Coach Kevin McHale is expected to rejoin the Rockets soon, and could be back from his lengthy leave of absence by tonight, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26. McHale left the team on November 10th, and though no reason was officially announced, it became clear he was tending to his ailing daughter, Sasha, who passed away November 24th. Assistant coach Kelvin Sampson has been running the team in his stead.
The Rockets were 2-3 to start the season under McHale, and now sit at 9-9 after last night's loss to the Spurs. They take on the Mavs tonight in Houston. McHale went 34-32 in his first season with the Rockets last year, narrowly missing out on a playoff berth. He was 39-55 in two previous coaching stints in Minnesota, when he came down to the bench from the team's front office.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle says via Twitter that McHale will be with the Rockets tonight, but Feigen is unsure if that means he'll be coaching the team this evening.