[Kimbell] Udoka plays highlight videos of the Rockets getting into scuffles at team meetings

I just love him so much

 

He follows it up with Balenciaga fashion show videos for the guys and JVG offensive guru plays.

@J.R.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5990739/2024/12/13/ime-udoka-rockets-nba-defense/

Ime Udoka saved the best highlights for last.

After nearly 45 minutes of in-depth Houston Rockets analysis on his pre-training-camp PowerPoint presentation, with players soaking in their coach’s messages like students in a basketball classroom inside the team’s practice facility, the montage of mayhem began.

First, it was the clip of Udoka telling LeBron James and his Lakers to “stop whining like little b—-” back on Dec. 2, 2023, when the then-first-year Rockets coach started a NSFW argument with one of the greatest players of all time that led to Udoka’s ejection. Then came the dust-up in Milwaukee on Dec. 17, 2023, when resident Rockets villain Dillon Brooks and Udoka were ejected in the final minute for their aggressive dispute of a late call. The tape of 15 separate altercations from their previous season kept running — and entertaining them all — from there.

“It’s his personality,” Rockets guard Fred VanVleet said of the presentation and Udoka’s role in it. “He’s a confrontational guy, a fighter, so it was funny to watch them all in order and see the build up. But it’s about building that identity as a group and as a team. We’re built on toughness and just not taking any s— from anybody.”

The fisticuffs weren’t the featured part of the film, though. Udoka had gone into great detail about the defensive improvements that had been made, how the Rockets went from among the league’s worst in every relevant category before his arrival to “top six,” Udoka said, in his rookie Rockets campaign.

The message, in essence, was that they needed to get even better on that end if they were going to become a perennial playoff contender. But to get there, it would require a commitment to the motto Udoka constantly preaches — “No friends on the floor” — and that was on full display during those fiery moments.

“We started to look at the frequency and the dates (of the incidents), and there was something every week from January on,” Udoka told The Athletic recently. “The broadcasters would say, ‘Here goes another dust-up with Houston. It’s becoming an every game thing now.’ So that mentality had changed. And I told the guys, ‘You have to earn the respect of the league and not take a backseat to anybody.’”

Meet the all-gas, no-brakes Rockets, this modern-day version of the “Bad Boys” Pistons that is as feisty and unapologetic a team as the league has seen in quite some time.

…

To hear the Rockets locker-room leaders tell it, it’s Udoka’s direct nature — and direction — that makes it all work. If you ever see him covering his mouth for the cameras during a break in the action, he’s likely ripping a Rockets player for a defensive mistake that simply can’t be tolerated. His candor can be caustic during postgame news conferences, too, like the Dec. 5 session in San Francisco where he said his team looked “soft or scared” after a 99-93 loss to the Warriors that would be avenged just six days later.

“It’s very rare in the NBA,” VanVleet said. “Most coaches have to dance around the egos and the fragile personalities that the NBA can bring. We’re all high-strung, emotional, egotistical, highly paid guys, so to have a coach who really just says it straight and blunt is refreshing for me, honestly. That’s the way I grew up, and that’s the way I’ve always had most of my coaches throughout my life before the NBA.

“For a young team, it’s amazing because it just sets a good … foundation for guys to grow and get better. But I would say he earns that right too. … He’s not just motherf—ing guys for no reason. He earns that relationship and that trust as a leader every day leading the group, leading the coaches, leading the franchise.”

Jeff Green, who worked with Udoka while with the Nets and signed a two-year deal with Houston in 2023, was no stranger to his style.

“He wants guys that are going to play hard,” the 38-year-old forward said. “And if you don’t, you sit down. I mean, point-blank. It’s that simple. … Guys know that, and they don’t want to get out of the game. So in order for that to happen, you have to change your approach. You have to change your ways to the game. And you have to be Houston Rockets first — no friends on the floor. And Coach Ime lives by that.”

…

Not long before Houston tipped off against the Kings in Sacramento on Dec. 3, as Stone and this reporter shared a laugh about the preseason PowerPoint that spoke volumes about Udoka’s intense personality, the team’s front-office head unknowingly jinxed the night ahead.

“It’s been pretty quiet this year,” he said.

A few hours later, after a no-call against Şengün that infuriated Udoka, he would be ejected for his profanity-laced pursuit of official John Goble late in the loss. Şengün was tossed too. Eason, who heard a heckler on his way off the floor, even started to run up a nearby ramp toward the stands before he was stopped by security. Udoka kept the chaos coming in his postgame news conference, relaying how he’d told Goble to “get some f—ing glasses.” League fines ensued for all.

But Stone, when asked about the events of that evening days later, was unbothered. Amused, even.

Just another day with these rowdy Rockets.

“I’m 100 percent comfortable with everything he’s said and done,” Stone said. “It’s understood. He ain’t gonna back up. And I don’t want him to. We all collectively deal with the consequences. But the consequences of backing up, I think, are a lot worse. So we’re going to be what we’re going to be about, the things we’re going to be about, and we’re going to stand our ground organizationally.

“Player by player, coach by coach, front-office guy, ownership — everybody. If we say we’re gonna do something, we’re gonna do it. And if you’re trying to push us around, that’s not going to happen.”

 

Is this video being released to the public?

 

I mean I LOVE Rudy but Ime is so ****ing cool. He’s a godsend

 

Please let me know when you acquire this footage

 

I would love for us to become the modern day Bad Boys Pistons - It would be good for the NBA!!!

 

Meh, tough is fine, league is soft as charmin now but I don't want to be a dirty team; however, we aren't your friends and we are going to be in your grill all night and we won't back up.

 

Let's play assemble the 15 videos.

I still want to know what Kleber said. Amen isn't just throwing an elbow for nothing.

 

Love Ime.

 

Not there yet

 

This movie and "I am number four" are guilty pleasures.

 

Vernon would be unreal on this squad. Would make Dillon look tame by comparison.

 

really don’t get why he’s not involved with our coaching staff, I get not a broadcaster lol.

 

is this why he didn't want Harden back despite being more talented than Fred? Ime either wouldn't be allowed to talk to him bluntly for long or knew Harden would not take it well and shut down mentally.

 

I’m a Houston Rockets fan from Michigan. And Ime reminds me so much of Dan Campbell and what he did for the Lions. Both coaches gave their teams “grit” as an identity. When there are 30 teams in the league you have to carve your own space/niche. I love that these young guys have bought in and are making a name for themselves. I also love that unlike our identity in the Harden era- which worked really well for the regular season- this style of ball is much better suited for the playoffs.

 

I cried just a little considering that

 

Agreed. But Ime don’t got Dream on this squad either I’ll hang up and listen. And I’m an old head (who never like my short shorts and pro keds - Gambino) and was in the building for both championships.

 

I too would like to see the Montage of Mayhem

No friends on the court