Its getting there. A few louder voices have been on the "fire Ime" train for a while now which seemed rash. And it is. But the disenchantment of his style seems palpable. This type of coach is a dinosaur in the modern NBA. How many are left? Kidd? Ime? Anyone else? This Thibs/JVG thing just doesn't work.
I'm not there yet .... mainly because I realize this team is playing with a handicap from day 1. From the moment we heard FVV was going to be out and they didn't get a point guard, this is what I expected. Credit to the team that they are still "in the hunt" with such a handicap. That's not saying I think FVV is all that, just that the lack of someone with the skillset of a true point guard is absolutely necessary. I'd like to see Stone go get someone like Dosunmu but understand that the asking price may be too high and he punts.
Ime didn't just forget how to coach basketball. Yes sometimes you need to make a change when you need to shake up the locker room dynamic, and your roster cannot be changed for contract reasons. However in this case, whoever you bring in will not be able to make a bit of difference in the long run with this current roster of available players. The main change I'd like to see to the coaching and development staff would be an investment in player development over the summer. Hire the best shooting coach in the world to work with Amen, and Sengun... and the best trainer money can buy to find a way to get Reed physically capable of playing NBA defense. Maybe it also makes sense to add someone like a D'Antoni to the bench next season, and to be with the coaching staff over the summer to start looking at putting in some more robust sets... However you are talking about one or two possessions a game that could get points off of a gimmicky play. In the end, Amen, and Sengun need to be able to shoot the damn basketball, and Reed needs to be able to play NBA defense. You can't outcoach your way out of those glaring deficiencies NBA coaches execute an effective strategy against night after night.
What’s the problem? We got the Nigerian JVG? This is what many of y’all wanted. Every time there was an opening (after McHale, after D’Antoni, after Silas), “Hire JVG! Bring back JVG!” Well you got it. You got the Nigerian JVG. (*well not me, I never wanted JVG. Y’all fell in love with JVG the broadcaster. Not JVG the coach that was here, that had horrible offenses like we’re seeing now. That played his guys 40 minutes, like we’re seeing now. Hyper focused on defense, like we’re seeing now. Washed up veterans, like we’re seeing now.)
I haven't given up on him at all, but the roster needs help. The chemistry isn't there, and while it is his job to make that work, I'm not sure that he can with the pieces that he is working with. The offense is unacceptable. He shares blame in that, but it's not all on him.
He’s a good guy to bring in to change your work culture. Not ask him to crunch numbers and make the decisions for you.
Supporting Ime only works if he's winning and even then you don't feel good about yourself. Beyond the off-the-court stuff, the basketball he has shown in his 3 years just isn't a good product on the court. It's not good basketball and it is not fun to watch.
Fans are definitely turning on the coach and it’s earned. This isn’t about losses, it’s about wasting seasons. If the roster isn’t ready to win now, then play the kids and develop them. Stagnation kills excitement faster than losing ever will. the front office has done worse… imagine prioritizing DFS when we were already loaded with forwards and had a huge need for a guard help before we lost Fred Vanvleet ….AND The dude was coming off a serious injury and surgery When the perfect player was there the whole time, the guy that we still need them team NAW It’s really hard to force yourself to be a fan of this organization
My main beef with Ime since last season is that he does not utilize the talent that is available to him, and he can't find/stick with a lineup that works for the life of him. Hell, even his mentor Popovich would go deep into his bench to get the team going if things were stagnant.
No doubt Ime and his scheme or lack thereof shares part of the blame. But Ime can’t set screens and picks for the players. I watch other teams set solid screens and get guys open looks. Why can’t we? Because the scheme is bad? Ehh I don’t think that explains it fully. You don’t need a brilliant offensive coach to run pick and rolls. You need players who can run house plays. I don’t think we have those players. We have nobody who can truly handle the ball. And to make things worse, we don’t have consistent shooters to hit the shots that do become open. I don’t know how Ime can fix that with a new offensive playbook. You can’t expect these players to do algebra when they can’t do basic addition.
Agree! i think its more about Stone and the pieces he has supplied... how do u lose both FVV and Steve-O for the year - and do ZERO to try to offset it?
Ime can't draw up plays. He relies on Sengun and Durant running the offence and scoring off turnovers
Ime Udoka could certainly benefit from hiring an offensive coordinator. However, two of his three best players cannot shoot perimeter shots (Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun), nor do they take them. Also, his only options to play point guard are Amen Thompson, an inconsistent, second-year player in Reed Sheppard, Aaron Holiday and JD Davison. Teams with rim-protecting big men have realized they can sag off Amen and dare him to make open mid-range jumpers, allowing their rim protector to essentially serve as a free safety on defense. Thompson needs to play off the ball and be a screener and cutter on offense, but that requires Sheppard to handle starting point guard responsibilities. If the Rockets don’t acquire a rotation-caliber point guard or combo guard today, Rafael Stone deserves a lot more of the blame. He signed Finney-Smith and Capela before the VanVleet injury, but it’s been apparent all season the Rockets need another play making guard.
See my prediction this past summer of this when we got Durant. Its what happens when he arrives anywhere after he left GSW. Ime by pushing for Durant pushed up expectations and is causing his own downfall.
