Houston Rockets fire head coach after 4-7 start

The Sports Xchange

10 years ago

Nov 11, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale shouts at an official after a play during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Toyota Center. The Nets defeated the Rockets 106-98. (Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports)

Nov 6, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale on the sideline against the Sacramento Kings during the second quarter at Sleep Train Arena. (Kelley L Cox/USA Today Sports)

November 7, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale watches game action against Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Staples Center. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports)

November 7, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13), guard Marcus Thornton (10) and head coach Kevin McHale celebrate the 109-101 victory against Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports)

Nov 11, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale looks up after a play during the second quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Toyota Center. (Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports)

The Houston Rockets fired head coach Kevin McHale on Wednesday after a 4-7 start this season.

General manager Daryl Morey also announced that assistant J. B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim head coach. Houston hosts the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

“The team was not responding to Kevin,” Morey said Wednesday. “There is no time in the West.”

The Rockets, with the league’s second-worst defensive team, are currently on a four-game losing streak that prompted a players-only meeting on Tuesday morning, following a 111-95 loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

McHale signed a three-year contract extension last December, worth more than $12 million guranteed.

McHale was hired by the Rockets before the 2011-12 season. He was 193-130 overall with the Rockets, including three straight trips to the playoffs and a loss in last season’s Western Conference finals.