Harden, D'Antoni hope Rockets regain top form
The Houston Rockets are desperate to rediscover their best form against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA playoffs.
After losing Saturday's game three to still carry a 2-1 series lead, Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni and shooting guard James Harden both felt the team needed to rediscover their rhythm.
"I'd say [the past] couple months we haven't played really well," D'Antoni said, via ESPN.com.
"That's why I was worried the whole time about resting guys, doing this, getting out of rhythm. [People say], 'It doesn't really mean a whole lot.' Ehhhh, it does.
"Anyway, we are where we are. We'll be fine. We'll be OK."
D'Antoni expressed concern over resting starters following the team's 11-game winning streak ending earlier this month.
The Rockets have been struggling to score at the same rate they did in the regular season, and Harden thinks it is time to get it together.
"It's been a long time," Harden said of the team being in a good rhythm. "It's been a long time, but tomorrow [game four] is the perfect opportunity for it.
"It's pretty simple: play hard the entire game. Shots are going to be made, shots are going to be missed, but I think defensively as long as our focus level is there every possession, it doesn't matter about the offense. Defensively, we'll be good enough."
Harden and Chris Paul have each had big games so far this series, but they have not clicked on the same night. Houston's ability to attack teams from a variety of different ways made them so dangerous in the regular season. Harden believes they still have it and will regain their best form soon.
"We've kind of like traded off, right?" Harden said. "We've just got to get a rhythm. It's not necessarily just me and Chris. We're good enough to get enough to get our shot going and get our rhythm going at any point in any game.
"We've just got to make sure we're rallying everybody else around us and making sure that they're in good spirits and always confident in their shot. ... So we're good. We're real good."