The Rockets recently surpassed the 60 win mark for the first time in franchise history. Has a result the Rockets have also secured the best record in the NBA this season and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. It is the first time the Rockets have accomplished that feat in franchise history.
As a result the team has had a chance to rest some key players with 2 weeks left in the regular season. This should come in handy to keep players fresh with what fans expect will be a long playoffs stint looming.
Unfortunately after a couple of wins with lackluster performances and a recent loss to San Antonio on the road Coach Mike D’Antoni questioned if too much rest was a good thing.
“You’ve got to be careful taking guys out and just resting them. Everybody wants rest, rest, rest. Well, they’ve got to play,” D’Antoni observed. “Otherwise, we’re going to lose the advantage of what you worked for for 80 games, and it’s scary times for us. You’ve got to play. You’ve got to bring it, and you’ve got to bring it every day. We’ll get it back.”
“We definitely don’t want to go into the playoffs playing the way that we’ve been playing these past few games. … Just stay greedy,” small forward Trevor Ariza opined. “We are competitors. That’s what we do. We have to remember that. We have to continue to play hard and continue to build our habits.”