D’Antoni avoiding ring ceremony

The Rockets will have front-row seats for the Golden State’s Warriors’ ring ceremony Tuesday night but were undecided if they would take in the show.

Rockets guard James Harden said the team will discuss it and decide, though coach Mike D’Antoni said his inclination would be to stay in the locker room.

Guard Eric Gordon, who has been on the visiting team when the Celtics and Lakers received championship rings before season openers, said he is more interested in how the night will end than how it will begin.

“I don’t really like them,” Gordon said of watching ring ceremonies. “You have to watch them get their rings. The crowd’s into it. It’s like their night. We want it to be our night. We want to win. It’s a great opportunity.”

D’Antoni said he does not have a rule for such occasions, other than preferring to see a ring ceremony with his team receiving the jewelry.

“My only philosophy is it’s better to be receiving than watching,” D’Antoni said. “We need to be the other team. We’re not going to watch, unless they want to watch. They can watch it on TV back in the locker room. They’ll be fine.”

Teams have chosen to see the rewards for a championship as a motivation, but D’Antoni said he believed the Rockets have all the motivation they need.

“We should be motivated,” D’Antoni said. “We want to win a championship. Everybody wants to win a championship. I don’t think you need it. It’s in their DNA. They want to compete and be the best they can be.”

House, Oliver waived by team

The Rockets waived former University of Houston and Texas A&M forward Danuel House Jr. and rookie Cam Oliver, reducing their roster to 14 players, not including the twoway contract with guard Demetrius Jackson.

The Rockets had signed House on Friday, giving them the right to allocate him to their G League affiliate. They also have G League rights with Isaiah Taylor, Tim Quarterman and George de Paula if they do not land an NBA roster spot or sign a two-way contact with an NBA team.

Oliver, who was signed as a non-drafted free agent in July, missed the preseason with a fractured right hand. The guarantee on his contract makes him ineligible to be allocated to the Vipers or to sign a two-way contract with the Rockets to play for Rio Grande Valley. He can be in the pool for the G League draft Saturday.