Reasons why Houston Rockets new coach Kevin McHale is already on the Hot Seat: NBA Feature (Part-1)
Houston Rockets will enter the next season without the legendary centre Yao Ming, who called it quits after the play-offs on the back of his prolonged injury issues. The gap that has been created with the departure of the Chinese Basketball player Ming will
not be fulfilled with any replacement.
However, the coaching staff of the franchise will feature a new face to start the next season for the Houston Rockets who is expected to keep the line-up intact and drive the team towards success with his impressive pedigree in the world of NBA.
That new face is no other than three-time NBA Champion and former Boston Celtics All-Time Great Kevin McHale, who was hired by the Rockets on the first day of June this year.
The 53-year-old McHale had an inspirational career with the Celtics as a power forward and guided the team with his electrifying talent for more than a decade. Kevin was one of very few players in the history of the league who carried the action dominantly
from both ends of the court throughout the NBA career.
Kevin played all of his 13 seasons in Boston Celtics’ uniform and decided to announce his retirement after the 1992-1993 season. Kevin McHale’s finished his career with 17335 points, 7122 rebounds and 1689 blocks.
After calling it quits as a player, the Hall of Famer Kevin joined his native team Minnesota Timberwolves and served the franchise for 15 years at different executive levels including television analyst.
Recently, Kevin coached the Timberwolves for a short period when the franchise fired Randy Wittman. Being the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, McHale posted a 20-43 record. After the season, it was announced that the Kevin McHale will not return
as coach in the Timberwolves.
On 1st June 2011, Houston Rockets finally found the successor of Rick Adelman and named Kevin McHale their new head coach who has yet to make a debut with the team.
The hiring of Kevin came at a point when Rockets failed to clinch a play-off berth two times consecutively and Rocket’s All-Time Great Yao Ming announced his retirement. Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander had already shown his confidence on the Celtics
legendary player Kevin who can marshal the team on the winning path with his substantial experience and basketball knowledge.
Alexander released a statement on the hiring of McHale. “Kevin McHale is a proven NBA champion (with the Boston Celtics) who has the leadership skills and basketball knowledge necessary to guide our team into the future. Kevin’s hard-nosed work ethic and
tenacity on the court led him to a Hall of Fame career and a legacy as one of the NBA’s greatest low-post players of all time. I’m looking forward to seeing Kevin share his unique basketball knowledge and experience.”
Houston Rockets signed a four year contract with Kevin making the fourth year a team option. Kevin might be among the greatest players in the history of the National Basketball Association, however he has yet to prove his coaching skills which is going to
be a big challenge for McHale.
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