Fansided

5 reasons why the Houston Rockets should not hire Mike D’Antoni

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Dec 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers associate head coach Mike D'Antoni prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The 76ers defeated the Suns 111-104. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers associate head coach Mike D'Antoni prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The 76ers defeated the Suns 111-104. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mike D'Antoni, Brett Brown, Philadelphia 76ers
Mar 12, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown (R) and associate coach Mike D’Antoni (M) and assistant coach Billy Lange (L) during the second half against the Detroit Pistons at Wells Fargo Center. The Detroit Pistons won 125-111. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Stubborn and stuck to his system

Mike D’Antoni is a good coach. He has a clear system that does help players that fit that system succeed. The Phoenix Suns were made better by his style. The New York Knicks were made better by his style — even though Carmelo Anthony fought him on speeding up the pace.

But that frustration with Anthony and the Knicks’ failure to break through — they made the Playoffs two straight years with D’Antoni but got out of the first round the year after D’Antoni was let go — stood out. A player with his talent did not fit his system well because preferred to slow things down.

The same happened when the Los Angeles Lakers brought him in mid-season too.

That Lakers team had another isolation-heavy veteran in Kobe Bryant plus a strong center in Dwight Howard. The team though simply did not click.

There were plenty of issues off the court — injuries to Steve Nash and Dwight Howard derailed the super team in Los Angeles — but it was also clear watching them that they were a poor fit. Yet, D’Antoni failed to change much of what he did. He kept trying to jam that square peg into a round hole.

While the Rockets certainly have a penchant for using analytics to inform their decisions, and D’Antoni’s offense uses a lot of those principles, that does not mean D’Antoni’s offense is the best fit for this group.

If Houston were to hire D’Antoni, the team might have to change a whole bunch of its roster to get the kind of versatility, shooting and passing D’Antoni needs.

Is a Playoff team with one of the best scorers in the league really going to shift everything for this coach?

Next: The league has caught up

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