D’Antoni errs on side of caution for injured players
Rockets guard Eric Gordon on Saturday sat out for a second consecutive game with a sore left ankle, but coach Mike D’Antoni said Gordon could have played if the playoffs were beginning Saturday instead of next weekend.
“He’s got something we want to make sure is 100 percent,” D’Antoni said. “We have the luxury to get him 100 percent well so that’s what we’ll do.”
Ryan Anderson’s sprained left ankle could make D’Antoni’s decisionmaking more challenging. He had wanted to experiment with different combinations and did use Anderson for some stretches at center with Joe Johnson at power forward, but Anderson played just five minutes against the Wizards be- fore he was hurt. He had taken two shots in his two games prior to missing the past two games and had made two of 10 shots in his past four games.
“Obviously, we would have liked to have been healthy. We’ll see where we are next weekend,” D’Antoni said. “But Ryan is always and will be a big part of what we do. We just have to get him healthy.”
Asked if he needed to see Anderson play before the playoffs to have a better idea about how to use him in the postseason, D’Antoni sounded as if practice time would be enough if Anderson does not play in the back-toback to end the regular season.
“Whenever he’s ready we need to see him,” D’Antoni said.
Tough to find proper balance
Heading into the final regular-season game against a team fighting for a playoff spot or positioning, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said there are factors he considers when weighing his team’s approach with nothing at stake in the standings. He cited everything from the balance of getting rest and staying sharp to being fair to teams competing.
“Guys that need the rest or need a day off or are banged up a little bit, they may need to take that (time) and get 100 (percent).” D’Antoni said. “But guys that are playing need to concentrate and play as well as you can. You try to accomplish both of them. If the whole team needs to rest, we’ll take a day off of practice.
“I do think there’s an obligation. People pay for tickets. There’s an obligation to other teams fighting for spots, you don’t just go and lay down for teams. I don’t think it’s fair to anybody. You do the best you can do without compromising any player.”
With the final two games against the lotterybound Lakers and Kings, D’Antoni sounded as if he could reduce playing time for his regulars.
“We’re going to be very careful with whoever plays, let’s put it that way,” D’Antoni said. “When we play, we’re going to play hard. It might be for three quarters, it might be for a half, it might be for a quarter. That will be determined. Most guys want to play. If somebody needs a break, we’ll give him one. But we’ll be very careful about how much we play.”
Harden poses special threat
As with many coaches, the Thunder’s Billy Donovan said the challenge of defending James Harden begins with avoiding fouls that put him on the line.
But as important as that can be, he said it cannot be done with schemes to keep defenders better suited for that on Harden because the Rockets’ defensive style so often forces mismatches on the other end.
“Playing against them, you have to understand you’re going to get crossmatched,” Donovan said. “They’re going to be switching. Harden can be on our center. He can be on our power forward. In transition situations, any one of our players, one through five, can be on him, They’ve got to understand what their job and responsibility is on him. Free throws, dead balls, made baskets, it’s a little easier to match up.”
Harden leads the NBA in free throws attempted (10.1 per game) and made (8.7).
“The biggest thing is not fouling him,” Donovan said of the top priority when defending Harden. “He is great at getting to the free-throw line. You have to limit his free-throw attempts.”