D’Antoni: We don’t care about finishing second or third, we want to try to win the title
Before the suspension the Rockets were fifth in the Western Conference with 40 wins over 64 games.
Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni talks with Facebook page ‘A Better Basketball’ about the trade that revolutionized the roster before the deadline.
“I, the owner and the G.M, we all go in the same direction. If this were not the case, when things don’t work, everyone would accuse the other and we would be lost. We don’t care about finishing second or third, we want to try to win the title. This year we took Russell Westbrook who is a great champion but who was not performing according to his potential because he needed a more open court, a better spacing.
In fact, when you use a “small” lineup the most important thing is that you can defend against opponents big man and we have very good guards to defend on these players, such as Harden or PJ Tucker. At the same time, Westbrook and Harden have more space to attack the rim.
I am sure it would have worked and I am very sorry for this stop: I am sure that if we recover, we will be able to fight for second place in the Western Conference. Then, in the playoffs, we’ll see what happens: there are no Jabbars around. Also, basketball is evolving and when we talk about small lineups we refer to seven foot tall players like Antetokounmpo who are not small but play as if they were…”
Before the suspension the Rockets were fifth in the Western Conference with 40 wins over 64 games.