Mike D'Antoni says James Harden is 'ready,' Rockets all-in with small ball

The Rockets don’t have much margin for error. Their stars need to play near-perfect basketball to make up for the talent gap between them and the league’s top contenders.

Russell Westbrook’s 2019-20 Stats

WESTBROOK GAMES POINTS FG% 3PA 3P% ASSTS TURNOVERS
Pre-Trade 42 26.4 45.4 4.2 23.4 7.4 4.3
Post-Trade 11 31.7 54.6 2.4 38.5 5.5 4.9

Two things about this latest version of Westbrook stand out. The good news is that he has deemphasized the 3-point shot, relentlessly attacking the rim instead. The bad is that his assist numbers have gone down.

So why the dip? His teammates just aren’t making enough 3s. The other Rockets besides Westbrook and Harden are shooting just 35.5 percent from 3 on 32.4 attempts per game since the trade, which would be tied for 17th in the league in the whole season. The new offense is leaving a lot of meat on the bone.



https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/...ockets-sleeper-contenders-in-the-nbas-restart

The Rockets have not had a frontcourt player whom they could run offense through since Chandler Parsons in 2013-14. There was never a Draymond Green to Harden’s Steph Curry, much less a Kevin Durant. There still isn’t now. Harden, at 6-foot-5, has been the team’s tallest playmaker for each of the past five seasons. No championship team in the past 20 years has had a roster like that.

The odds have always been against the Rockets, but not because they don’t have a traditional center. Their two best players are 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-5. The Clippers’ two best players are 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8. The Lakers’ two best players are 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-11. That’s the size difference that matters.

It is for this reason that I keep advocating for longer players that are also playmakers. Taller players that also have the skills that Morey and MDA emphasize - shooting, passing, dribbling and switch everything D.

Players like:

6'9 Jonah Bolden
7'0 Dragan Bender

 

Good summary.

https://www.thedreamshake.com/2020/...about-the-houston-rockets-as-the-nba-restarts

 

A significant part of the Rockets’ success this season has been the production coming from former lottery pick, Ben McLemore. Since joining the Rockets last July, he has revived his career as one of the most reliable role players in the league. As Houston’s most superior three-point sniper shooting a team-best 39.5% from deep, McLemore is scoring 9.8 points per game, logging an average of 23.0 minutes per contest.

https://www.thedreamshake.com/2020/...emore-im-looking-forward-to-returning-to-play

 

McLemore genuinely surprised me...I had thought of him as nothing but a scrub of the highest order for his entire career, but it got to the point where I hope he’s with the team next season

I can’t think of a single player in the Harden era who’s spot up 3 pointer I‘ve trusted more than Mac’s...he’s a welcome sight after so many years of bonafide brick layers

 

He can also put ball on floor and finish strong at the basket. Very explosive.

Just needs to keep improving on his switch D.

 

https://spacecityscoop.com/2020/07/05/zach-lowe-houston-rockets-russell-westbrook-destroyer/

 

Lob City???

 

https://spacecityscoop.com/2020/07/...green-demarre-carroll-thrive-thabo-sefolosha/

Green was already playing more than Thabo. Not sure if Demarre will have bigger role but hoping for surprise or 3 and allowing the best players to get more reps.

This 2nd training camp will be interesting.

 

Steve Nash explains difficulty of Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni’s offense.
“It’s not that easy, like people think ‘well in that system.’ But we had a hard time finding someone [to play] when I sat down. Because having to make all the decisions over the course of the season and being super efficient, it relies alot on that player to be efficient and consistent over and over.

[Harden and I] are different players but we both play cat-and-mouse where we allow our scoring to make our passing more dangerous, and our passing to make our scoring more dangerous. And put the defense in a bad position, where they’re constantly having to make really quick decisions, that no matter what decision they make could be wrong.

The system really allowed me to be at my best, but it was also exhausting.”

Nash also made sure to give Harden his credit, as he added, “For someone his size to do what he does, he’s taken this era and embraced the way it’s being played. And he’s putting up numbers that are crazy.”

https://spacecityscoop.com/2020/07/05/steve-nash-difficulty-houston-rockets-mike-dantonis-offense/

 

According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, an enthusiastic D’Antoni is eager to rack up the Ws, but not at the cost of overplaying his key players.

D’Antoni has acknowledged in the past that playing Tucker at center is a boon and a curse, as he has to closely watch his minutes to avoid fatigue.

https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-mike-dantoni-not-willing-to-risk-it-all-for-8-wins/

 

https://ngscsports.com/2020/07/04/mike-dantoni-how-will-houston-rockets-fare-in-orlando/

 

“If you go in his history and career, he’s always played better in the playoffs. He turns it up a notch. How he does that? I don’t know,” D’Antoni said. “Because his notch is pretty hot. But he turns it up a notch. And yeah, I expect him to be more efficient. I think he’ll come at you and he’ll give it everything he’s got. I do know that,” he expressed.

https://www.essentiallysports.com/n...-has-high-expectations-from-russel-westbrook/

 

When these four guys are on the court, the Houston Rockets are elite!



https://spacecityscoop.com/2020/07/06/four-man-lineup-houston-rockets-elite/



https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-rockets-may-be-short-but-theyre-not-exactly-small/

 

D’Antoni revealed that he is planning on expanding his post-season rotation to a nine-man cycle. Although it is easy to anticipate which nine players D’Antoni will cycle through, it may be in his best interest to expand his playoff rotation to 10 in order to include Carroll. Adding additional minutes to the 6’8” two-way forward could be the most compelling distinction in departing the Orlando Bubble with the Larry O’Brien trophy in hand — than without.

https://www.thedreamshake.com/2020/...ckets-restart-player-previews-demarre-carroll



https://www.thedreamshake.com/2020/...ockets-restart-player-previews-tyson-chandler