The Houston Rockets made a surprising move recently, firing Kevin McHale in what many deemed was uncalled for despite the team’s not-so-impressive run as of late.
The Rockets were 4-7 when McHale got the boot, highlighted by a four-game losing streak which was the longest the franchise had since 2013. Prior to that, the Rockets started the season on the wrong foot with a 0-3 record.
Word about McHale’s axing comes as a surprise to many, especially considering that the NBA great is coming off a good season which saw him lead the Rockets to the Western Conference finals last season with a respectable 56-26 last season.
The Rockets struggled in the last NBA playoffs, something spurred by the fact that the team was experiencing issues at the point guard position. Houston seemingly resolved the problem when they got Ty Lawson from the Denver Nuggets but such hasn’t translated into dividends yet at this early stage of the season.
McHale was just on his first year of a $12 million contract extension he signed in December 2014. In his place will be assistant J.B. Bickerstaff who takes over on an interim basis for the rest of the year as reported by Sports Illustrated. Bickerstaff notched his first win when the Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime, 108-103, per ESPN.
There were some who felt that McHale didn’t deserve to be given the boot, particularly because James Harden and Dwight Howard were also struggling this early in the season.
If it's true the Houston Rockets fired Coach McHale they made a big mistake.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 18, 2015
“We were starting to address some of the issues that were the reason I was let go,” McHale was quoted of saying via the Houston Chronicle. “We just weren't playing with any juice, with any rhythm. We haven't been able to get the problems solved.”
With this development, there were some who couldn’t help but wonder if Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott would follow soon.
The scenario may be a bit different since Scott is dealing with a younger and less talented team but Scott’s decision-making right now on how to mold the upstarts has been consistently hit.
One player that is not being utilized or trusted by Scott is D’Angelo Russell who was touted to be one of the best point guards in the 2015 NBA Draft.
As reported through Fansided, the other highly touted best point guard from the last NBA Draft, Emmanual Mudiay of the Denver Nuggets, has been doing great under first-year head coach Michael Malone which evidently shows how Scott lacks the trust on Russell.
Similar to the case of McHale, the fact is that players can’t be fired by coaches can. Even if he is a former Los Angeles Laker, it remains that Scott could be walking on thin ice unless he finds some way to turn that disappointing 2-9 record into a more respectable card soon.
