The Houston Rockets have fired head coach Kevin McHale just a few weeks into the season and now J.B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim coach. The Rockets have started off 4-7 and the team has been in the middle of a four game losing streak and now James Harden, Dwight Howard, Ty Lawson, Patrick Beverley and company will try and turn things around.
The news about McHale was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports and the report was confirmed by Chris Broussard at ESPN. The Rockets have played way below expectations, as the team thought that it would be one of the top contenders in the west this season. McHale was one of the longest tenured coaches in the league and now he is done after just 11 games in the 2015-16 season. McHale signed a contract extension last year and is still owed $12 million on that deal.
The Rockets made a run to the western conference finals and finished as one of the best teams in the west last season, but this year has been a step back so far. The Rockets have lost four in a row and the team just had a players-only meeting after not reaching 100 points during the losing streak. According to ESPN, the team ranked in the top 12 in offensive and defensive efficiency last season and this year they are near the bottom of the league in both categories.
Wojnarowski writes that the team made the move now because the Rockets are about to come to a "soft spot" in the schedule and need to find a way to turn it around. Wojnarowski reports that the team will play their next 11 games against teams with a combined 48-77 record and that could give the Rockets the chance to stabilize and get back to playing winning basketball.
Wojnarowski adds that both Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau could be potential options to take over for McHale next year or at some point in the future. Wojnarowski also reports that Steve Clifford could be a potential target, as he "could be a free agent this summer." The Rockets have an appealing situation with two elite stars in James Harden and Dwight Howard and now it will be up to those players to lead the turnaround.
The Rockets added Ty Lawson this offseason and so far he has not been able to get things going for the Rockets. The team could potentially look at trade deals to try and shake things up, but right now nothing is on the horizon. The team just signed back Patrick Beverley to a deal in the offseason, while Terrence Jones could be a potential target if the Rockets start making moves.
Tom Haberstroh at ESPN writes that the Rockets have a minus-85 point differential this season and that could make it very tough to bounce back to make the playoffs. According to Haberstroh, the last 23 teams with a minus-80 point differential or worse has missed the playoffs. The Rockets have a weak schedule coming up and now have the chance to turn things around.
