Style change benefits Doncic
As much of the rapid success of Mavericks rookie
Luka Doncic speaks to his talent and remarkable maturity at 19 years old, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni — a former star player and successful coach in Europe – said the way the NBA game has changed can help players make that transition.
“A lot more similar,” D’Antoni said. “It’s also less physical, which leads to people that have skills (succeeding.) That’s always been the M.O. of European players, skilled and maybe not great in a fistfight. We don’t fistfight anymore. We just play basketball. It’s not just good for them, it’s good for the league.”
Doncic is averaging 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists, making him the early Rookie of the Year favorite.
“It’s amazing,” D’Antoni said. “If you’re really good, the transition is easy. He is really good. You knew he would be really good, or I thought he would be, just because at 18 or 17, doing what he did in Europe, that’s not easy. Men do that. Obviously, he’s a man with his game. What he has done and his résumé leads you to believe he can really play.”
Hartenstein has to wait
The Rockets’ German center, Isaiah Hartenstein, did not get a chance to play against the greatest German player ever Wednesday, with Dirk Nowitzki still out while rehabbing after ankle surgery. But that first meeting could be coming, with Nowitzki potentially back in time for the Rockets’ game Dec. 8 in Dallas.
“It would be a big thing, especially for what he did not just for German basketball, but in general for overseas basketball,” Hartenstein said. “He brought a lot more scouts looking overseas because of what he did and what he is doing. It’s big for me as a German, but it’s always great to play against somebody like that.”
Nowitzki’s final season with the German national team was about two years before Hartenstein made the team. They have never met. The Mavericks’ German forward, Maxi Kleber, was hurt in the offseasons when Hartenstein was on the national team, making their first time on the court together in summer league in Las Vegas.
If Nowitzki is in his final season, Hartenstein said it would be “cool” to get to play against him in his own first season.
“I was a fan, growing up in Germany. It would definitely cool to play against somebody like him, especially because this is his last year,” Hartenstein said. “But just playing against him would be good.”
Nowitzki has stepped up his workouts, but he has not announced a target date for his season debut.
“He is getting closer to coming back,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “I don’t have an exact timetable. It could be sometime in the next two weeks if things continue to go well. Nothing’s for sure. When you’re rehabbing from a surgery like that, there are no definites. A lot of it is a day-to-day thing. But he’s doing better. He’s doing well in the scrimmages with the interns.”
G League helps House adjust
The Rockets would rather not have had to rely on
Danuel House for quite so many minutes in his first days with the team, with injuries forcing the Rockets to call him up from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. But even more than getting some time with Tuesday’s practice to get up to speed, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni cited the relationship with the Rockets’ affiliate for allowing House to adjust quickly.
“It (practice) is beneficial, but the beneficial thing is he plays for our G League (team) and they do exactly what we do,” D’Antoni said. “We’ve done that the last two or three years. Coaches are up here during our training camp and he played in our summer league, so he knows what we’re doing. There will be little wrinkles he might not know, but he feels comfortable.”
Experimenting without Nene
The Rockets gave backup center Marquese Chriss a brief run in the first half Monday before going back to rookie Isaiah Hartenstein. But coach Mike
D’Antoni sounded as if he wanted to keep developing Hartenstein while waiting for Nene to make his season debut.
“They both bring different things,” D’Antoni said. “One thing that is constant is Isaiah brings a high level of energy and activity that sometimes we need. We’ll kind of look there, but I think it will be solved when we get Nene back.
“Isaiah’s good. I like him. He just happens to be 20 and thrown into a position that sometimes he’ll make a 20-year-old mistake and we can’t afford that, so I get to yell at him. He has to take it.”
Nene picked up his on-court workouts Tuesday, but the Rockets have not set a timetable for his return from a strained right calf.