The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - The Mike D'Antoni Show 1-22-20

Episode Date: January 22, 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 the 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 Ron. Tonight, it'll be the Rockets and the Denver Nuggets. We'll have it for you on 790, beginning with our launch pad show at 6. Tip time is at 7 o'clock, and we're going to spend the next half hour. So visiting with our good friend, the head basketball coach of your beloved Houston Rockets, Mike Dan Tony. Coach, this is just a general statement. How are things?

I don't say things are tough right now. Yeah. So let's just get right to it. Are you more concerned about individual shootings? fourth quarter stuff? Is it defense that's bothering you? A little bit of combination of all the above. What's going on?

I make a little bit of everything. You know, we hit a spot where individually we're not playing well. And you combine that with some of the problems that we have. We try to, that we need to get better at as we go toward the playoffs, but kind of hit us in a perfect storm.

And we've got it shook a little bit. But, you know, our guys have been through a lot. They'll hang in there, and we'll get it back. Let's get to a variety of different things, and then we'll get to some of the positive sides of things. Up in the first half against the Lakers, up in the first half against Oklahoma City, really through three quarters of that game

and some difficult fourth quarters. What do you attribute the last couple of days giving up those large leads in those particular games? Well, you know, obviously we didn't do both things. We didn't play very good offensively. We didn't play very good defensively, and we just gave up, you know, big leagues. We should have closed games out. Can't tell you exactly why other than, you know, our defense is it starts just the little things,

and then it cascades a little bit. And then, you know, before you know it, we're shook a little bit, and then we don't make big shots and, you know, ends up with a loss. So, you know, we've got to learn through this, and we've got to learn to keep our foot on the pedal. We've got to keep going, and we've just got to be better. as a group, a better team. You've got a lot of grown men in that locker and veteran team, been around a long time, won a lot

of basketball games. I would assume that you're not spending a whole lot of time explaining what's going on the fourth quarter. This is one of those situations where these guys got to look each other in the eye and say, we've got to put it together for 48 minutes. Are you sensing some of that with some of the guys right now? Yeah, the whole team. I mean, we're together.

You know, we watched the fourth quarter in the last game. Great discussions all the way through and just showed, you know, know, it's not one thing, guys. It's a cascade of things. And it's, uh, everybody's responsible and everybody's got to do a better job. And, and it just starts by, you know, little things of getting back and certain people out and communication and not taking things for granted. Don't let your shoulder sag when something bad goes wrong. Um, you know, that's half of it. That's, that's, that's most of it, almost all of it. Uh, and then, you know, we're just not shooting real well right now. We could have won the other night just by making a few more shots and then no one would say anything, but the problems

still remain. We've still got to fix those problems if we want to, you know, go further in the playoffs. But now we've got the combination of the two is deadly, and we'll play against good teams that play, they get up for us, and they beat us. So I don't think it's hard to explain. It's not really even hard. We have the talent to overcome, and now, you know, we put our mind in hearts to and do it. Rocket Tech coach Mike Dantonia here on the Matt Thomas show. And coach, we'll talk about something on the positive side. Last couple of games, Russell Westbrook has been really good,

being aggressive, attacking the basket, not shooting up as many threes. Just your thoughts on what you're seeing from him the last couple of games, especially to me, when teams are doubling off of James Hardin and he gets the ball, he's immediately flashing to the basket and either getting a layup or making a play for somebody else. Yeah, I think for the last. month, the last 10, 15 games, he's played really well. The efficiency's gone way up. Like you said, I think he's decided he's attacking first and attacking hard,

attacking in transition, attacking the low post, whatever way he can get to the limb. That's what he tries to do. Then once you get a game going, you feel confident and things are well. Then every once in a while, he'll have a pull-up jumper or a banker. and when you do it the right way and you have the confidence, it seems to go in more. You know, it's not a desperation. It's not trying to hit the home run first

and then go back to the other way, hitting singles everywhere, and then you can go a little bit harder. So it's good. It's good to see, and I think he's feeling good about his game right now. Obviously, the three-point attempts have dropped off considerably. Was that something he came to you,

you guys came together, or does he say, look, I'll still take it, but right now that's a, it's just the best part of my game right now. He's just, you know, with only his conversations we have, he's got to be Russell Westbrook. I don't, you know, if he feels like he's confident

with the three and can make him, then do it. But if he doesn't feel confident, don't do it. I don't know what's in his mind. Obviously, it's something that you have to understand your game. He's an employee for a reason, and he's played as a superstar for the last seven, eight years. So he should know, and he does know. And it just took him a while,

and there was no, like, you know, he knew how we'd play. And I think a lot of that was he was trying to adapt a little bit, maybe got out of his game. And the discussion we had is just play your game, whatever that is. You just be effective. You'd be what you did for the last seven years, and that's going to be good enough for us.

So I think he, you know, over time, he figured it out, and he's going to heck of a job. Is it with us here, brought to you by the Billiard Factory here on Sports Talk 790. Okay, so James, obviously, coach goes one for 17. There's a large part of you that says it doesn't have. a whole lot in his career. He's been the last seven games not very efficient. The previous seven, he's been some of his most efficient

three-point shooting. So before we get into the number of shots, when you're looking at his shot selection, is it just a simplistic case of the ball's not going through, or is it that he is taking some shots because of guys defending him that maybe he shouldn't

be taking because he's trying to get out of this rut? No, I don't think. I think it's just a period where and it's a strange period because I've been there three and a half years. It's never, you know, a half of one or two games and maybe it's started a year, a few. But it's a little bit longer drought than he's ever experienced and he's frustrated with it. But he's not doing anything different. He's made that same shot over and over and over and over three and a half years.

It's not quite following right yet. But that's probably one of our least problems. I think it's probably a reason for. You know, we haven't won lately because he's been off. but that's not a problem that we need to cure. He'll be fine. Is it the headband in the Braids coach? It's only that simple.

So, you know, I'm sure he's trying to figure out anything because James is one heck of a competitor and he'll figure it out. So that problem will go away and it will go away soon, hopefully soon. And the other stuff is we just, you know, sometimes, you know, you've got to turn negative is in a positive. You got to, okay, if we would have just kept Boppaulo long, and we were, you know, but it wasn't quite the right way. Our defense was porous, and we weren't connected, and hopefully sometimes bad things

or, you know, streaks like this pull you more together. It makes you stronger on the other side if we can get to the other side. So you're just kind of, you know, and I told them our theme is, you choose the way you want to respond to this. You can respond to the outside noise, and then we splutter, or you can stay in here as a group and get better, stronger for it. So hopefully we'll do that. Is that the way?

I mean, I think if you do want to put the positive light on it, I mean, James is just going through this tough rut. He's not going to shoot like this for the rest of the season. So if you have him playing the way that we know he's capable of and Russ turning it around the way he has, I mean, you'd probably see how this is a pretty good team. Yeah, why wouldn't you do that? I don't know anybody walks around, but a client over their head

and sagged the shoulders and land all the time and then come out stronger. That doesn't happen. That's the only way to attack it. And we do have some stuff that is good. You know, Clint's playing well. We've got a lot of guys, you know, that are stepping up. So we'll get there.

And if we hang it together, stick together. And, you know, we've still, we've got a heck of a hard road trip coming up on our game tonight, then a hard road trip. So there could be some more grief for longer away. But it's beside the point. We're just going to band together. and fight one game at the time and then see what we are.

P.J. Tucker said yesterday, pinched nerve has gotten to him, and obviously he's taking some really brutal hits the last couple of games. Where are you with him now? I know you are obviously very happy to have a guy like that that's one to play through pain, but has it affected his offensive game at all, or is it more with teams of throwing out of defensively that's causing some issues?

No, I think it affected him in the last, and I don't know about the last game, although toward the end, I think he got hit again a little bit, but I think it did affect him before that. And, you know, like I said, we just got shook a little bit. And I talked to him yesterday, he seems to be okay. So hopefully he's fine. We're visiting with Coach Dan Tony here on Sports Talk 790.

What's going on with Austin? I know he was taking some shots a couple of nights before the game. Is he think he'll be back for this evening's game? He wants to. I think so. I haven't talked to the trainer for his final go. but yesterday he says playing. So I'll take him forward with his word about this.

He's a tough kid. Now, we'll talk to the trainer if he's limited whatsoever. Or, you know, sometimes player wants to play and doesn't perform because he's limited as well. Then we'll decide what to do. But he's ready to go in his mind. How cranky is it when you have a player that says I'm ready to go and the trainer says, in the best advice, you're not playing on it?

Does that get contentious sometimes? Depending on who it is. Yeah. It can. Player always has the last say so. But, yeah, player always has the last say-so. Except, well, I take it back.

You know, if a player thinks he can't play, then he doesn't play. And that's automatic. If a player says he can, then the train will chime in. Sometimes we won't let it play. You know, some of them don't, it's better for them.

If they don't play, better with the team, also because sometimes you can be a little bit headstrong and you're not going to perform if you're not able to play. at 100%, so we don't want that. It's great that Austin wants to play, and then I think the trainer will make the final decision.

All right, more with Coach Dan Tony coming up in a minute. It is the Mike Dan Tony show here on Sports Talk 790, and we'll have more with the coach coming up in just a couple of moments. Right now at 2.13, I want to tell you about the presenting sponsor of the show and with Mike Coach Dantone, and that is the billiard factory with four Houston area locations and a great website that will give you an opportunity to take a look at all the fun things you can get for your entertainment center, and that's the billiard factory.com, billiard factory.com.

Champions go freeway staff for in the woodlands. Right now you can get 10% off all pool table lighting. You can get a triple play package, which features a Zoom air hockey table, a ping pong top, and a ping pong top storage caddy for just $9.99 total for all three. And with any pool table purchase, qualifying pool table purchase,

you can get a free felt upgrade, free accessory kit upgrade, or a free ping pong topper. Your choice of two or three, a qualifying offer. Plus, you can get free delivery as well if you purchase by the end of January. Do yourself a favor and take advantage also of their buy now pay later plan up to 60 months of no interest financing. BilliardFactory.com for all the details for Houston locations and billiardfactory. com on the web. Billiard Factory, where they got game.

Rockets. It's good. What a pass. Got it. The block. And he hits it. To get Rockets inside, you need to go inside. Hey, look who's here. Rockets head coach, Mike Dan Tony on the Matt Thomas show. Presented by Billiard Factory. Coach got an email in from a listener. Wanted to know, sometimes you use Isaiah Hartnstein in rotation and sometimes you don't. What are the determining factors about when Isaiah gets playing time for you?

Well, one is the size and strength of the opponent, a little better center, that he would have to go up against. you know, is they are still learning. They're young. It puts a lot of energy out there, but especially defensively, he's got a lot to learn, but also, you know, Tyson's a veteran,

but right now we need to be steady, and Tyson wins a big voice when he's on the floor and when he's off the floor. There's some of my things going to. I know Isaiah's played well, and hopefully he'll continue to do that, but there are times that we've brought Tyson there for a reason. And as we, you know,

hopefully as we get toward the playoffs, Tyson is going off to play a big part like NNA played, and we're going to need that. So, you know, there's all kinds of reasons, and I'm sure I'll get more chances. But, you know, we'll just see how to go. I like Tyson a lot. Been there, done there, you know, through 19 years clearly. And look, the game for, you know, in terms of playing major minutes is not what it was, say, even just five years ago. But what is he brought on days that we don't see him when he's at practice?

Maybe he needs to shut the locker room door and say a few things. Is he got that kind of player, and has he been that for you this year? Oh, yeah. Now, he's a most of the presence on the bench on the floor. Typically, if you're playing, you have a bigger voice. If you're not playing, it stops the players to listen because you're not playing. But he needs to get back. We set him for a long time.

He was out for about a month. He didn't play, and he's got to get back through a little bit of a rhythm. And his voice is huge. He's always locked in. always talking about how it's it's talking to Clint, talking to Isaiah, how he needs to defendants, talking to the players, how to get over and pick, under picks. He won't a championship, and he wanted to run away. And I had him in New York, and he's good, and he's good, no matter if he plays bad,

he's good. He's just a steady leadership that the team surely needs. You mentioned Clint, and I know he's been battling heel issues, there are nights where he'll go against Joel Embed and have a great game. and then he'll go against a guy like Nicola Yochich of Denver. And then there'll be nights where Javail McGee and Dwight Howard kind of have a difficult time. Is there, do you look at the metrics of what he does against particular players, or is it the heel?

Is it, you know, that as he's just playing, he's going to have certain matchups are going to favor him? When do you look at him and go, all right, this is a night that Clint's going to really explode and then there are going to be some nights that you go, man, this could be a tough night for him? Well, you know, it's hard. It's a competition. When you're putting those other names out there, that sometimes they get the best in, sometimes he gets the best of them.

You know, McGee and Howard's playing really well. So, you know, he is battling. You know, I think it's more than anything while ups and downs. You're battling that pain all the time, and sometimes maybe the spotlight isn't real bright. And pain, you used to come to the pain a little bit. Other times you're going to get over that. But he's played pretty well.

I don't think that's, you know, like, He's like everybody else. There are times that he needs to shore our defense up, but there's times that everybody on that floor needs to shore it up. And we're collectively making way too many mistakes, and it's not just one guy making 10, nobody else making any. Everybody's making poverty mistakes. And you can pick out, you can single out anybody and say,

well, you've got to do a better job. Yeah, we do. But do collectively have to do a better job. I know it was frustrating the night against Oklahoma City, but Daniel House looked better from the permit, and he probably had in three weeks, and I thought some of his defensive work was really, really good, even that in the Laker game as well.

So I don't know what's gotten into him, but I like what I've seen the last week or so. What are you noticing now that maybe you didn't see, maybe say even a month ago? Well, I think that he's figuring out a little bit. Hopefully he can stay right there, that, you know, your energy's got to come on the defensive end and running and the rest of the stuff will fall in the line.

But if you're always worried about what you can do offensively or have a bigger role or you do this, then you can get your stuff. stuff in trouble. So I think Daniels figured it out that, hey, let me leave with my defense and my energy, run the floor, and let me mop up when I can, and then he's good. He's very time to play. And he has some signs of getting back to where the signs he showed last year. So it's good. And we need him. Has the adjustment from starting Ben and putting Daniel on the bench to start things off,

is that even noticeable for you at this point with either one of those guys? Not really. I think they both play more or less the same, not starting. It's not that big of a difference. I don't really get it any of that. It's only like you sometimes about five minutes before you get to take of the game

and you play your own moment. And maybe some guys that is a bigger thing. What you get is started for you. I can see where you're starting for years. I've been demoted. I can see that. But when you try to make a big,

the league and he's trying to get in there and you're in the main thing is getting a bunch of minutes where you're blood and then after that's all you establish yourself and establish your reputation to go from there but you know it's all it's got to be at some point it's got to be about the team what is best for the team and I will do that role in best for the team well you know so I think our guys to be honest with our guys and I've talked to them all time but not a problem either way and they're all good with it. And I mean, that's encouraging. I just want to win to play well.

And I think we all want to do that. Let's wrap it up with a James question, coach. And I don't think James listened to the show, so it's just me and you talking. You know, he's never lacked confidence. He has been one of the most incredible scores in the last decade in the NBA, MVP's in finishing second. But how much do you think he needs a three out of four start from deep today? I mean, you know him better than anybody else because he's been your player.

Does he need a good first quarter? Are we afraid this could be another one of those? If he misses four or five of the early going, that it's going to be another night where he's just trying to keep shooting his way out of a slump and that maybe that may not be the best thing overall for the team. Well, you know, first of all, no, he needs to shoot his way out of the slump. Okay, that will be best for the team. And so, no, he can't quit shoot.

That's best between, no, it didn't. He's going to be James Hardin. It will be. If there's too much talk, too much analytics, analyzing his, oh, you can't win that way or that way. Well, we can't. We've only an average about 59 wins the last three years. He can't win that way.

You can't. I don't know, maybe having his best statistical years. PJ has become one of the best three-point shooters in the court and leads to the league or did leave the league in numbers of a tip and points in that. They don't seem to have a problem with him. You know, Ben McImore has now found a home. That's James fault. James fault that he found the home

and played well. Paul said PJ's playing well. Paul said PJ's playing well. I mean, James is a heck of the basketball player. And then they say, they say, I've read something the other day, where you can't win and play the way he played. Well, didn't we just take,

I mean, James thought that Chris has a pulled him straight, and then we miss 27 straight threes in the final game to get the final? I mean, you know, it's like, do they watch the games and they watch history? What happened? not wearing a little bit of a slump, yeah,

but is that our problem? Yeah, that problem will go away. Can we depend well enough and be tough enough middlely, and can we hang in there for all the mazesaires and fight? If we can be able to be fine. If we can, then we don't have the metal to be what we need to be. Yeah. It drives me a little crazy of people, you know,

you get questions like, hey, tell me you have to shoot. well, you're crazy? That's what he's done. He is the most efficient basketball in the last 15 years. He's efficient. If he's inefficient, he shoots like he did that. He's not that way that way. He's not that way. He's the more the most efficient players ever play the game. Why wouldn't he play the way he's playing? And that's what I told the audience earlier today about, I said, you know, it's funny when he's in the previous seven games, not this most recent, but the previous seven, he was probably his highest efficiency ever as a Houston Rocket,

much less the rest of his career. So I think... Well, it might have been the highest ever in the game, you know, close to it. So the guy's been incredible. And what just drives me baddy? You had to go to the same warriors the last three years. It's been maybe arguably the best team ever in the sister to the game with four Hall of Fame players.

And James, Chris, and different guys, have taken away to the break. We didn't get over the hump. I get it. So I mean, I guess we can't. win that way. I guess, you know, playing the way that we play, the way James plays, but whatever causes Chris to have a hamstring product and calls us to this 27 straight three when you're in the final game to get to the finals. You know, it doesn't make any sense. I mean, they said, you can't win that way. Yeah, we did. We did. You know, we will. And it's, it's my mind-boggling.

It's just my mind-boggling. I like you being feisty. This is good stuff right here. You know that, right? You know what? We'll be fighting. You'll go fight all the way down there. That's what you do about sports. What's what you do at sports. You fight. We'll do that.

We'll be ready to roll. I think we look forward to seeing that from your squad tonight. Coach, I appreciate the time. As always, we'll see it at the arena, and good luck this evening against Denver. Sounds good. Okay. Thanks, coach. Appreciate it.

Mike Dan, Tony, with us here on a sports talk 7-90 and is presented to you by the Billiard Factory.