"...with one substitution you changed the complexion of the team a lot" (an early reflection on smaller ball)
"...there was just an easy fit of how we played and complemented each other...sometimes...the pieces don't fit." Teamwork
"...running was dangerous against the Showtime team."
"...when it got nasty we were okay with that." On versatility
"...striking out was never an option." Sense of urgency
"...the game was never going to get too big for us." Confidence
"...playing for K.C. was easy...they all (K.C. Jones, Cousy, Heinsohn) told stories of unbelievable success...I really respected him and liked him." Communication
"I worked at all those things (took thousands of hook shots) and became confident..." (Post game)
After losing the first game of the 1986 season, Bill Walton said to the team, "I want to apologize to anyone who ever put on a Celtics uniform..." Larry Bird said to McHale, "we gotta win because I can't listen to that 81 times."