Danny Ainge: Celtics have a spot for McHale

Last season he led the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals, and led them to the playoffs both seasons before that.

He posted a double-double and engineered a breathtaking comeback, leading the Houston Rockets to a 108-103 overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday at Toyota Centre. Harden's play and aloofness have frustrated teammates, and McHale took the brunt of the blame for the team's play. Currently, the Rockets are an 11th place team in the NBA's western conference out of 15 NBA West teams, according to .

With a disappointing start of 7 losses out of 11 games, it is not very surprising that the Houston Rockets chose to shake things up with such a drastic move. (Owner Leslie Alexander) does not accept losing.

The Rockets at times looked like they might be able to turn the quarter. If you look at their team over the last few years, their roster was constantly in flux.

With interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff at the helm for the first time, the Rockets delivered a gritty performance.

"We were starting to address some of the issues that were the reason I was let go", McHale was quoted of saying via the Houston Chronicle. The Rockets named assistant J. B. Bickerstaff as the interim head coach. McHale was hired in June of 2011 to be the head coach of the Rockets, replacing Rick Adelman.

Boston general manager Danny Ainge said the former Celtics great would be a welcome addition in Boston.

Dwight Howard has been lukewarm at best. "I'm hurt that he's not here, and I'm hurt that I won't get to see him every day".

"A coach has no chance if the players know they can go somewhere else to vent their frustrations", he said.

Three of Rockets' losses have been by 20+ points, and two others by at least 12. "We believe in the players we have".

Star player James Harden apparently felt the same way, stating that he felt like he "was talking to an actual player". Franchise player James Harden is averaging 27.3 points per game but shoots at an inefficient clip at 37.2% from the field and 26.2% from the three-point area, both down from last year's numbers when he was an MVP candidate. Calls for fired Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau are loudest, perhaps, because Thibs is a defense-first taskmaster - and Houston hasn't played any defense all season.