SALT LAKE CITY – The idea must have seemed crazy when Mike D'Antoni came up with it, but that did not stop him. It might have been part of what he liked about it.
The Rockets were without their starting center, Clint Capela. They were without the center that would have replaced him in the starting lineup. They lacked the shooting they would have sought from Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson.
So in a matchup with Utah's inside muscle, including towering center Rudy Gobert, D'Antoni considered his remaining centers and went with none of the above. After a few minutes with P.