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Kevin McHale Fired As Coach Of Houston Rockets
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — Just months removed from a trip to the Western Conference finals, Kevin McHale is out in Houston and J.B. Bickerstaff is in as his replacement after the Rockers wobbly 4-7 start to this season. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports was the first to report the news of McHale's firing, and Houston GM Daryl Morey confirmed.
McHale compiled a 193-130 record in four-plus seasons in Houston and signed a three-year extension in December of 2104. But losing streaks of three and four games, longer than anything they endured last season, prompted a players-only team meeting before practice Tuesday.
If James Harden, Dwight Howard and the rest of the players couldn't come up with a solution for what ails this crew, the Rockets' front office did it for them. And McHale serves as the fall guy.
Bickerstaff, a longtime assistant and the son of veteran NBA coach and executive Bernie Bickerstaff, certainly provides a new voice, albeit from a familiar face. He is well respected around the league and was destined for a head coaching job that doesn't include an interim tag.
The Rockets, however, clearly are in need of much more than just a different voice.
They've fallen apart since grinding their way to the conference finals. They rank near the bottom of the league in defensive rating (29th), points allowed (29th) and opponent field goal percentage (26th). They have yet to hold a single opponent under 100 points this season.
The addition of veteran point guard Ty Lawson has not produced any tangible benefits either. Plus, the team that led the league in made 3-pointers last season ranks next to last in 3-point percentage this season (29 percent).
The fact is, Howard has been a shell of himself and is not the impact player on defense that he has been throughout his career. Harden's struggling as well, not playing anything like the player many (including his peers) felt deserved Kia MVP honors last season.
Something had to change. Better yet, someone had to go.
But McHale, the winningest coach in franchise history by percentage, and after just 11 games?
There has to be more to this story, more to come from GM Daryl Morey and the Houston brain trust.
For now, it's up to Bickerstaff to steady things and reshape this team into the outfit that was expected to contend in the Western Conference this season.st-into-19th-place-on-all-time-scoring-list
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