Mike D’Antoni’s Magic Is Working Again with the Houston Rockets

Now that the Houston Rockets are flying high again, boasting a 19-7 record, are tied for third place in the Western Conference and are averaging an NBA-leading 14.2 made 3-pointers per game, it begs the question.

How does Mike D’Antoni do it?

How did he get the high-scoring James Harden to move over to point guard and not only thrive, but lead the league in assists at 11.7 per game?

How is he able to get the most out of role players like Clint Capela, Patrick Beverley and Ryan Anderson? How was he able to completely revitalize Eric Gordon and get him to buy in to a sixth man role—to the point he’s a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate?

Create a buffet.

Simply put, in D’Antoni’s high-powered offense, everybody eats.

That’s why the Rockets are now at a point where they can go out and get a season-high 40 assists on 50 field goals like they did against the Kings.

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“I mean that’s how we’ve been playing the whole year,” Patrick Beverley said. “Like I said, it’s a big pie and everybody gets a little piece of it. When you play that way, you go home, everybody is happy. Man, it’s a great atmosphere to be around. So at last we’re having fun through the ups and the downs. It’s a great group of guys to be around. We share the wealth and from that everybody gets a little piece of the pie.”

Even previously little-used energy guys like Montrezl Harrell and Sam Dekker are going out and proving they are relevant players in the league, that they deserve a slice of the pie.

“Coach (Mike) D’Antoni’s philosophy offensively is different from a lot of teams,” Beverley said. “He set the foundation of a new breed of basketball. We don’t go out and try to take a particular number. It’s how it works out. We shoot open 3’s. We shoot them fast. We’re confident. The coaching staff is confident on our abilities.”

Dekker, who had a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench against Sacramento, is averaging 10.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes during the Rockets’ current eight-game winning streak. The second-year man out of Wisconsin is a true testament to the notion that the rising tide raises all ships.

“It starts with James,” said Dekker, who has hit double-figures five of the past nine games. “He moves the ball so well. He finds us when we’re cutting, …

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