Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is a genius when it comes to offensive schemes. Although known for his fast-paced rapid-fire offense, D’Antoni is no slouch when it comes to orchestrating a defensive scheme as well, as he proved so last year.
Last season, his James Harden-led Rockets were one of the elite teams when it came to team offensive and defensive rating. He can credit the high-octane offense to the leadership of All-stars Chris Paul and Harden, while the gritty defensive wingman trio of Trevor Ariza, Luc Mbah a Moute, and PJ Tucker provided a barricade.
Things are different this upcoming season, with most of their vital pieces playing for a different area code, and the addition of new pieces are not exactly a hand and glove fit to their needs, the Rockets have a lot of work cut out for them trying to replicate or top their league-best 65-17 record last season.
According to Jonathan Feigen’s article for the Houston Chronicle, the first scrimmage from the team leaves a lot to be desired, but not that alarming says D’Antoni.
“Ragged, out of shape, but normal. A lot of enthusiasm, so they got tired, which was in about 45 seconds. It was good in the sense it was the first day. We expect every day to get better… We didn’t do anything in the morning. And they know it. All the mistakes were by being tired. But a good start.”
With the manner of confidence that D’Antoni has shown, there seems no alarm to the Rockets’ dynamics to contend for a championship. If everything will work for them once again or if everything falls apart this time will be reason enough to keep our eyes on D’Antoni and the Rockets.
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