Kevin McHale Confident on Team Roster: Houston Rockets Can Now 'Compete With Anybody'

By Joshua Cheng
jeremy-lin-kevin-mchale.jpg
Houston Rockets' Jeremy Lin (7) talks with coach Kevin McHale during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies in Houston. AP

Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale has revealed his confidence in the current team roster, saying he feels really comfortable that the team can now “compete with anybody.”

“I’m looking forward to getting together with the team and putting everything together,” said McHale, the coach for two seasons and Hall of Fame basketball player, according to ESPN.com.

Just last Friday, free-agent Dwight Howard confirmed his decision to sign with the Houston Rockets, betting $30 million that he could have received by staying with Los Angeles Lakers for a “better chance at his first NBA title,” he said Friday.

McHale told ESPN that Dwight denied the reports of him being indecisive and waffling about which team to sign.

“The crazy thing was Dwight was flying from Colorado and the 50-50 [speculation] and all this other stuff, he was a little bit upset about that,” McHale said. “He said, ‘I didn’t change my mind.’ I had a pretty good feeling, but when it’s finally done, you’re really happy and looking forward to working with him.”

McHale also said that Dwight said his back is healthy, and he feels better and healthier now than he has been. “I anticipate him coming in and doing what he did for year: Being the best, most dominant center in the league.

“When Dwight is right, physically right, he dominates the game in a lot of different ways,” he said. “He’s a unique guy. He can score 10 points and totally dominate the game. There are very few players in the NBA that can do that. He can bolt down the paint, block six or seven shots, get 20 rebounds, roll hard and get people shots without touching the ball. It’s a good situation.”

Last season, the Rockets made it to the No. 8 seed in the West despite the changes in the team’s roster and relatively young players, who are learning about themselves and how to develop chemistry with other players; together they’ve made it to the playoffs and pushed the Oklahoma City Thunders to six games in a tough series.

With the NBA All-Star 6-11 center Dwight Howard now anchoring the middle, the mix with James Harden, Jeremy Lin, and Chandler Parsons around him makes the Houston Rockets a formidable team, capable of competing with any other team in the league for the 2013-14 NBA title.

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