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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 25, 2018

Mike D'Antoni

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Tell us about Chris [Paul] being out?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Well, obviously, it's not something that we wanted. I hate it for him, above all. He's practically won us the last two games. But it's a great opportunity for other guys, and we have plenty to choose from. We'll be ready.

Q. Is there a shot he plays Game 7?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I don't know. You have to ask him. I think officially we'll re-evaluate it. So we'll look at it.

Q. Eric [Gordon] will step into the starting lineup?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Eric Gordon will start, yeah.

Q. How special is it to bring a guy like that up?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Well, he's a starter. That's what he does. We've played a lot of games like this, so it's not uncharted territory. We're ready for it.

Q. How does it change what you guys do defensively?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Nothing. We'll play the exact same way. It's just one other option that is pretty good, obviously, and we don't have that. But other guys are going to have to play well. We have to play better. We have to shoot the ball better. It's different things, but it will not change anything we do or how we do it.

Q. Will this extend the rotation past that seven?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Probably not because it's just one more guy, right. So we'll have to replace him. Again, I hope I explain this right, and I'm trying to. Again, I think I heard -- I shouldn't listen to white noise, but I do sometimes. It just seeps in. Excuse me. But we play seven guys, and only because the sixth guy takes all those minutes up. I could have my sixth guy play 10 minutes and have the 10th guy play 10 minutes, and hey, I played 10 guys.

But the main guys are going to play what they're playing -- same as Golden State. They have four guys that played over 40 minutes. We had two guys play over 40 minutes. So we shorten the rotation -- whether I go eight; I might go eight or nine tomorrow, just to see. But it won't change the workload for James or Eric or Clint [Capela] or Trevor [Ariza] or P.J. [Tucker].

It will change the workload, maybe, of Gerald [Green]. He might get more minutes, maybe not. Luc [Mbah a Moute] will probably play. We'll see how many minutes and go from there.

Q. Could you see Ryan [Anderson] getting some minutes now?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I could see anybody getting minutes. We'll just have to wait and see.

Q. Do you think your team's ability to shake off things all season and just deal with things, do you think they're going to be able to absorb this blow?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Oh, yeah, without a doubt. I don't have a doubt. They see the challenge. It's been a challenge; it is a challenge. Whether CP's there or not, it's a heck of a challenge, and they're up to it. They're looking forward to it.

Q. You've talked a lot about Chris' career and how he has carried teams but never as far as you guys are even now. For this to happen at this time, how much of a gut punch is that knowing him and what he's sort of devoted to this season and to his career?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yeah, it's going to be tough. I can only imagine what he's feeling right now. But he'll bounce back from this, and we'll get him back. Hopefully the team rallies around and, hey, win one for him, get him back and get him where he wants to go -- and a lot of people want to go, not just him. But it's part of the game and you just have to deal with it.

Q. Did he have an MRI?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I think so, yeah.

Q. Last night P.J. said that grit is in this team's DNA. Outside of the mechanics and adjustments, how important is that?
MIKE D'ANTONI: It's the whole fiber of what we do. It's the most important thing. Without it, you're a pretty nice-looking team and you play well at times, but you don't beat a team like we beat last night without grit and determination, and going on to the next play and not worrying about what happened. Being able to dig in for two straight games and holding them in the 90s is incredible, with guys that just continually show their resilience and their want to win.

Q. Is Chris going with you to Oakland?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yes.

Q. I know this is not a game you would ever reference, but a year ago you played a team in Game 6 [the San Antonio Spurs] that was without two of their star players and their best guy.
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yeah, I'm just getting over that. Now you want to put me back on the couch for a while?

Q. Well, is it an example that teams do sometimes rally around a guy going down?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yeah, definitely. You could draw all kinds of references. It's not something we want, for Chris especially, or us. But it's something we can deal with very easily. We'll use the motivation that, OK, this is not going to be easy. It never was.

Until they are dead, we're not thinking, Oh, we're in pretty good shape. No, we're not in good shape. We're there, and now we've got to get over the finish line.

Q. These last two games being able to execute down the stretch, what do you think has been the key overall to convert the plays?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Well, you get two Hall of Fame point guards out there on the floor -- that helps. They've been in that situation a thousand times. I think the biggest thing is defensively we've just executed to stop them more than we've really executed just to score every time. So it's been kind of a slugfest, and I expect it to continue that way. We have guys that can D people up and change the way they play.

Q. Eric Gordon has had some rough shooting quarters, but the last two games in the fourth quarter he's made big shots for you. What do you have to have as a player to kind of embrace that and forget sort of the struggles that you've had?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Obviously, a short memory helps. But I think he's confident to know that that one didn't go in, the next one will. It's like James. James missed 11. I'm expecting him to make the next five. They don't worry about it. They know that's how we play.

I was just telling them again today, we want to get up between 40 and 50 threes. If you make them, you make them. There is nobody out there trying to miss them. So don't worry about it. Get them up, get a good shot and let's go on to the next one. I think he has that mentality down to a science.

Q. Has the time since he last played helped Luc physically?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I don't know. It's only been a few days, so you'll have to ask him more. But I'm sure he's champing at the bit to get in there to play. You know what, the series are weird. Things turn and you think you're out, and then you're back in. It's a great opportunity for him. I'm sure he's up to the task and he'll do the best he can do.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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