May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale (center) instructs in a team huddle during the fourth quarter in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 104-90 to advance to the NBA Finals. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
12. Kevin McHale, Houston Rockets
Before I begin bashing Kevin McHale, I first want to give props to him because we all know coaching a team with Dwight Howard and James Harden cannot be easy. Now, I don’t have a problem with McHale, but I will use him as a prime example of why NBA fans ask if the head coach actually matters to a team.
When McHale coached the Timberwolves, he finished with a record of 39-55. Minnesota was simply not a good basketball team. But were the Timberwolves bad because McHale was a bad coach? Or were they bad because well they had Sebastian Telfair and, yes, Brian Cardinal (please ignore the part about the Timberwolves also having Al Jefferson and Kevin Love)?
But when McHale went to Houston, he actually started winning games. Did McHale’s coaching ability coincidentally improve as soon as he left Minnesota? Or does it just so happen that the head coach of a team really doesn’t make that much of a difference?
Either way, I rank McHale here because he has experienced quite a bit of success while with Houston, and I really didn’t want to rank him lower than Jason Kidd.
Next: Dwane Casey