Ime Udoka on Rockets lack of effort, mistakes in Miami

I can say that he was also mismatched this time.

 

Really missing Tari and Dillon’s energy.

 

He’s right, of course. The questions about Sengun? I thought Coach handled them well. Sengun looked a bit lost at times during the second half, which earned him a seat on the bench. Ime never stops teaching our young players.

 

All true, Sengun didn't shoot 5-23 though (Jalen and Jabari combined).

Expectations on Alpi are higher now, because he is the franchise player.

 

Benched Alpi for like two minutes and I thought he responded well after that. I totally agree with you on Ime, even if our guys aren't there yet they all seem to have bought in.

 

What does he think about himself?

Because he outplayed by Spoelstra as well.

 

Yes, he responded well after that. Ime definitely commands their attention.

 

Our wing defense is crap without those 2. I don't know how long we can even play 500 ball without our 2 best defenders. Frustrating to watch.

 

Please explain to us all how Udoka was outcoached by Spoelstra.

Thanks

 

Exactly Coach can't make open 3s or make good passes for his players. We had our chances to win tonight, but the Heat played better than us. The End.

 

i thought we had 7 or 8 of them

 

Here’s how:



When an opposing team has a game plan to neutralize your best player, it is your job as a coach to make adjustments and counter those schemes.

Instead, we fell right into their trap. Allowing them to dictate how we play. Jacking up contested perimeter shots, with minimal ball movement. Thankfully Fred was hot tonight but that’s a trade-off Spo will gladly take. He knew it was only a matter of time until the hot shooting would stop, and it did in the 4th.

And here’s one SIMPLE counter that wasn’t taken advantage of:



Part of this was on Sengun and his passiveness. But Ime got out-coached tonight. Tate playing all the minutes that he did? Also unacceptable.

And I’m not even a Sengun fanatic either. This is just basic winning basketball. I’m a big believer in high-percentage shots, taking advantage of mismatches, and spamming the hell out of it. The Heat had 3 mismatches defensively to exploit: Kevin Love, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson. And none got exposed. We should’ve won this game.

 

Here's the thing: As long as both Brooks and Tari are out, the Rockets are going to struggle on offense.

After burning Jabari for 40 mins and Uncle Jeff for 34 mins against the Bucks, what was Udoka supposed to do? He needed Tate's warm body on the floor.

The short-handed roster handcuffs their options on offense (and defense). IMO, we probably would have won this game with either Tari or Brooks playing and almost certainly with both.

This road trip is going to be a struggle with two irreplaceable guys out. Also, Sengun's foul trouble forced him to play matador defense. Then, when he was off the floor, the Rockets didn't have anyone that could guard Bam at all.

I'm sorry, this loss was not on Udoka. They were outmanned and were beaten by a mature team with an established identity, a deeper roster and home court advantage. Rockets are still establishing who they are and how they play. Fighting to the end and losing by 7 was about the best result possible.

EDIT: Regarding Alpi's "passiveness". He's still learning. His hesitations really drive me crazy but he's growing into an alpha attack dog. Give him some time. He's not a finished product.

 

I agree, they went away from Sengun too easily and honestly, our other players can't carry the team. They were hot in the first half and they barely managed to tie the game at half. The second half the 3s were not falling and we got blown out. We need to figure out ways to put the ball in the hands of our best player or we'll keep losing games.

 

Tough 5 road games, maybe even that Detroit game.

 

True. Ime knows Jalen is trash so he expects nothing out of him.

 

Probably has to still play him enough minutes to generate trade interest.....

 

The defense cratering over the past ~dozen games is something that can be easily fixed.

 

More handsome man:

Idris Elba or Ime Udoka?

Discuss.