The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - The Mike D'Antoni Show 1-15-20

Episode Date: January 15, 2020

Rockets Head Coach Mike D'Antoni joins Matt each week to talk Houston Rockets Basketball

A straightaway three, it is up. And it's good. The Rockets are rolling now. Do a better, harder, longer. We rejected. The beard is cooking. And they play together. They play hard.

He set. He fired. And he had the three. Now, exclusive insight and the latest on your Houston Rockets. You've got to be a champion. To be the champion. Presented by Billiard Factory. Rockets head coach Mike Dan Tony joins the Matt Thomas show on Sports Talk 790,

home of the run. And it's 201 here on the Matt Tobas show. We spend 30 quality minutes with our favorite NBA head coach, Mike Dan Tony. Coach, these 830 start times are past our bedtime. This is not good for us, is it? Well, hopefully it will be good for us. We need a little goodness everyone's wrong. All right.

Hey, tonight you're going to go for a win number 200, my friend. That's not bad in four seasons, is it? Not even four seasons. Well, you know, when you get good players, that's when that stuff happens. Yeah, I've never met a coach that had a terrible. terrible roster that won 200 games at three and a half years. Hey, last night, let's just sometimes,

sometimes you don't play well and you kick yourself and then sometimes you go, you know what? That team across the way was pretty darn good. I was very impressed with how Memphis came out last night. They've been one of the hotter teams in the NBA these last couple weeks or so. Yeah, they played well. You know, it's funny.

A lot of games, most games probably come down to about three or four plays. I think we're up one in the fourth. and the next three or four plays, we didn't make any big shots. They made, I thought, pretty contested shots, and so they beat us. They're on a roll, and I think they have a legitimate chance to come in eighth place this year or seventh in the West. So, yeah, the young kid, Brad, is really good. And we didn't play well. You know, we didn't do our job.

It should have been, it was a good game. but in a sense it's close, but, you know, we just are not sharp right now. We're not, doesn't seem like we have the urgency that we date or, you know, for whatever reason. And the dog days of January, whatever reason it is, we've got to get back on track. You mentioned sharpness, is that how do you fix such a thing? Because I think, I think, right, you're winning games. You're still, you know, obviously playing at a, you know, seven out of ten clip. But there's a little bit of, you know, you don't want to have a down night or,

back-to-back shouldn't be laborsome. So wouldn't you describe how this team needs to get sharper? What would you tell the guys, whether it be at a practice or before tonight's game? Well, I mean, obviously, the professional, we know what they have to do. They've got to come out with an urgency and now let the game get aware and all that. And then we talk about that all the time. But I do think it's kind of unique right now that, you know, we've got some guys trying to get back on track. Eric Gord is trying to get back in form after this week.

We got PJ who had the Stinger the other night and has experiencing some discomfort and he's got to get back on track and actually hasn't really been two or three weeks. Daniel House got to get back on track. You know, Clint has dealing with his foot and needs to get back on track totally.

He still was pretty good last night. James has been, you know, up and down the last few games after the break. And so we just have individual issues that we collectively will get over them if we understand the urgency and everybody just does, you know, a little bit, put a little bit more pep in their step and get it done. You and I would brag a lot last year about Daniel, and you missed him when he was gone, came back and towards the end of the year, and then you gave him enough confidence to start him for much of the season.

I know you've gone with Ben the last handful of games, and Daniel's point production has really fallen off a little bit. What's going on with him that you can tell? Well, you never know exactly, because if you knew, you just go, fixer, right? So it's just something that it's a process he has to go through and I'm really worried about it. I think he's thinking about a little bit too much and probably, you know,

I also contribute to that. But it's just, you know, you have to understand that let me do the simple things. Let me just play as hard as I can play. Let me just make the simple play until I get my confidence rolling again and then get over the hop. And, you know, he'll, he's on

his journey and he'll figure it out and work through it. And in the meantime, we need to win games. And he's playing hard. He's trying. But right now, it's not clicking for him totally. But he'll get over there. He'll find his way.

Also, Coach, you mentioned PJ coming back from the Stinger. 38 minutes last night. I only got one shot up. I mean, is he just battling through it? Or what was the deal with him? Or what did you see out of him last night? Well, he's always battling through it. And I didn't want to play him 38 minutes last night.

but because of Jaron Jackson, Jr. at the five, that was a tough matchup for our bigs. And so PJ had a log in some five minutes that extended him a little bit more than I wanted him to. But he still feels the nerves and the tingling or whatever. And we'll see tonight. We'll see how he is when he gets to the arena. I expect him to play because he doesn't, you know, he doesn't miss games. but at the same time, we've got to get him well and get him feeling good.

Yeah, you mentioned the minutes there, Coach, and I find it interesting because, of course, in theory, you don't want to be throwing guys out there for 40 minutes every night, but also, I mean, you've had guys dealing with injuries and matchups and all that stuff. So how are you going about balancing the minutes load in your rotation? Well, I mean, we're not too far off what we want to be. Like I said, PJ's playing to me. It's one of the reason that I'm starting being, and Daniel goes, to the fours try to get his minutes down.

It's an easy swap out. Now, I wasn't expecting to go smaller, but Jared Jackson created a problem that just seemed like we had to. So it was a little unexpected that PJ went up to 38 minutes. So we need to get him down about 28, 30 minutes. I think we can do that with Daniel at the four. And, you know, and again, we were shorthanded a little bit with Lusknotp in there. So it puts a little pressure on our rotation.

And tonight we should be more or less full strength. And then we'll see what the rotation will look like normally and then go from there. Mike Dan, Tony, with us here on the Matt Thomas Show, presented you by the Billiard Factory. Coach, you've been in this league 16 years. You've been around basketball all your life to PJ in his toughness for a guy that has to play the four who's six, five, grabs rebounds, dives all over the floor, playing with a hurt shoulder. put him in some other company of guys you've coached so we know what we experience here with him playing for the Rockets? I mean, what are some other guys that you put him in that same kind of category of gritty,

going to lose the size matchup more times than not? But man, at the end of the day, he's going to come up with a big rebound or a big shot to help out your squad. Well, probably, I mean, what pops in him out real quick is Rajabelle from fame. We played in Phoenix where, you know, he wasn't the most gifted player out there. but he like PJ went to Europe, made himself a player. They weren't, you know, either drafted later. They weren't considered for about a few years. So we go through the European experiences, came back,

and they just saw what job they had to get done. They get it done. And Roger was one of the best competitors that I've ever coached. And you knew he was going to bring it every night on the toughest level. PJ is the same way. And, you know, sometimes, you know, makes shots, doesn't make shots, and sometimes he'll throw a pass up in his stands, but he will find a way to let the team win or get you in a position where you can win.

And that's all you're going to ask for it. He gives everything he's got so when he's off. I try to make sure that he's not hurt too much, but I always appreciate what he brings every day. You mentioned to me last week about, you know, we talked a little bit about how Clint had those 30-point games back-to-back, and that PJ wasn't scoring a whole lot. Does it take a wildest sense who's going to get the shots, or is it a case that you kind of know going in that it might be Clint's opportunity to do a little more offensively

against a particular opponent? Because as you said, it's not because PJ doesn't want a shoot that maybe just the defense isn't presented. So how do you, how does it figure out? Is it kind of game flow, or do you have a pretty good feel before you even step on the court? What kind of night those guys can have for you offensively? Well, we have a better feel because we do scout teams and they have certain defensive philosophies that they go from game to game.

So, you know, for example, one team philosophy is a stick on the three-point shooters no matter what, let James and Clint be handled by the two guys inside and they'll stay on the three-point shooters. You know, then that's the night that if everything goes well, we make good decisions, that Clint is going to get a lot of dogs, and James going to get some floaters. points come that way. Then there are other teams that really crashed the middle and sag in. And so now James got to make that decision and read it. We try to give him hints.

And sometimes they change up during the games. Sometimes they don't follow what they did game before. So he has to read the right play, and our shooter is going to be ready. And it's not always easy, but that's the job, and that's how we play. And that's really their skill set. And so I don't really look about who scores. I have no idea who averages what. But if the ball's moving the right way,

and I know we do a lot of isolation, which, you know, it fits what we have, but players got to be ready to score. And, you know, like McElmore yesterday, it doesn't make a three in the first half. Comes out, makes four in a second. So you never know when it's going to happen. You never know when you're going to be open when the ball finds you, but just always need to be ready. You started Austin.

yesterday keeping Eric as a six-man, and you kind of told me before the game it was because you wanted Austin to chase John Moran around, which that was a tough chore for anybody having to guard him. But after one experiment of that, do you envision keeping Eric in that six-man role on nights that Ross doesn't play? Yeah, I think so, because one of the reasons also we did, not only that, you know, an explanation is I wanted to keep Eric a 30, 31 minutes. If I'm going to finish with him, and then he was going to play, he's going to play a lot of, you know, without James and all those minutes, then I want him also to play with the starter song.

If you start him, then he's going to be up to 36, 37 minutes, and back to back, or just where he is right now with his recovery. That just doesn't make sense. So he did play 31, maybe a minute, too many last night. But that keeps him in that box of 28 to 32 minutes, that we want to keep him out. Rockets. Let's go! What a pass. Got it. And he hits it.

To get Rockets insight, he need to go inside. Hey, look who's here. Rockets head coach, Mike Dan Tony on the Matt Thomas show. Presented by Billiard Factory. Rockets and the Portland Trailblazers tonight, 830. We'll be the start time. We'll have the coverage for you here on the Sports Talk 790. And we got Coach Dan Tony for another segment here on the show. Coach, I want to get to Isaiah Hartenstein for a minute, guy that goes back and forth between the G League and the Rockets last year.

He's been with the team most of this season and steadily has been getting more and more playing time. So tell me where he was when you first saw him, what you've asked of him, and where he has in that process to gain the confidence in you to see some playing time on a fairly regular basis. Well, you know, I think right now the video on match. I think he's kind of earned the backup spot to Clint. And then he'll have nights that, you know, a little bit of a feel because he doesn't have a whole lot of rope. Let's put it that way. Last night, you know, I was all intention to play,

but, you know, Jared Jackson is a real tough match for any center. And then Valentuna's is alone and crafty and all that. Plus, we kind of want Clint to mirror probably the first. spring center and then Isaiah will do the second guy comes in there. That's kind of the plan going into a game. But at the same time, Isaiah has played well. I mean, he's last, you know, he's going to have ups and down. He still got to work on his balance and being able to guard and not make silly fouls

and all that. I think that's probably more than the last couple of years he worked out, he's got better, he's got stronger. He does have a sense of how. to play offensive basketball, which really can't teach a lot. He's really good at what he does. And I expect as time goes on, you know, keep getting, you know, better, and a little bit more confidence in himself and also in the team having with him. And I expect him to be with us. You know, the thing I can tell on him on what kind of night he might bring to you, frankly,

is one of the things you brought up initially is the foul trouble. If I can, if you can get him out of that quick one or two foul mode that he gets almost maybe three or four minutes into a game, it's like, you know what, there's a chance for you to be out there 17, 18 minutes. For him not to get any fouls is ridiculous because it's a grown man game of the NBA. But it feels like when he gets the early whistles, it's almost like wrong place, wrong time, or he's trying to guess because as you said from an offensive standpoint, he's got a little bit of offensive moves. And I think that a young Clint Capello was kind of that same boat.

You get in a foul trouble early, it takes you out of your best part of your game. Yeah, but he's 22 years old. Just turns one year, I think, and maybe 21, 22. Yeah. So, you know, claim at that age is still down in the Valley. So, you know, he is seven feet and he does a lot of really good things. But, you know, one real important staff that people really don't look at is how quick you get into the bonus in any quarter, especially the fourth quarter. And that's when, Clint, a lot of times that's start of the fourth quarter, claim will be resting.

And we just cannot. have a habit of doing that, we did last night, and Isaiah wasn't in his fault, but we have a habit of getting in the bonus early, like two or three minutes going in a quarter. And that just kills you coming down the stretch trying to win a game. And, you know, a lot of the guys have that problem. And, you know, you pick up a foul of reaching unnecessarily. I'm able to rebound that there's no way in the world he could get or just a silly fast somebody running through the lane. And, you know, you pick up a foul of reaching unnecessarily. I'm able to rebound that there's no way in the world he could get or just a silly silence. And, just grabbing. So he's working on that, and that'll come with experience. It's not a, that's just something that will go away as he learns. But it's, uh, right now for us, every game is, is doing it. You know, we, we need to come in first or second place in the division. We haven't got the halfway point yet. We've thrown some games away. And we've had some injuries to deal with that. So we have to, you know, we're, we got to get on the horse real quick and he'll learn along the way

and I expect it has some really good games going forward. You said the term throwing some games away and that's going to happen over any two games schedule. Yeah, everybody does. Everybody has bad loss. Yeah, they have bad loss. So let me ask you this. Let me ask you this

is it, do you labor more on those or do you really savor the ones that are really good? You know you have talked a lot about this run where you've won some games. You've knocked off Denver, you've knocked off the clippers, you've knocked off Philadelphia. I mean, they're talking about legitimate NBA title containers. What makes you, is the high, the high,

or the low, the lower, or does they all kind of seem to balance out, do you think? Well, I mean, I think we know as a group in that life, I know that we know that we can be the best team in the league. We know that. We have a lot of talent. We know other teams are real good. We don't fear them. We know they're really good, the two, you know, L.A. teams, Denver, Utah, or whatever. And then there are a lot of teams in the West Beach on any night. But we know that. We just got to get it together.

Now, the thing is you have to set yourself up and be able to withstand everything. And if you, you know, not give games away, it's not like you give them away, but if you're not having the appropriate fear or understand the importance, what happens is you'll go down to like last year. one game where we had to go down to OKC, which is hard to win, to get second place. And instead, we lost at the buzzer, and we got fourth place in fifth place, whatever we got. And those are the things, those are the, you know, the signs that we put up on our guys. Come on our guys, you know, much easier, you know, not to disrespect anybody, but you can go to a sub-500 team on the road, didn't have to go to Utah or one last game, you've got to win there.

So it's why you understand our goals and understand the gravity of the situation. And sure, there's going to be some bad losses, but it should be less than anybody else. If you want to come in first or second, then we have to, you know, with still time. But at the same time, we need to have that appropriate fear where we don't want to get into, like, what happened last year. Russell Westbrook sits out the back-to-back, didn't play last night. How do you measure this right now, or is it one of those? what, when we're sitting here in April and the playoffs begin and, you know, Russ's legs are fresher, do you go back and say that these were decisions that were in the right and the best

interest? Right now, can you possibly gauge what kind of effect Russ sitting these back-to-back that will ultimately have on this basketball team? No, you can't gauge it. There's no, otherwise it would be easy, right? You don't care that guy doesn't play there because we know that three motions now. You cannot gauge it at all. You don't know. It's the best. I guess that you can have. And the reason that we don't know what Russell had is some surgeries this summer, and we're going to make sure that we avoid injury more than anything. Not that he will be resting.

He's rested. It's not having to do it rest. It's having a thing to preserve his physical ability to be able to compete every night and not risk injury. And he's in that category where the medical staff thinks is better that he doesn't play back to back. and you do it. You can't just see the proof.

You just do the best you can and calculate the guesses that has proven, hopefully it works. We've gone almost two weekly editions of the show without me asking you about the replay system. And we could probably spend an entire half hour on it, but in the last two minutes of our segment here,

you haven't used it a whole lot. I don't think it's compared to most teams. I don't even know if the average game even has a replay review or not. And I think you and I, if we visited about this four or five times between now and the end of the year, things would change either hopefully for the better, but certainly hopefully not for the worst. But right now, as you see it, what's the best thing about it?

And what are a couple of things you'd like to see ultimately change in this system down the road? Well, I mean, it's hard because in every play, and I'm falling, you know, victim to a few times that as a guy, like you see a play that happens in front of, you know there wasn't in a normal. Even a rest of it would tell you they would not blow the whistle if they saw that play coldly. You know, if you could just not at the time of reaction, they would not blow the whistle. And either it's not a foul or a two-point whatever. But there, if you look at the replay, yeah, they blew the whistle, said there was a foul.

There is some contact there. not enough that normally you would call it, but if you're going by the letter of the law, there was contact, they have to withhold the same. So you lose your challenge, and it drives coaches crazy because you know that's not a basketball foul, but at the same time, it's the letter of the law. So I get it. You have to be very careful about using your challenges on emotional basis, and that's hard sometimes. And then the other thing we've learned from the analytic people is that you should probably use it any time you're 100% sure that it either takes points off the board or adds points for you to be able to use it, whether it's in the first quarter of the fourth quarter.

Preferably, I would like to have it down in the fourth quarter of the last three or four minutes where you can take some points off the board for them and put it on. But as they say, you know, there's not any difference taking three points off in the second quarter. is in fourth quarter. That can be discussed and argued, who knows, but I understand the reasoning. So it's just, it's a little bit of an experiment going forward, and it is what it is. Probably

next year they will make some changes because I know a lot of coaches don't like it. Because it's frustrating. Because you know it wasn't a pal in normal circumstances, but they were upholded. But I can see why. So we'll see how it shakes out this summer. Right now, we'll just try to do the best we

can, and hopefully, you know, maybe it'll be good. Maybe it'll overturn a play at the last minute and you win a game on. Who knows? All right. Last question. One of our favorite players, Gary Clark moving on to the Orlando Magic, and I know the decision was made to release him last week. We had a lot of Gary Clark fans. Just give me a thought or two about his time with you and what you see from him and what you like and what you hope that if you're a Gary Clark fan, you will see when he gets another opportunity. Yeah, I think Gary can play. There was a lot of factors going in. to it, not just whether he can play or not.

Gary was great and a very special, very good guy and has talent. You know, one of the main forces because of what, you know, of the, you know, letting him go was that it opens up the possibility to make it easier for Daryl's team to impact the trade. And I don't get into that. I don't know. that's probably the thinking behind it, whether it happens or not, who knows, and I'm not looking for that. But Daryl and them have their way that they think's best, and we hate to lose Gary.

He was good for us, and who knows he might get him back. He's on a 10-day at Orlando, if I'm not mistaken. That's right. And we'll be open to getting him back here. So we'll see how it goes, and wish him luck in the meantime. and, you know, he could be a very good basketball player. Thank you for the time, as always. Always informative, enjoyable.

Best luck tonight against the Blazers and your hope for winning your 200th game as a rocket coach. We appreciate it. We'll see you in the arena tonight. Sounds good. Thank you. You got it, Mike Dan Tony, with us here on the mat. Thomas Show presented to you by the Billiard Factory.