In what many feel was a wrong choice, the Houston Rockets have fired head coach Kevin McHale which may be tied up with the fluttering start of the ball club.
This development comes as a surprise, considering McHale was fresh from recently leading the Rockets to the Western Conference finals last season.
There were, apparently, high expectations from the Rockets who addressed their point guard issues last season with the addition of Ty Lawson, whom the franchise acquired from the Denver Nuggets.
The Rockets were off to a bad start, starting at 0–3, although it seemed more of a James Harden slump than bad coaching on the end of McHale. It seems that the four-game losing streak was the reason behind the sudden firing, with the Rockets sounding the alarm a way bit too early in the season.
McHale was in the first year of his new $12 million contract extension for three years, something that was rightfully rewarded to him for steering the team to a 56–26 record last season.
He thus becomes the second coach to come off a good National Basketball Association (NBA) run and then falter in the next season. The first one was Stan Van Gundy when he was still the head coach of the Miami Heat back in the 2005–06 season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Rockets' last loss came at the hands of the Boston Celtics, capping their fourth and longest losing streak since 2013. The Rockets players held a players only meeting last Tuesday, although it could not be determined if that gathering had any connection with the sudden firing of McHale.
Assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff temporarily serves as interim head coach for the Rockets. On Wednesday night, the Rockets finally ended their losing skid, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 108–103.
