The Houston Rockets and general manager Daryl Morey have become pioneers of the NBA’s analytics movement in recent years, which is why they’ve employed coaches like Mike D’Antoni, have played essentially without a true big man and shoot more 3-pointers than just about any other team in league history.
With that being said, former Rockets head coach and Hall of Fame power forward Kevin McHale isn’t a fan of analytics and even took a bit of a jab at his old team during a radio interview this week.
“You guys are caught up a little bit in Houston on numbers. Numbers do not win games. The one number that wins the game is if you have one more point than the other team. That’s the biggest number. But numbers don’t win games,” McHale said on ESPN 97.5’s The Usual Suspects.
While Mchale was incredibly impressive as a player for the Boston Celtics — being named an All-Star seven times and an All-NBA Defensive Team member six times — his results as a head coach are a bit more up and down.
After two seasons as the head coach for the Minneosta Timberwolves, McHale got the Rockets head coaching job in 2011. McHale, however, coached the team for just over four seasons before being let go.
“It’s all about teamwork, playing together, knowing who the hot man is, reading situations, shot selection, getting to the line at the end of the game, having plays that aren’t 3-pointers at the end of the game; plays that are driving and getting fouled. All those things come into play,” McHale added in his ESPN interview.
While McHale did lead the Rockets to two 50-plus win seasons during his four years as head coach, the team often faltered come playoff time and were knocked out in the first round in two of the three times they made the playoffs under McHale.
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