D’Antoni’s trust in players matches their desire to give top performance
Late-night game. Cross-country travel. A nationally televised playoff contest in Minneapolis followed by a media session and noon practice at Toyota Center.
The Rockets had just unleashed the second-highest scoring quarter in NBA postseason history and taken a strong 3-1 lead in a Western Conference first-round series against the Timberwolves.
But Mike D’Antoni was feeling the same morning-after ache that many were and a potential-closeout Game 5 on Wednesday night was on his mind, which meant he didn’t have time to sit around and
replay the wonder of his team’s 50-point third-quarter highlights.
“That’s just something that doesn’t really matter,” D’Antoni said Tuesday in Houston. “It’s cute. It’s like getting a tripledouble. …It doesn’t really matter. It’s a mark.”
For as long as these playoffs last for the 2017-18 Rockets, all that matters is D’Antoni being able to continually reach and get the best out of his team.
He nailed it again during the regular season, as Year One of the James Harden-Chris Paul pairing resulted in a 17-game win streak and an eventual franchise record for victories (65). Against Tom Thibodeau’s Timberwolves, the Rockets have recorded two blowouts while playing without Luc Mbah A Moute and reinserting Ryan Anderson into the rotation.
Providing the spark
There have also been the small, critical things that can make a huge difference in the postseason and define series and seasons. D’Antoni running a play for Harden to open the third quarter of Game 4, setting up his star’s 22-point outburst and the Rockets outscoring Minnesota 50-20 during a game-changing period.
“He knows me now. He knows this entire team,” Harden said. “He knows what guys need to get going in order for us to be successful. Chris helps a lot with that, as well, that communication between us three.”
D’Antoni publicly challenging the Rockets after a disappointing Game 3, but also keeping the single loss in perspective and waiting to see how his team reacted before he overreacted.
“He’s always so positive, even after that loss,” Anderson said. “He always has this mentality of, ‘So what? What’s next?’ It’s kind of a mentality of not getting too overly excited about a win or a loss. It’s a long season. We feel like we have a lot of basketball left in the playoffs, especially now. He’s been around for so long, he knows there’s going to be ups and downs — it’s pretty tough to win every single game in the playoffs.”
And D’Antoni guiding P.J. Tucker through a rough shooting stretch, reminding the gritty forward his importance to the Rockets in the playoffs won’t be defined by a few 3s.
Reassuring presence
Supreme confidence should come hand-in-hand with multimillion-dollar modern contracts. But even the best basketball players stumble and it’s the NBA’s best coaches who balance public reassurance with private support.
“That’s the most important thing,” D’Antoni said. “They have to have complete confidence … and they know I have complete confidence in them. As a player, you kind of focus on yourself and you’re in your own world and you think that, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m killing the team,’ or whatever and you put this undue pressure on yourself. And it’s like, no, just do what you do.
“We didn’t bring him here to make shots. It’d be nice if he makes them. But he’s got to be the bulldog and the team spirit on defense and he does that. There’s a thousand ways to win a game and by him missing a couple 3s is not going to lose you a game.”
D'Antoni holds a .732 winning percentage (164-120) with the Rockets and twice reached the Western Conference finals with Phoenix.
When does he dig in and when he does he sit back? Life is evolution and you just try to gradually get better at life, the 66-year-old coach said.
“The biggest thing is I have more confidence. I’ve always been one not to overreact,” D’Antoni said. “Whether it’s right or wrong, I don’t know. In some instances, it’s wrong. I should have overreacted and I didn’t. But I try to be myself and just try to look at the big picture.”
Observation and encouragement can be as important as intricate X’s and O’s. Getting the most out of individuals and, in turn, getting the most out of the team — that’s the real key.
“To me, coaching is probably more that than just standing up and saying cliché stuff that they’re rolling their eyes at,” D’Antoni said. “I feel like Captain Obvious out there saying, ‘OK guys, let’s go.’ Well, no kidding. Really coach? I’ve been there where I was cynical as a player and I would roll my eyes. It’s knowing that the coach believes in you and your teammates believe in you.”
The Rockets bounced back in Game 4 like they needed to. They also put up historic numbers, reminding everyone how special this team can be when all the pieces click at once.
Playoff mentality
D’Antoni’s 65-win Rockets are on track four games into the playoffs. The longtime basketball believer — player, coach, observer, supporter — also knows as well as anyone the long road is just beginning.
That 50-point quarter in Minnesota was special. It disappears when Game 5 starts.
“We’re (not) going to let our guard down, because it can go away quickly,” D’Antoni said. “And you don’t mess with — the playoffs are a wild animal. You’re riding a beast and then all of a sudden it’s trampling you. So we’ve got to keep that mentality. But I do feel like we took significant steps ahead, yes.”