Ime Udoka after Rockets fall to Thunder in NBA Cup 12/14/2024

our offense is mchalesque and instead of playing aggressive push the pace we’re tentative dribbling on the perimeter burning shot clock and passing up easy shots inside the arc. this is all on the coach

 

Hard game to watch. I loved how we competed but by the second half we couldn’t expect for the yield to be that good on our defensive results.

Jalen had a couple good stretches too, but seemed to lack conviction

 

Jack McVeigh can shoot, but he don’t play.

 

We've improved a lot, but have a long way to go. Need shooters that will actually spread the floor-- the way Alpi was getting swarmed in the paint last night was frustrating to watch. Is Landale available? McVeigh?

It's time for Reed and Cam to get some RGV shots up, develop some confidence, come back and contribute.

Any news on Adams? Hope he's ok...

 

Spot on about Adams. Ime had warning too, as the first few shots he didn't close out on didn't drop. Where has Landale been? People forget how well he played last March, it wasn't just Green.

 

Sign another center to backup Sengun.

 

We have Jock, he’s been playing well, which is why this obsession with Adams is so frustrating.

 

You've watched him this year right? He's the last man on the bench for a reason

 

LOL. Can you get real?

Nothing we can reasonably do will put us in OKC trajectory. OKC is a cheat rebuild nobody else has done it nobody else will do it in the future.

Tell me apart from OKC which other team has rebuilt as quickly and as well as the Rockets? There is none. That's because the La Clipper trade gave OKC one of the best returns in NBA history, without that kind fo king's ransom falling on you where you get 5+ picks and SGA on top you won't get a roster like OKC.

The only chance we have of beating OKC depends on luck, times when players like Chet get injured or they have a bad time and miss all their shots. That's the only way of beating OKC right now. There is also the money issue, in 2 years Chet and J-Dub will be up for max extensions let's see how OKC handles it then. Apart from those you can't really beat OKC. No one can. The only team that comes close are the Celtics but that's because they robbed the Nets and Sixers blind like how OKC robbed LA Clippers.

Dumb short sighted trades will just set us back, not forward. Look at Minny Wolves, Sixers or NY Knicks if you want to see what happens to teams who rush.

 

You can’t be serious. He’s played a total of 21 minutes and taken 11 shots. All in garbage time. You can’t judge anyone off of that.

This team desperately needs someone that can consistently knock down a shot. I would give everyone on the team a chance.

 

Giving the 12th man more playing time is not a serious solution to the team’s shortcomings.

 

So it’s hard to imagine Ime making any changes to the starters given our success this season and the lack of pressure to really contend, but I would try Jalen off the bench to jumpstart his play. I dont think we have anything to lose, I think it would be good for him, and Amen needs more minutes. I get that we don’t want to rock the boat, but what if Jalen found his game off the bench and Amen continued to improve at the exponential rate he’s been improving. Wouldn’t that be a win win?

I get that we still have a shooting problem, but there’s nothing we can really do to change that in season.

 

We are definitely not going to beat OKC anytime soon with this current lineup. We have the right complimentary players, coaching, attitude and defensive mindset but we just don't have that one star who can carry us through crunch time. Jalen Green is not that guy and never will be. Not only is he a subpar shooter, he make terrible reads that usually end up in turnover or just missed opportunity. And he sux on defense. His ceiling is Zach Lavine who the Bulls can't even give away. This summer we need to trade him for some real assets that can help us win, even if it's 37 year old butler.

 

What about adding the backup center minutes to Bari’s plate, and playing Tari and Amen more? And then what about aggregating some of our expirings and maybe a draft pick into a legit guard we feel good about rolling with for the rest of this season and next? Figure out what to do with Jalen and Fred in the offseason.

 

Our offensive game plan is crash the offensive board. When we grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds and missed all three times, I knew we were doomed.

 

Crashing the boards is not actually an offensive game plan, it's more like putting a band aid on it. In reality we have the 2nd worst TS%, 5th worst in FT%, 3rd worst in 3PT%.

The game plan should be better. Our roster is better than the 2nd or 3rd least offensively talented team. The Wizards are letting Alex Sarr act like Kevin Durant and their offense is more efficient than ours.

Hopefully we work on this soon, because the problem with the rebounding is it's not sustainable. No one can go playoff-intensity for 82 games and the playoffs.

 

I was being sarcastic. Of course it's not a game plan. But Udoka never mentions it. You can't be "soft" and "not physical" and grab 19 offensive rebound (against OKC's 39 defensive rebounds). That's 1/3 of available rebounds on that end. It's amazingly elite effort.

And our defense held them to 41 points in the first half, their lowest of the season. We still lost by double digits. That's the dead horse we've been beating for I don't know how long. Without better offense, this team is not going anywhere.

 

There is a long list of NBA players that were at one time bench warmers that became very good starters.

 

We need a closer...we don't have a clutch player on the team who we can get the ball to for automatic buckets in tight games in the 4th quarter...especially in the playoffs, but heck this can be our evaluation season to clarify who we want to build our team around...it's looking more like Sengun and if that's the case, we'll need more complimentary players around him, including better 3 point shooters and a stretch 4 who is a rim protector.

 

Jabari is coming around to be really good in both areas. It is up to the coach to take advantage of his skills. Unfortunately, Ime has not shown that he is a capable offensive coach, so he needs to hand over the offensive reins to a coach that has the capability or the FO needs to hire one.