Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has been taking a lot of slack for the disappointments of his team over the past few seasons. So much so, that the future of the 68-year-old coach has already been put into question.
However, one man who has come to the defense of the embattled coach is no less than the legendary Jerry West, who believes that in no way, shape, or form should D’Antoni be blamed for Houston’s shortcomings, specifically with their inability to get past the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs.
Hall of Famer Jerry West on fellow West Virginian Mike D’Antoni: “If u look at his record it’s been impeccable..If u get beat by a better team..it’s okay.They tried the best they could..To look at Mike & say he was responsible,no way.They weren’t good enough to beat the Warriors” pic.twitter.com/haieJdGI7P
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) June 30, 2019
West has an excellent point here. Simply put, what he is saying is that the Warriors are just a far better team than the Rockets, and that D’Antoni could only do so much with the team at his disposal. In the mind of the Hall of Famer, anyone in D’Antoni’s position would have suffered the same fate against the powerhouse that is the Warriors had they been in his shoes.
As for the Rockets, however, it seems that they do not remain fully convinced. Recently, contract extension talks between Houston and D’Antoni were reportedly put on hold, following news that the front office were low-balling the veteran coach.
Then again, there have been some conflicting reports stating that the hierarchy in Houston consider D’Antoni to have a significant role for the team moving forward. Honestly, it’s a bit confusing right now, and at this point, the future of the team from a coaching standpoint remains anything but certain.
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