Rockets will play tired to support coach McHale at daughter’s funeral

Wednesday in Minnesota there will be a memorial service for Sasha McHale, the 23-year-old daughter of Rockets coach (and Celtics legend) Kevin McHale. She lost a long battle with Lupus and, as a father, I can’t imagine McHale’s pain. My heart goes out to him.

The Rockets players want to be supportive and they are enduring a lot of extra travel to do so — they play Tuesday night in Houston against the Raptors, fly to Minneapolis overnight to attend the funeral Wednesday, then take another flight to Oklahoma City, where they land at 3:30 p.m. before a game that night against the Thunder.

And the players seem to wish they could do more, they told NBA.com.

“We’re trying to support him and be there for him as much as possible,” said guard James Harden. “It means a lot, knowing our schedule, knowing we have a game the same day. Obviously, it doesn’t take away the pain from what he lost. We’re just trying to be there to offer support as much as we can.”

The Rockets also are wearing a green band on their jersey shoulder, Green being Sasha’s favorite color.

It is a fantastic gesture by the team.