D’Antoni has depth to experiment
With the Rockets at full strength, coach Mike D’Antoni began giving nights off Sunday to not only rest regulars, but to allow extended minutes off the bench as he determines his postseason rotation.
Center/forward Kenneth Faried and guard Austin Rivers sat out against the Timberwolves with more days off planned.
“With everybody healthy and everybody back, we got to systematically rest people,” D’Antoni said. “Not that they needed to rest, per se, but to help the rotation and give guys enough minutes to be able to at least play. Because when everybody was playing 10, 12, 15 minutes, it’s like ‘really?’
“I was making four guys mad. Now, I’m just making two (angry.) So I’m cutting it down and tomorrow I’ll make two other guys mad. But they know. They’re good. And I appreciate that they do that. We’ll sit Eric ( Gordon) out a game to rest him and then we’ll have other guys. So we’re just trying to keep everybody alive.”
The return of Danuel House Jr. from the G League last week and his strong play in two games since has made the rotation more crowded, but also added depth behind P.J. Tucker at power forward. Limited by foul trouble and with the Rockets clearing the bench with three minutes left, Tucker played 23½ minutes Sunday, his fewest since Dec. 6.
“Danuel keeps playing really well,” D’Antoni said. “He’s so versatile. P.J. gets in foul trouble then he (House) can go to the four and play there. He can play at the three. He’s a valuable part of what we do.”
House steps up all parts of game
Danuel House Jr. has continued to shoot well from the perimeter upon his return from the G League, but has been especially aggressive off the dribble as teams have closed out to the 3-point line, an improvement he said he made with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
“I would say my confidence level,” House said. “I learned how to attack in certain spots, and then of course I had to get a little better with my ball-handling. The last time I played here, when I went down, I made sure that I worked on pivotal things that I thought was going to be important, so when I came back, so I could excel in my role for this team.
“Of course with my athleticism and quickness, I just try not to have that many false movements. As soon as I see an opening, I try and attack that opening. I mean, I always read the defense, but then my athleticism, speed, and length kicks into play, which helps me excel. So that first step is really deadly, I can be able to gather on the next two or be able to sweep through and draw the defense and kick it.”
House has averaged 15 points in his past five games with the Rockets, matching his season high of 18 points in his first game played since returning last week and following that up with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting Sunday.
In his past 11 games, House has averaged 2.5 3-pointers on 51.9 percent shooting, the best shooting percentage on 3s of any player in that span averaging at least two 3-pointers per game.