Houston Rockets fire head coach Kevin Mchale
The Houston Rockets have reportedly fired Kevin McHale.
The Houston Rockets cut ties with head coach Kevin McHale on Wednesday morning. Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news of McHale’s firing.
The Houston Rockets fired coach Kevin McHale, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 18, 2015
Houston had started out the season a disappointing 4-7 and, according to Wojnarowski, the short leash was seen as a move to save the season while still in its infancy.
Houston has tremendous talent, needs to salvage season. That pushed Rockets to make move sooner than later on parting ways with McHale.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 18, 2015
Houston's 4-7 start demanded change to right season; Bickerstaff will be charged w/ restoring defensive mindset that he installed year ago.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 18, 2015
In the immediate fallout, J.B. Bickerstaff, son of former NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff, will be the team’s interim head coach.
J.B. Bickerstaff, will become interim head coach, league sources tell Yahoo. Assistant Chris Finch will become associate head coach.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 18, 2015
In just over four seasons with the Rockets, McHale compiled a record of 190-126. Houston missed the playoffs in McHale’s first year, but have reached the postseason in each of the past three.
Last year Houston reached the Conference Finals before running into a buzz saw – the eventual league champion Golden State Warriors. To get there, the team road the back of MVP runner-up James Harden and some intensified defense. They also drove a spike into the heart of the Los Angeles Clippers by pulling off one of the more remarkable comebacks in NBA Playoffs history, bouncing back from a 3-1 deficit (depending on your vantage points, the Clips can be argued to have choked away both Game 5 and the series).
The weight of expectation was a bit much this part of the early season, as the Rockets slumped out of the gate. General Manager Daryl Morey will hope that a new voice in Bickerstaff can ignite the talented team.