Mike D’Antoni
As Mike D’Antoni is set to become the new head coach of the Houston Rockets, it marks his fifth head coaching gig in the NBA. In parts of 12 NBA seasons, D’Antoni has had an up and down career which is evident by his career record of 455-426. The highlight of D’Antoni’s coaching career was when he led the Phoenix Suns to consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals in 2005 and 2006. But the downside to D’Antoni’s time in the NBA has included a pair of 50-loss seasons with the New York Knicks, while also going 27-55 as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2013-2014 NBA season. D’Antoni has most recently worked as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers as he was seeking another opportunity to be a head coach in the NBA which he now has with the Rockets and it will be interesting to say the least.
D’Antoni has built a reputation in NBA circles for his innovation on offense. D’Antoni’s teams are typically amongst the leaders in the league as far as points per game, and three-point attempts. However defensive basketball is not one of D’Antoni’s specialties which tends to show up during the postseason, while in his last season with the Lakers, his team gave up 120 points or more in a game on 16 occasions. This past season the Rockets were 26th the NBA in points allowed at 106.5 points per contest, and once you factor in D’Antoni’s overall dismissal of defensive basketball, there won’t be that much optimism as far as the Rockets and winning basketball next season.
James Harden
Looking at the Rockets roster, they do have a bona fide star in shooting guard James Harden. This past season Harden was second in the NBA in scoring at 29 per game. However Harden’s game is very one-dimensional as he is mainly an isolation player on offense. Harden should see more opportunities to score under D’Antoni, but it won’t result in winning basketball for the Rockets as this is an organization that is in dire need of structure, instead of the wide open theatrics that will come with his brand of basketball.
This past season saw the Rockets as a team of dysfunction. After leading Houston to the Western Conference Finals last year, Kevin McHale was fired as the Rockets head coach 11 games into this season. J.B. Bickerstaff served as the Rockets interim head coach and guided them to the postseason where they were swept by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. But Bickerstaff was fighting an uphill battle all season long due to the team that was constructed by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
Morey relies on analytics and sabermetrics instead on relying on the eye test as to whether or not that the guys that he brought in could actually play together. And with the Rockets roster in the state that it currently is, don’t expect any improvement next season from them.
Three years ago center Dwight Howard was a highly sought after free agent as he decided to sign with the Rockets to play alongside Harden. Howard and the Rockets agreed on a four-year contract that is worth $88 million. But Howard’s numbers have decreased in each of his three years with the Rockets as this past season he averaged 13.7 points and 11.8 rebounds which is his worst statistical season since his rookie campaign during the 2004-2005 NBA season. Howard can be disinterested at times as the Rockets offense doesn’t go through him, while he hasn’t played with a top-tier point guard. With one year remaining on Howard’s contract, he can opt out of his deal this summer. And I highly doubt that you’ll see Howard in a Rockets uniform next season as D’Antoni’s “run and gun” offense doesn’t fit his playing style which was highlighted in their one season of working together with the Lakers.
Dwight Howard
If Howard were to leave Houston, it would open up more than $23 million of cap space for the Rockets for next season as they will look to lure other players Houston that could compliment Harden. But it isn’t that cut and dry due to D’Antoni’s track record as he doesn’t rely in stars players as much as he does his system. With the Suns, D’Antoni made point guard Steve Nash a household name. But with the Knicks, D’Antoni’s system never fit the skill set of small forward Carmelo Anthony, and it wasn’t conducive to shooting guard Kobe Bryant with the Lakers either. Scoring wise Harden should be comfortable playing for D’Antoni, but there will plenty of losses associated with it.
The NBA isn’t any different from any other sport in the sense that offense wins games and sells tickets, but at some point teams must clamp down on the defensive end in order to be assured of a win. D’Antoni has yet to figure this out yet, and neither have the Rockets if they believe that his coaching style can produce an NBA Championship.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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