Mike D'Antoni: You Can't Stop Warriors, but 'They're Not Gonna Stop Us Either'

Not that it should be a surprise based on his history, but Mike D'Antoni's plan to beat the Golden State Warriors is to simply outscore them. 

The Houston Rockets coach gave his thoughts on facing the defending champions Thursday.

"You're not gonna stop them. It's just not gonna happen," D'Antoni said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. "They're not gonna stop us either. Should be fun."

D'Antoni, who has employed fast-paced systems with an offensive focus in stops with the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, had a similar approach in his first year with the Rockets last season. Houston finished second in the league with an average of 115.3 points per game, although the 109.6 points allowed per game ranked 26th in the NBA.

It was enough to earn the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and a trip to the conference semifinals before losing in six games to the San Antonio Spurs.

However, the team added nine-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who could help the offense even more by finding top scorers like James Harden, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and others. After leading the league in three-pointers last year, the approach could be similar this time around.

Of course, it will always be difficult for anyone in the NBA to keep up with the Warriors, which led the NBA with 115.9 points per game last season and return four All-Stars in the starting lineup. Per Odds Shark, Golden State sits at 5-8 favorites to win another title this season.

With the Rockets entering the season with the fourth-best odds to win it all at 12-1, though, there is at least some faith the dynamic offense will be enough to bring home a championship.