Rockets' D'Antoni Feels Some NBA Players Will Play Better Without Fans' Pressure

Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni sees some advantages to playing in empty arenas, as he explained on a conference call Monday:

The Rockets are one of 22 teams that will restart the 2019-20 NBA season in Orlando, Florida, after four months away because of the coronavirus. All games will be played at the Walt Disney World Resort without fans, giving no team a home-court advantage for the eight seeding matchups or the ensuing playoffs.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had initially ruled out the idea of playing without fans when it was first broached in March.

"We play games without the fans? Nah, that's impossible," James said, per Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. "I ain't playing if I ain't got the fans in the crowd. That's who I play for. I play for my teammates, and I play for the fans. That's what it's all about. So if I show up to an arena and there ain't no fans in there, I ain't playing. They can do what they want to do."

James and the rest of the NBA will now have to adjust to playing in an empty arena.

The Rockets are among the teams that could benefit from the adjustment. Currently tied for the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, they would likely be the lower seed in each playoff round unless they move up the standings.

The regular system also hasn't worked for Houston, which has come short of its goal of winning a title in recent years. The squad earned the No. 1 seed for the 2018 playoffs but still lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games.

James Harden led the team to over 50 wins five times in a six-year stretch but has never carried the Rockets to the NBA Finals.

Taking the fan pressure off him and Russell Westbrook, who has also suffered early playoff exits in the past few years, could lead to more success this summer.