HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets fired Kevin McHale on Wednesday with the team off to a lackluster 4-7 start just a year after advancing to the Western Conference finals.
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.
McHale was in his fifth season with Houston and is coming off a 56-26 season where the Rockets reached the West finals for the first time since 1997 before falling to eventual champion Golden State. The 57-year-old Hall of Fame player went 193-130 with the Rockets.