Houston Rockets Coach Kevin McHale introduces confident newcomers – NBA Update
The Houston Rockets new head coach Kevin McHale, who is known for his aggressive approach, introduced the newcomer at a press conference recently.
The Rockets drafted in University of Kansas’ power forward Marcus Morris with the 14th first round pick and Florida’s Chandler Parsons with their 38th second round pick and 7 foot Donatas Motiejunas on Thursday.
The franchise also acquired point guard Jonny Flynn in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night.
All of the young players were excited about the opportunity to excel on the big boasted about the impact that they will make in Houston. However, McHale was cautious and just hoped that the newcomers can bring their words into
action in the next season.
At the press conference, the big man Motiejunas was asked what he will do to outmuscle the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard if he runs after him. Donatas took everyone by surprise when he said that Howard will have to catch him first.
Morris who was selected as the 2010-2011 Big 12 Player of the year also made a strong statement by comparing himself to the All-Star Carmelo Anthony and even said, “I’m not going to take after him on the defensive side.”
Although the Boston Celtics’ three-time NBA Champion Kevin liked the confidence that was shown by the young players and stated that the Celtics had the same attitude during their dominating era however, he also reminded Morris
and Donatas that the media is recording whatever they say.
McHale addressed to the newcomers after their comments and said, “The reason you’re confident, the reason you get drafted, is because you’re the best player everywhere you’ve been. But the league will take off a little of that
polish. I’m glad they’re feeling confident. But it’s a long process.”
Kevin further stated that he is very excited to work out with the youngsters to polish their hidden talent and the best guys will be playing for the team in the upcoming seasons.
The Houston Rockets missed the play-off berth in the last season for the second successive time followed by 43 victories and 39 defeats. The Rockets big man Yao Ming played only five games in the whole season as the fourth year
forward-centre Luis Scola carried the momentum for the team.
McHale thinks that Luis will be a good mentor for the youngsters and said, “The nice thing about having a guy like Scola is that he works so hard and has such a discipline about his game that these young guys can all learn from
being around him. Luis is typical of what makes it in our league, he’s a grinder. He goes out and grinds every single day.”
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