It is the players fault. Udoka is a great coach and doesn’t preach what occurred last night (turnovers, fouls, bad shots, etc.). As much as I dislike Smith, not sure Amen should be a PF. Turns us back into small ball which always fails in the NBA.
Defense. Good Lord. I watched from section 108 while Sacramento scored at will. At one point in the game they were at 63% from 2pt range. Granted, lot had to do with the aforementioned "defense" making Valanciunas look like prime Anthony Davis, but the Kings' guards knew: just take it to the basket. Good things will happen for us
We’ve been slipping as teams adjust to the us and the season takes a toll. I don’t think Ime is the problem, as CF would be clamoring for a defensive identity if we were constantly losing on that end. I still maintain it’s a talent and roster issue as we are still trying to figure out and evaluating our players. I believe Amen has become the most promising player this year but still plenty of season.
We were the hardest playing team in the first half of the season. There must be reasons why the effort of the same bunch of players fell off a cliff like this.
I wish I could like this post more than once!! This is the 2nd time Ive disagreed with Ime. The other time was electing to start FVV. Why does he think FVV deserve that type of respect after being out a MONTH? You can not replace on the team what Jabari brings, plus it sets the tone of the game, which showed against the Kings. FVV should have come off the bench, his pace of play KILLED the Rockets momentum ALL night. Amen and Jalen built a repore when Fred was out....FRED KILLED ALL OF THAT IN ONE NIGHT.
I have no idea why people want to resign FVV. He’s on the downside of his career and he’s just not impressive. There are so many better PG options out there.
Ime's decision making lately has been killers; 1) Not starting Jabari 2) Starting FVV after a month off. 3) Benching Cam (No pop off the bench) All of these have lead to them being flat
It is defense that is the problem - Sengun is fading away in the paint on D, while they midrange us to death. DD
Same reason we 'mysteriously' went 6-16 middle of last season. Udoka criticizes their effort even when they're leading the league in effort (first half of season). They were a top 2 defense and best rebounding team in 20 years and he just couldn't stop nitpicking and avoiding blame. He ignores what they need, never takes responsibility for anything himself unlike other good coaches and throws people under the bus even sometimes when it's highly debatable if it's their fault or his. These types of coaches lose their voice in the locker room eventually. You have to maintain credibility. He's not acting like a leader of men sometimes. Your word has to be your word and if you want loyal soldiers you have to act like the leader in public and criticize whatever you want privately except in extreme situations. Being hard nosed doesn't mean you have to avoid responsibility and constantly **** on your guys publicly. Great coaches make mistakes, he's literally pretended like he's perfect this season and not a single loss was on him. How?? He's too over the top with this stuff, these players weren't born in the 80's. He has smarter players than that AND they have shown themselves capable of being the toughest and hardest working team in the NBA. Maybe if it was some weak minded young team he could make that excuse but when you know as a team you're tough and hardworking and everyone else in the NBA and in the media knows it too - what's going to happen when your boss is the only one who can't see it? This team before the all star break was breaking down with fatigue from outworking everyone in the NBA and increasing injuries. From applying the most labor intensive offense of all time, the one he said doesn't need any shooters at the last 2 trade deadlines. They were dragging themselves on the court playing through injuries. He kept acting like they're weak. The cherry on top was him coming out in a post game interview and fantasizing about the player who just hit a dagger against us. Wtf? He sat there and questioned whether they're telling the truth about being exhausted from working harder than everyone else while having injuries simultaneously. The team honestly must have felt confused and somewhat betrayed with their leader out of control. After 1 week rest we buried that guy he was dreaming about (Edwards). Eventually that criticism will sour and the team won't listen to him the same. Has happened every single season of his career thus far, impossible to blame this on our guys. It's his pattern. Our guys had an amazing first half then there were lots of injuries and we dipped. This is normal we're not a 60-win team to be able to absorb losing starters. Next man up is a mentality not a guarantee, most great teams dip when they have injuries. We just got almost everyone back and trying a new starting lineup. What's Ime so mad about? Isn't it logical we'll quickly build chemistry and get back to winning? Honestly, it's time for the guy who doesn't shy away from dishing out accountability to hold himself accountable. Even if his assistant was running the team, now that we're healthy we're going to be fine after shaking off some rust for a game or two. It has nothing to do with his clapping and whining. We need early season strong and put-together Ime back. These guys don't need a micromanager they need a leader now. They are outgrowing him at the moment.
I don't disagree with you. And I've had my share of criticism of Udoka. But I'm giving him some slack because of the undeniable results, at least the results of last season and the first half of this season. When they hired him, I was wary about whether he would hold himself accountable because of the disgrace he did in Boston. That's kind of a personality red flag. But he did a great job changing the crappy culture left behind by Silas, demanding the youngsters to play the right way. And fans forgot his warts. Coaches who can only harp on effort, physicality, competitiveness will eventually be tuned out by the players. You don't just put demands on the players. You need to show them that you are working your tail off to find ways to help them succeed. I have no idea if he works very hard off the scene. I'll let the players decide. I think the players we have are mostly good character guys and are hungry to do well.
My wife and I have attended losses before. This is the one game we left thinking we need to buy chicken at Randall's deli as often as possible to make up for the money we just wasted. Watching Amen disappear because FVV's return robbed him of aggression---and the ball---was painful. Watching the Kings turn the Rockets into a JV team on defense was painful. Watching the team say, "Let's feed Alpi all game as much as possible because Sabonis pulled a hammy" (or whatever happened) "and watch Alpi carry the team AND take a s*** at the same time (defense, free throws)........was painful. (God**mn, Sengun, QUIT CHASING THE GUARD AND LEAVING VALUNCIANAS! Valuncianas after that game must have said to reporters, "Oh, yeah, I didn't feel like the 3rd center on the roster anymore. I felt........like a king." (Smiles.) "Get it? A 'king', King, get it? Small k, big K?"
I also agree with you that overall he's been excellent for our development. Indispensable even. Just needs to develop a little more depth of skills and charismatic leadership. Ime is walking into an old re-run right now. Defense-only coach thinks a superstar will solve all his problems only to get fired when that superstar goes to management and complains about the unnecessarily difficult game plan. Has happened a million times. He can bandaid it with a superstar but he can't run away from needing to eventually develop those things. That's if we ever even get this mythical superstar anyway.
He is still a Postseason champion albeit a 6th man......he has the most Postseason experience. I think they will lean on that this year but I can imagine that he should be traded or let go in 1 or 2 seasons.
