Celtics legend and Hall of Famer Kevin McHale was fired by the Houston Rockets after the team started 4-7. McHale was given a contract extension last year and took a Rockets team that won 56 games (despite injuries) to the Western Conference Finals. But losing seven games, especially with the Rockets dismal performance at home, was too much for GM Daryl Morey.
Assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim head coach for the Rockets. But fans are already shouting names that might take the Harden-Howard express further than the departed McHale. Hire Jeff Van Gundy, said one, calling out the successful former Knicks and Rockets coach. Van Gundy is currently one of the NBA’s most popular announcers. Mark Jackson is getting a lot of hollers. The former Golden State coach who put together the car that Steve Kerr drove to the title last year wants to coach again. As one commenter put it, Jackson’s the key to beating the Warriors. Calls for fired Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau are loudest, perhaps, because Thibs is a defense-first taskmaster — and Houston hasn’t played any defense all season. Mike Woodson and Scott Brooks, who inexplicably lost his OKC Thunder job for winning even after Kevin Durant went down, are the other names being bandied about.
GM Daryl Morey confirms that J.B. Bickerstaff will become the interim head coach of the Rockets. pic.twitter.com/OpYZuhHDUs
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) November 18, 2015
