Mike D’Antoni Houston Rockets Playbook by John Zall

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.

March 9, 2017

Mike D’Antoni Houston Rockets Playbook by John Zall

houston rockets playbook

Mike D’Antoni has a history less about seven players or less for the playoffs. Coach D’Antoni took the reins of the Houston Rockets and they will be back to the run and gun days of old. He ran an high octane Steve Nash offense where you jack up a shot in the first seven seconds of the shot clock to increase the number of possessions in a game and their pace of play.

Coach D’Antoni’s system worked, and they took the NBA by storm and produced two sixty win seasons and two trips to the Western Conference Finals. As the three points shots and MVP Awards began raining in Phoenix, he leaned on the players that he trusted and found his player rotation for the playoffs.

Rockets Playoff Rotation:

There aren’t enough playoff minutes for the Rockets Bench. Clint Capela, Lou Williams, and Eric Gordon are set in the rotation for the playoffs. Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell are out. Those rotation players will get about 12 minutes a game or twenty-five percent of the game.

I think that the Houston Rockets will be stream-lined now and will kick it up a notch.

Mike D’Antoni Going Forward

The current team is built for pace, and he will drop that rotation to seven or eight and they will go from there.

How the Houston Rockets Play now:

The Mike D’Antoni Houston Rockets pick and rolls and pick-and-pops more than any team in the NBA. They don’t set a pick. On Offense, they wait till the defensive player moves then you go. They don’t have to screen. Coach D’Antoni teaches that the pick-and-roll is quicker when you don’t have to screen.

It’ important to get Ryan Anderson open for the three point shot or Capela going to the rim where he is shooting 65.1 percent this season.

The Houston Rockets take more three-point shots than any team ever has. They are getting more dunks than any combination in the NBA. It all begins with no screening in the pick-and-rolls.

Click on the pdf link to download the Mike D’Antoni Houston Rockets Playbook:

Mike D’Antoni Houston Rockets Playbook

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