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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 14, 2018

Mike D'Antoni

Houston, Texas: Game One

Q. If Steve were to walk in --
MIKE D'ANTONI: Who?

Q. Steve Kerr, tall guy, if he were to walk in right now and tell you his starting lineup, how helpful, useful would that be or does it even matter?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Doesn't really matter. We're taking bets on who they're starting [laughing]. We're just playing. We're going to play the way we play. James [Harden] and Chris [Paul] will look at who is on the floor, and we'll adjust accordingly.

Q. So who do you bet on?
MIKE D'ANTONI: We're good [laughing].

Q. The Warriors are going to have some stretches where they go on these big spurts. Is there anything that can be done to prepare for that? Do you adjust when you take timeouts? Is there anything at all that an opposing coach can do to prepare?
MIKE D'ANTONI: The only thing about that we've really stressed all year, and we're going to really stress for tonight, is that you really have to have a short memory. They're going to have runs like that. They're going to make two unbelievable shots. We could turn it over and they're going crazy and all that. That's got to be out of your mind. You go back and attack and you've just got to play.

Whether you're down 17, up 17, it does not matter. You can't be out there thinking and worrying about what's happening. Timeouts has never really been any data where it cuts down runs. There's not data, so I'll try to save at least two timeouts. I'm not going to get caught up.

We're going to run what we run, and the best way to stop it is to score. If you call timeout, a lot of things can go wrong. We like to attack them back and put our guys in position to score. Whether we do or not, we'll see. But [not taking timeouts] especially at home. On the road, you might want to take the crowd out of sometimes. But I'm not a big believer in run stopping with a timeout.

Q. Last summer, it might feel like years ago --
MIKE D'ANTONI: It does.

Q. What do you remember about the pursuits of Andre Iguodala, and how close it felt like you guys might come to get him -- which could have swung your roster and the season in some ways?
MIKE D'ANTONI: You'd have to talk to him. Yeah, he was one guy that was targeted last year, I think, or last summer, for good reason. He's one of the better players in the league, and he always has been. He's so versatile. We were trying to get into that mode where we could be a better defensive team, and what he does and brings to them, he can do that.

The Warriors are (indiscernible), so it was a no-brainer to try. And probably, I don't know how close we were or whatever, felt good, but I knew it would be hard. They've got a championship team over there, so that was a good reason to stay.

Q. Of all the things that go into this playoff series, what is your feeling going in to what degree would home-court advantage may or may not factor into things?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I'm sure somewhere somebody will come out and say it's a 3 percent edge or 2 percent, I don't know. It doesn't really matter. But you have it as long as you win. The only thing we're going into is each game is the most important game. You've got to win the game in front of you. Don't worry about what's coming up. Don't worry about where you're playing. Each team could win on the other team's home court. It does not matter at all, I don't think.

It's not going to matter to them, for sure. They're hardened. Doesn't matter to us; we can win away just as well as we can win at home.

Q. Do you feel like the underdog in this series, or do you feel you have the best team in the league as the regular season would indicate?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Well, I think we're with the right amount of fear and right amount of confidence. Obviously, we're the underdog. They've won three of the last four or whatever the last four Finals they were in [two of the last three NBA titles]. So it's like when you go against the champ, you've got to knock them out. As underdogs, you need to knock them out. But I do like who we are, what we've done and where we can go.

Q. How much does Draymond Green's fire and intensity contribute to the Warriors being so good at what they do?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I don't know if you can measure it. That fire and intensity is great, but because he's also a great player. I could have fire and intensity, but I'm not going to change much [laughing].

He's just really good. You know, coaching him in the All-Star Game, because I appreciate too the type of person he is. He's all about winning, and that's what's more important.

He is fiery, and he'll irk some people, and that's great. That's how it should be. You can dislike him in a moment because he's on the other team, but if he's on your team, you just say, Oh, it's nice to have someone like that.

But, yeah, nothing but good stuff from him. I wouldn't know unless I'm in that locker room and seeing exactly how much or less or whatever. But, yeah, he's got to be a key to what they do, spiritual-wise for sure.

Q. You guys rarely do shootarounds. I was wondering, how did you reach that decision? Is it consultation with the players, coaching staff? And how long have you been a believer in having those rare shootarounds?
MIKE D'ANTONI: You know, it's funny, because I had to convince the players. It's something I thought even last year that we should experiment with. I don't know. I couldn't hardly convince James.

They get in routines. People get in routines. I was afraid to even mess with it because I didn't want to mess with routines. But something happened where we couldn't do a shootaround. There was traffic in New York, and we come out and play one of our better games with great energy.

I told James, James, let's try it one time. Come on, let's try it one time not to have shootarounds. So we didn't, and I think James had 26 in the first quarter at home, and I'm thinking, No more shootarounds [laughing].

We will have them if we need them. We have a veteran team. We get to the point where we think rest is more important. We cover everything the day before. We cover right before the game. We cover ad nauseam. We do what we do, and we do it for eight months in a row. Ten minutes of me talking to them the day of in the morning or getting Chris Paul out of bed and making him drive an hour with his car down here and go back an hour, didn't make a lot of sense. Or even a player, you know, there are some late risers. So now I've got to get them out early to get them out of bed. I like for them to get into their comfort level and their rhythms and all of that.

So that's the reason. Whether it's great or not, it's great for us.

Q. How important is pace of play in this series, considering Utah was one of the slowest teams in the league, and now you're going to one of the fastest?
MIKE D'ANTONI: You just have to concentrate on certain things. We've got to get back. We can't turn it over, which is even more important. We're playing against a championship team and they'll try to take advantage of everything. We control our pace, they control their pace. They want to play fast just means we better get back fast and we better be ready for them.

I don't think it changes a whole lot. I think they have to play that way. That's the best they can play that way, which is good, obviously. And we have our pace, which is a little bit different, but it's what suits us. And they play to their style.

More than that, I don't know. I can tell you after the game. But they're going to try to impose their will, we'll try to impose our will and the team that's more successful will win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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