D’Antoni heeds trainers for player rest

DENVER — While much of the NBA sought to rest stars during games Saturday, including the Cavaliers sitting LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love for their nationally televised game against the Clippers, the Rockets had every healthy player available in the second half of a back-to-back in Denver.

“Most of (the decisions about resting healthy players) would have to come from the medical staff and the trainers,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I don’t know enough to rest a guy. We have guys who want to play all 82 (games). They’re really good at it. We talk about it. If they need a rest or whatever, we’d do it.

“Everybody has to coach their own team, coach their own guys. Every team is different. Right now, we don’t have any plans — it doesn’t mean we won’t — to do it.”

James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Sam Dekker have played in every game this season. Harden has not missed a game with an injury or for rest since the 2012-13 season, leading the NBA in total minutes in the past three seasons. Lou Williams has played in every game possible with the Lakers and Rockets.

D’Antoni has said throughout the season that he prefers to rest players between games if necessary, believing that customers deserve to see the players they expect and that the trainers will let him know if a healthy player needs a night off.

The exceptions have been with Nene, who has been held out of one game when the Rockets play on consecutive nights, and Eric Gordon when his back tightened in late January and February.

“I hate that,” D’Antoni said this week, with a laugh, of the topic. “I really just rely on the doctors and the trainers if they say a guy needs a rest. We do rest Nene and we do Eric Gordon every once and a while, and we do make sure minutes aren’t up to high.”