Mike D'Antoni Articles - Page 9

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni believes James Harden is the 2019 NBA MVP. D’Antoni told The Athletic’s Sam Amick of The Athletic it’s going to be a two-way race between Harden and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. “I’ve got to tell you, (Giannis) is really good – reaaallyy good. And they’ve got the best […]

With the playoffs just around the corner, Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is excited to have veteran Iman Shumpert back and healthy. In an interview with Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, D’Antoni shared Shumpert’s health condition and how much of an asset he is to the team. “He’s been getting more in shape,” Rockets […]

Kenneth Faried’s time as an impact player in the NBA is supposed to be over. Undersized big men with no history of three-point range and limited defensive awareness, after all, are something close to dinosaurs in today’s league, where small-ball reigns supreme. Since signing with the Houston Rockets in January, though, Faried has re-established himself […]

Tuesday night matchup between the Houston Rockets and the Milwaukee Bucks showed some of the glaring weaknesses of a trigger-happy team that struggled to make shots, making only 36.4 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. For a second time this season, the Bucks managed to contain James Harden and Mike […]

Houston Rockets star James Harden racked up 61 points during his team’s win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, marking his second 60-point outing of the season. Afterward, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni lauded Harden’s performance, calling it one of the best he has ever seen: “I don’t know how you get any […]

Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has been an unstoppable force this season, as he has his sights set on his second consecutive season MVP award. Recently, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni revealed his personal theory on how he thinks Harden can be stopped. According to the 67-year-old coach, he believes that he is the only […]

A year ago, Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni heralded James Harden as the best offensive player he’s ever seen. Now, the head coach hasn’t changed his mind and shared more tangible proof to defend his claims. Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, D’Antoni shared that Harden is even better this season. A good […]

The Houston Rockets came into the season with one goal in mind: to achieve what they were unable to accomplish last year by winning a title. The Houston Rockets struggled to start the season after some key departures, including Trevor Ariza, but they are currently peaking at the right time, with P.J. Tucker playing a […]

There is no doubt that Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks has been one of the league’s top rookies this season. At this point, it appears to be a two-horse race between Young and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks for the Rookie of the Year award. The Houston Rockets are in town to take […]

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who recently agreed to an extension with the franchise, would like to work on a contract extension with head coach Mike D’Antoni this summer. D’Antoni is under contract with the Rockets through the 2019-20 season. Morey says he wants D’Antoni to be with the Rockets for as long as he wants […]

James Harden wasn’t worried that a loss to the Golden State Warriors snapped a potential double-digit win streak for the Houston Rockets, but head coach Mike D’Antoni begged to differ, hoping the 106-104 loss to the defending champions would be reason to pay attention to the mistakes they made throughout the game — which he […]

Earlier today, the Houston Rockets agreed to a five-year contract extension with general manager Daryl Morey, who has been in that position since the 2007-08 season. Head coach Mike D’Antoni spoke to the media regarding Morey’s extension and offered his congratulations, giving Morey his due credit for helping to establish the Rockets as a perennial […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has praised James Harden’s admirable effort in plenty of instances this season, but he has also grown to appreciate his mettle and durability throughout an expansive 82-game regular season. The Rockets guard has played in 63 of 67 games this season, all while battling plenty of injuries sustained through […]

The Houston Rockets have given general manager Daryl Morey a five-year extension, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “I’m super happy,” said Morey. “I’d love to be with the Rockets for life. This obviously solidifies us for a little while. I’m just really thankful to Tilman Fertitta for having the faith in our […]

The Houston Rockets are headed for their seventh straight playoff appearance. The team is led by a pair of stars in reigning MVP James Harden and nine-time All-Star Chris Paul, but CP3 hasn’t quite been himself this year, in large part due to injuries. While some believe Paul is clearly on the decline, Rockets head […]

A win is a win in the standings, but not in NBA locker rooms. Some victories, Mike D’Antoni knows as well as anyone, mean far more than others, and he believes his team got one of them on Thursday night. The Houston Rockets stormed back from an 18-point second-half deficit to beat the Miami Heat […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni knew star James Harden would see an end to his rampant scoring streak sooner than later, while also expressing confidence in his All-Star shooting guard starting another tear: “Eventually, it was going to have to end one of these days,” said D’Antoni, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston […]

The Houston Rockets had a statement win on Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors, and the Rockets did it without the services of reigning MVP James Harden. However, head coach Mike D’Antoni downplayed the impressive performance and didn’t want to make much of their Harden-less win over their tormentor’s last season, per Jonathan Feigen […]

What James Harden has been doing this season is nothing short of historic. The one-man show he has been able to put on to help the Houston Rockets stay alive in the Western Conference playoff picture has been magnificent. Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni knows this and doesn’t have any ear for the criticisms that […]

In a recent interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker commented on what it was like to play for head coach Mike D’Antoni: It’s nothing like it. I’ve had a couple of coaches like that in my life, Rick Barnes being one in college. Now with Mike, there’s nothing like it. […]

It certainly seems as if Houston Rockets center Clint Capela is on the comeback trail. Prior to Wednesday’s contest versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni dropped a not-so-vague hint that Capela could be back when the team opens the post-All-Star break versus the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 21. In fact, D’Antoni […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is “pretty sure” his star shooting guard James Harden will be ready to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday after playing through a sore shoulder in a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Harden’s shoulder soreness did little to […]

On Monday night, James Harden got his 30-for-30. The Houston Rockets superstar guard notched his 30th straight 30-point game in their 120-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. It wasn’t an easy stroll for the reigning MVP. In fact, Harden came close to missing the contest against the Mavericks, as he was apparently dealing with a shoulder […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has some very high praise for combo guard Austin Rivers, telling local reporters on Saturday that adding Rivers to the roster was “probably the most important thing we’ve done all year.” Austin Rivers began the 2018-19 season with the Washington Wizards. Washington traded the former Duke star to the Phoenix […]

Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul has been sidelined for over a month with a hamstring injury and looked to be on track to play in the Rockets’ game against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night, but now, Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni is not so sure: Mike D'Antoni says Chris Paul will be listed […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has run out of superlatives to describe his star player James Harden, who has singlehandedly kept the team afloat in the midst of key absences in the lineup. Perhaps what’s been the most amazing part of his recent scoring tear is that all baskets have come unassisted, a trend […]

If you can believe it, veteran NBA forward Carmelo Anthony is on the move once again. This time, Anthony will be traded from the Houston Rockets to the Chicago Bulls — eventually anyway. The Monday agreement between the Rockets and Bulls remains just out of the category of finalized, however, as the NBA league office […]

We all know that Houston Rockets star James Harden is one of the most gifted scorers to ever play the game of basketball, but he’s a bit lacking on the defensive end. As dominant of a scorer as he is, some feel that Harden is not even a top five player in the NBA because […]

With the Houston Rockets’ win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, head coach Mike D’Antoni picked up the 600th win of his career, becoming the 25th coach in NBA history to achieve that feat. However, D’Antoni does not think much of the milestone, saying it merely means he’s old: “It just means I’m older […]

Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni praised his star James Harden after a season-high 57-point performance to take down the Memphis Grizzlies. Harden has trotted out one big stat line after another since his backcourt partner Chris Paul went down to a hamstring injury, but his impressive performances can, at times, be taken for granted, according […]

The Houston Rockets have been a successful team since adding head coach Mike D’Antoni in 2016. His offensive schemes worked pretty well with superstar guard James Harden, who have arguably played his best years under the offensive minded coach. The Rockets have reached the Western Conference Finals in D’Antoni’s second year, but lost to the […]

The Houston Rockets are a staggering 13-3 during their last 16 games, and Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is surprised that Houston even has three losses during this stretch. The Rockets are playing amazing basketball on both ends of the floor right now, so much so that Mike D’Antoni told reporters on Saturday he is […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni had high praise for combo guard Austin Rivers on Saturday, saying Rivers has “been a lifesaver” for the team. The Rockets signed Austin Rivers on Dec. 24 due to the injury to All-Star point guard Chris Paul. Rivers has appeared in nine games with Houston and is averaging 12.2 […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t want starting center Clint Capela taking any shots that are not in the paint. In fact, the two-time Coach of the Year jokingly said he’ll “kill” his talented big man if he ever shoots a jump shot, even if it’s from the elbow. Mike D’Antoni, asked if Clint […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni was in awe of Milwaukee Bucks talisman Giannis Antetokounmpo, as The Greek Freak put up a monstrous double-double of 27 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in a 116-109 win over the surging Rockets. “He’s not normal,” said D’Antoni, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “I mean, that guy is […]

Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has flat out ran out of superlatives for his star shooting guard and reigning MVP James Harden after he trotted out a 44-point triple-double to stun the Golden State Warriors in overtime. When asked with a way to effectively guard him, D’Antoni sold his franchise star even more, saying there […]

Only days after Houston Rockets superstar James Harden was often denied the chance at MVP candidacy by critics and pundits, The Beard put on an absolute show, bringing his Houston Rockets back from a 20-point deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors in overtime. Head coach Mike D’Antoni is hoping his latest line of 44 […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni and Indiana Pacers head coach Nate McMillan have been named the NBA Coaches of the Month for December. Mike D’Antoni and the Rockets went 11-4 in December, while Nate McMillan and the Pacers went 12-3. The NBA Coaches of the Month for December! Nate McMillan of the @Pacers (12-3)Mike D'Antoni of the […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni had high praise for James Harden after Thursday night’s victory over the Boston Celtics. D’Antoni, who’s been with the Rockets since 2016, says Harden has a mastery of the game. “It’s hard to describe,” D’Antoni told The Athletic, referring to Harden’s recent play. “He has a mastery of the […]