He was 193-130 in four-plus seasons with the Rockets, and he guided Houston to three consecutive postseason appearances.
Advertisement
But on the first night of what they hope will be a turnaround to a miserable start that cost Kevin McHale his job, the Rockets showed their first real sign of fight in the season. Depending on how things go in Charlotte, they might be targeting Steve Clifford to be his predecessor. Job One, really, is we’ve got to shore up our defense, and I believe J.B. can do it. “It’s tough because the only reason I’m here is because of (McHale)”, said Bickerstaff.
Assistant J.B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim head coach in the shake-up announced by general manager Daryl Morey hours before Houston hosted Portland.
But by looking at the trend in the past couple of games, though, one could say that change was indeed coming. They’ve been playing well as of late but, as we’ve seen so far this season, the middle class of the Eastern Conference is crowded. Some players fought for McHale (there’s a rumor running around about Howard being his strongest defender) but it didn’t matter.
The team wasn’t responding to McHale in practice or during the games. (John-Blair) Bickerstaff will serve as interim head coach. He didn’t get a triple-double Wednesday night, but 43 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 110-103 win over New Orleans is still a pretty good night.
Similar to the case of McHale, the fact is that players can’t be fired by coaches can. The power forward helped the Celtics win it all in 1981, 84 and 86. Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle – who was McHale’s teammate in Boston for three seasons – called the move “preposterous” and “very disappointing” earlier Wednesday, and he didn’t back down from that stance ahead of the game.
Houston Rockets’ James Harden (13) and Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard (0) chase a loose ball in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, November 18, 2015, in Houston. The Rockets lost in the first round of the playoffs that season, improved again in 2014 and returned to the postseason only to be eliminated in the first round again.
The Rockets kept chipping away at the Trailblazers pulling within three in the final seconds.
Advertisement
Houston star James Harden, who is shooting 37.3 percent from the floor, is dating Khloe Kardashian.
