D'Antoni shorter rotation vs Spurs historically in NBA Playoffs

D'Antoni is letting his pride get the better of him. Admit you f'ed up and helped cost the team Game 5(and possibly the series). If this is a close game again and the Rockets lose because their starters were gassed, D'Antoni will have to answer for this all summer and all of next season until the playoffs roll around again.

 

Like I said earlier, D'antoni isn't gonna have much faith in a 1st or 2nd year player come playoff time. He's also always run a 7 or 8 man rotation in the playoffs. He did it in PHX, and he did it during the 2011 playoffs when he was with NY.

Idk why y'all are acting surprised that he won't go deeper into the bench

 

I'm hoping it's simply not tipping his hand.

 

How did that work out for him? Seriously hope he isn't that foolish.

 

Because it clearly played a role in costing them Game 5. I understand sticking with a 7 or 8 man rotation if it's working. But they're down 3-2 in a series where they should be up 3-2. And they're already without Nene. They need another body in there to make up(at least in part) for that loss.

And BTW, I don't think it's wise for D'Antoni to use his time in Phoenix as some sort of blueprint for what to do here. What happened in all his years there? They had amazing regular season success(the Shaq years notwithstanding), but failed to make the Finals every time. Yes, the Horry hipcheck on Nash was a major factor in them falling short in 2007, but you would think all of those playoff defeats at the hands of the Spurs would've made him reevaluate his approach just a little.

 

Eric has been playing awful whenever he starts all season...

 

F**K!

 

That I disagree with. I was at that final regular season game vs OKC where the Rockets won by something like 137-126. Gordon started that afternoon and the offense was unstoppable.

The Rockets can demolish opponents with that small lineup where Ariza starts at the 4, but they have to keep the ball moving and they have to knock down open 3's.

 

oh boy..

 

We'll see whether he is blowing smoke or not.

I've said it before. D'Antoni does not like adjustment. He sticks to his system. When he has the players to run his system, he looks great. When he doesn't, he can't do anything about it. That's what happened in Phoenix and Houston (good) and in LA and NY (bad).

After Nene went down, it looked like we only had 7 guys left that would fit his system.

 

come playoff time, D'antoni will ride or die with 7 or 8 guys...this has always been known

maybe you'll see him sneak Sam Dekker into the game for a very short stretch to take it back to an 8 man rotation

if u take out the OT minutes, Harden played 38 minutes in regulation, Ariza played 35, Gordon played 38, Bev played 36, and Ryno played 30...maybe Gordon's minutes were a little high since he's used to a 30 mpg role, but that's not some absurd amount of minutes, y'all are acting like they only got 2 minutes of rest

let's get game 6 and see what happens in game 7

 

You're right. Unless the Rockets 7-man rotation can achieve a blowout early on, I don't like the Rockets' chances down to the wire.

 

EXACTLY! This is why I hate the Harden is tired excuse from game 5. They played only a couple minutes above their regular minutes.. This is the playoffs!

If Harden can't handle anything above 36 minutes, MDA should play the other players more and keep Harden minutes at or below 36 no matter what. Harden turns into a damn pumpkin after the 36th minute it seems.

 

sure but the soreness and fatigue does carry over the next day and even to the next game. Just sleeping doesn't regenerate a person 100%. I've had days where I didn't train for a couple of days and I still felt weary the next time I went to train again. Feeling weary from the getgo is not optimal to jump out in a fast paced game. Then you factor in missed shots early on...those exacerbate fatigue even more.

 

Not sure why people are surprised. I have said that Mike only trusted 8 guys going into the playoffs and with Nene injured, it's down to 7.

He is not going to throw in scrubby Dekker just because fans call out for him. Dekker does nothing to help this team win in the playoffs. It's like playing 4 on 5 offense and changes our offense. If we blow them out, then Dekker and Harrell will get their chance.

 

this is why I'm wondering why so many people are crying about the 7 man rotation

the only guy who u could say played a bit too many minutes was Ego

Harden has averaged 38 mpg in 3 of his 5 seasons in Houston, and averaged 36 mpg during this regular season. Mike played him 38 minutes in a pivotal game 5 and all of the sudden that's a problem for some people? What star isn't playing around that number of minutes in a tight playoff game? Ariza can't handle 35 minutes in regulation? 30 minutes for Ryno was too much? Capela only played 34 minutes in regulation + OT.

These guys were not playing some outlandish amount of minutes.

 

c'mon man, stop...

It's the playoffs. Look at the minutes that they played during regulation. That is not an absurd amount by any stretch. If D'antoni had given them like 46 minutes in regulation then ok, but those are a standard level of minutes for main rotation guys in a tight playoff game. Would u have wanted Harden to have played 30 minutes in regulation instead? Would u have wanted him to keep Ariza around 30 minutes during regulation as well? Ryno only got 30 in regulation, and he was playing well. This was not some outlandish amount of playing time that he was giving them.

 

Ok, after your broke down the actual amount of minutes they all played, it doesn't seem so bad. However, do you believe in carry over fatigue and soreness over the course of the playoffs?