Exhibition to offer real feel for bubble ball
There will be adjustments. Games will look different, even to those playing them. They will sound different, maybe even feel different.
The first two days of other teams’ scrimmages on the NBA campus were enough to give the Rockets an idea what to expect when they face an opponent for the first time Friday. But there still could be a need to see for themselves how it will go when they and the Toronto Raptors become the last teams to take the court when they meet in the first of the Rockets’ three restart tuneups.
“I’m very excited,” Rockets guard James Harden said. “Just watching a couple of the scrimmages last night and today, the NBA did a very good job of the atmosphere, what it looks like on TV. I’m excited about giving the world something to be excited about, giving them some joy and something to look forward to. I think everybody that’s on the court basically feels that same way.”
At least one change was discussed Thursday.
In a team meeting before practice, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni brought up one obvious difference — and a reminder of the coronavirus pandemic that has the NBA completing its season on the Disney campus with no fans on hand to watch. He and his coaching staff will be wearing masks for games, as all coaches and other staff members have been for practices.
The NBA requires all but the front bench coaches to wear masks during games, but D’Antoni took that a step further to set an example.
“It’s not a big deal, and if I have to yell a little bit louder, maybe I’ll do that,” D’Antoni said. “We had a meeting before the practice, and I said, ‘Look, guys, we’re going to coach with masks on.’ We think it’s the right thing to do. Everybody in Houston is wearing one, hopefully. Everybody around the country should be wearing one. We want to do our part. And they’re fine with it. They can hear me. If they’re good with it, I’m good with it, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Other adjustments will have to be worked through. Teams have socially distanced benches, which impact communication. In timeouts, teams have been moving the chairs. On Thursday, several teams moved to the far corners of the floor to speak without opponents listening in.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an impediment to anything,” D’Antoni said.
“I’m curious to see. There are sounds that are coming through, so I don’t think we’ll hear everybody talking. I am curious to see how much. It’s going to be a whole lot different when we start the rest of the season, and a whole lot different when we start the playoffs.”
The exhibition games offer a chance to test progress in ways teams cannot during practice. They also bring a better gauge of readiness for the “seeding” games to begin a week later.
“I just try to make sure guys are getting back into a rhythm. Or maybe they need a couple more minutes or a couple less,” D’Antoni said. “More or less, just getting back to playing basketball and seeing things we need to work on.
“We do want to get a feel. We’re looking forward to playing somebody else so we can get a better read on the wrinkles we put in — Do we continue with them or not? — and some of the oldies but goodies we keep.”
The Raptors were among the teams using unconventional defenses against the Rockets in the regular season, going with a diamond-and-one to keep Harden surrounded.
Teams rarely employ opponent-specific defenses in an exhibition game. But the Rockets do not feel the need to see Raptors coach Nick Nurse pull out a “junk defense” Friday to prepare for what they could face when games count.
“I don’t care,” D’Antoni said. “I’m not going to ask them to do anything like that. If they double, great. If they don’t double, we’ll figure it out. James will figure it out one way or the other. Whether we see it immediately or during the eight (seeding) games, I don’t think that’s a big issue for us.
“All the junk defense so far against James, it doesn’t work. As a matter of fact, sometimes I’m over there hoping they do go into double-teams or diamond and whatever.”
Rockets guard Ben McLemore especially took advantage of the defensive attention devoted to Harden in Toronto, scoring a season-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting. But as much as he looked forward to having even a practice game to play, working against that defense again was not a concern or even a consideration.
“We just kind of continue to pick up where we left off,” McLemore said. “It’s going to be fun to play again, get up and down the court, competing.
“It’ll be an adjustment. Also, it’s going to be fun at the same time. All the guys, all of us, will be happy to be back on the court.”