Rivers credits Suns coach for ‘elite’ defense

In many ways, Austin Rivers’ time playing for Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams in New Orleans was far from a success. He would not change it.

The same qualities Williams praised the Rockets guard about Saturday were developed, according to Rivers, because of Williams’ influence.

“I didn’t really know how to play defense,” Rivers said. “I didn’t put in the effort. There were a lot of things I didn’t have until I was coached by Monty. That is the one thing I am grateful for in my time in New Orleans. It was not my best years, obviously. I wasn’t very happy there.

“It had nothing to do with the city of New Orleans. Just the playing situation wasn’t fun for me at all. One thing I will say is Monty really taught me to be an elite defender. I’ll tell you, in terms of on-the-ball defense, I think I’m as good as anybody. I really do give credit to Monty. He was so on me about defense, it’s all I thought about.”

Williams said he saw that potential in Rivers, though he did not describe him as a poor defensive player when he was his coach.

“When I had him, he was young, competitive, tough,” Williams said. “I tell everybody that asks me about Austin, he’s one of the hardest workers, defended every possession. He’s proven that he can play in playoff series and have an impact in various ways. He’s just a good player. I always loved his defense and his competitive edge. It’s cool to see him evolve.”

Though players rarely think of coaches the same way, Rivers admires the way he believes Williams has grown.

“I’m happy for him,” Rivers said of Williams’ return to the NBA this season. “He’s come to Phoenix and they’ve exceeded anybody’s expectations. You need to take them seriously. They’re a playoff team or competing for the playoffs now. Monty is the probably the biggest reason.”

“I talked to a lot of guys, like Eric ( Gordon) and A.D. ( Anthony Davis). The situations didn’t really work out. I think

Monty took those situations and really learned, as I did as a player. Even at that age (48), he’s still evolving and learning. The guys right now just rave about him. For him to get another chance and for him to be doing as well as he is with Phoenix, I’m just really happy for him.”

D’Antoni: ‘hate it’ Knicks fired Fizdale

The Knicks’ decision Friday to fire David Fizdale and install Mike Miller as an interim coach made Miller their sixth coach in the 7½ years since Rockets coach

Mike D’Antoni stepped down in

New York.

D’Antoni, however, did not have much insight about why the Knicks have changed coaches so often or the difficulty of building that quickly, saying “something” is missing. Mostly, he said his thoughts were for Fizdale.

“First of all, it’s a great place to coach,” D’Antoni said. “The atmosphere is unbelievable and the setup is good. So, all that is great. It just seems they are missing some stuff. It just doesn’t work. I hate it for Fizdale. Good coach. Did a good job. It just didn’t work out and they can’t quite seem to get all the elements together.

“New York’s been struggling with it for a while. A lot of teams do. You go through periods where it’s not good.”

Asked if coaches can build a team in two seasons, D’Antoni said, “It’s hard to comment on stuff like that. Obviously, it just makes it tough. I feel sorry for David. There’s a lot of coaches at the end of the year you feel sorry for. They all work hard. You move on, get another job and try to do a better job.”

D’Antoni went from the Knicks to the Lakers but coached in Los Angeles for just two seasons. In his four seasons with the Rockets, he sports the best winning percentage for any coach over any four-season period in franchise history.

“Don’t get down on yourself and go on to the next ( job) and hope it works out,” D’Antoni said. “It’s just the way the NBA is. There’s a lot of pressure on everybody to perform. Sometimes the players don’t mix. Sometimes the upstairs (front office) is not good. Sometimes the downstairs is not good. You just roll with the punches and do the best you can.”

Paul’s eye for detail no surprise to coach

Stunning as it might have been to have a game decided on an untucked jersey, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said it’s not unusual to see delay of game called for that and was not surprised at all that former Rockets guard Chris Paul pointed it out.

The Thunder cut the Timberwolves’ lead to two with 1.1 seconds left Friday when Paul pointed out that Jordan Bell did not tuck in his jersey, drawing a delay-of-game penalty and a technical free throw. The Thunder tied the game with a layup and won in overtime.

“If they lose a game because of it, it’s tough,” D’Antoni said. “But they know the rule. It is a rule. Nothing passes by Chris. He’s a heads-up player and he’s smart.”