After a sluggish 4-7 start by the Rockets, head coach Kevin McHale has been fired. The team announced the firing before Wednesday’s game against the Blazers in Houston, where they later snapped a four-game losing streak with an overtime win in interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s first game.
Since joining the team back in 2011, McHale has won 193 games, & lost 130, making the playoffs three of his four full seasons with the team, most recently making it to the conference finals. He’s widely considered one of the better coaches in the league, so the firing has come as a huge surprise to many.
“It’s preposterous. It’s beyond belief. I’m really shocked. It’s just hard to believe that something could happen at this stage to a guy who took a team unexpectedly to the conference finals last year. To have this happen after just 11 games is just preposterous.”
– Mavs’ coach Rick Carlisle
“What was strange about it was that they went to the Western Conference Finals last year. Eleven games in for anybody is quick, but with all the success they had last year, yeah, I was pretty surprised. Tim Hardaway walked in my office and told me this morning and I was shocked.”
– Pistons’ coach Stan Van Gundy
“I don’t agree with the firing, but it’s not my choice to make. I think Kevin is a great coach. …People love him everywhere they’ve been. Everybody that you hear from loves working with him, loves being around him, so to me, from the outside looking in, it looks like 11 games in making a rash decision, but it’s not my call.”
– Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens
(boston.cbslocal.com)
It’s sad to see one of the greatest coaches in the sport be scapegoated by a team riddled with issues that really can’t be controlled, the biggest being purely a lack of effort. The guy can only do so much.
In the Rockets’ 12 games this season, here’s where they stack up with the rest of the league:
Points allowed per game: 108.1 (2nd most)
Points scored per game: 101.4 (14th most)
Rebound differential: -3.2 (8th worst)
It all starts with ‘superstar’ James Harden’s refusal to play defense. He has barely showed up on that end of the ball all season, & it’s been reflective of the team’s sub-par record.
(cdanews.com)
He just hasn’t been working hard enough. During the four-game losing streak McHale got fired for, Harden allowed 22.25 points per game to his matchups, & he hasn’t even been defending good scorers. He’s most notably allowed a 23-point night from Ray Felton, a 21-point night from Avery Bradley, & a 26-point night from Will Barton. Quite honestly, I don’t know if there’s a player in basketball who couldn’t score on Harden over the past month.
McHale undoubtedly got the short-end of the stick here, & I think the Rockets’ will have a hard time finding a replacement that brings what he brought to the table as a coach. He will likely have little issue finding a new home in the NBA, however. At least one offer is already on the table.
“We’ve got a spot for him. Maybe when the dust settles, I can get him out to teach the ‘slippery eel’ to Kelly [Olynyk] & Sully [Sullinger] & Amir [Johnson].”
– Celtics GM Danny Ainge
Even if it’s not with Boston, I hope McHale finds success elsewhere. He deserved more time from the Rockets, & I think the Rockets will soon regret not giving him that time.
Best of luck, coach McHale.