06 Jun. 2016 It’s been a few days since the Houston Rockets presented Mike D’Antoni as their new head coach, signing him to a 3 year deal. He was one of over 10 candidates interviewed for the position, beating the likes of former coach Jeff Van Gundy, and TNT analyst and former Houston Rocket player Kenny Smith.
People have questioned his hiring. He hasn’t coached since 2012 where he was unsuccessful with the Lakers. His tenure with the Knicks was nothing to brag about either. Now he comes to the Rockets who are coming off a very disappointing season, with fans itching to get back to 2014 form when they made it to the Western Conference Finals. With D’Antoni’s hiring, big man Dwight Howard’s days with the Rockets are all but over. The addition of his already salty relationship with coach D’Antoni back from their Lakers’ days leaves him little reason to stay. Although it seemed he was going to opt out of his final year before the coach even arrived.
Coach D’Antoni is infamous for his fast style offense and little regard for defense. That doesn’t sit well with fans and critics since the Rockets are already a terrible defensive team. So how can he win Houston’s trust with things already looking the way they do?
- First, he must rely on new defensive minded assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik to make the team and James Harden at least respectable on defense.
- Second, he has to help Harden become a true leader like he showed he could be back in the 2014-15 season.
- Third, he needs to move on from some players, bring in new ones and use the young players.
With all the expiring contracts on this Houston team, coach D’Antoni has some decisions to make. Players like Josh Smith and Terrance Jones should be let go. Inconsistency and health problems will only make the coach’s life harder. D-Mo and Jason Terry should be re-signed. Corey Brewer, coming off one of his worst seasons has a second-year team option coming up, opting out will save cap space and get rid of another inconsistent player. Then, the search for new players begins. The most obvious free agent the Rockets must go after is former MVP Kevin Durant. Bringing him in would create one of the greatest offensive duos the NBA has ever seen alongside the Beard. Another player they should look at is free agent Mike Conley. He would be someone besides Harden who can create offense for others. Al Horford would be a nice replacement for Howard and a better fit with Harden. Leadership was another trait the Rockets lacked so coach D’Antoni needs to sign veterans. Ryan Anderson or Marvin Williams would give them a true stretch four creating more space for Harden to attack the basket. All that is easier said than done, but this is the way coach D’Antoni can be successful with the Rockets.
Article by: Nick Husni
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