Ime Udoka after Rockets fall to LeBron, Lakers on 3/31/2025

I feel like Jalen can get to the Donovan Mitchell level if he consistently got the the FT line. Stuff like that will move you from 21.5 ppg to 24ppg. But it requires physicality in the lane. It requires craft in the lane. Decel on your drives, pump fakes, initiating contact. That is craft. Corkscrew layups will only take Jalen so far. He can't just live on trying to outrun people. I have seen the craft from him. I have seen the physicality at times. He just has to commit to it.

 

We won what, 11 of the past 13 games?

They caught us on a back-to-back and barely won with ref help.
It's like some folks forgot all the wins we just piled up recently. We're still #2 in the west right now with an over 50+ win season pace.

 

The Rockets have had an exceptional season and that should be remembered.

Most of the flaws the Rockets have are not from an effort or coaching failure.

The Rockets being above teams that have Jokic, Doncic, James, Edwards and Morant is pretty impressive and shouldn't be forgotten.

 

Mitchell is more than a guy averaging 24 points a game, he has scored 26 a game and 28 the prior two seasons and has shown he can carry a large load in the playoffs. Having said that - I agree with you, that level is one that I think Green should shoot for and is doable with continued incremental improvement.

 

Yeah, it is just a goal to shoot for.

 

This current Rockets team doesn't win by being better at shot creation, offensive execution, and shotmaking than our opponents. We're going to be worse at those things every night against playoff teams. It is what it is.

This team wins by crushing other teams in the possession game: we're the best rebounding team in the league (one of the best offensive rebounding teams of all time), we usually win the turnover battle, and we're elite in transition and defending transition. This stuff is very powerful.

So yes, the Lakers were a little better than us in halfcourt offense. That's to be expected.

But we lost the game because they matched our offensive rebounds and had fewer turnovers than us, and so they had more offensive possessions. You can point to this being a b2b as the potential cause. We are always worse in b2b's because of our reliance on the possession game.

I think generally fans should re-orient to thinking about the outcomes of our games in terms of our strengths instead of our opponents strengths. We are at our best when our strengths (rebounding, 1v1 defense, turnovers, transition) dominate the opponents'. We lose when they don't.

 

Yes - and this is by design of the coaches because it maximizes the Rockets ability to win.

I like to look at them in columns and compare, and you are right - there are about 10 statistical categories that will tell you exactly what happened.

MDA was very good at maximizing 5-6 things that the Rockets did well, and the Rockets won 75% of their games.

 

Hot take:
Based on Udoka's coaching philosophy, Sengun will always be a defensive liability - hence why we run the double big lineup or run 2-3 Zone at times to protect Sengun's liability on defense.
Though we had a bad shooting night, our Achilles heel was exposed.
I don't see any option of upgrading from Sengun so if we don't trade the 25 Suns pick and depending on draft position, we need to draft the best available athletic Center on the board.

 

I'll offer a more reasonable take, teams are attacking Sengun literally every possession and it's hurting us and will get worse in the playoffs. Eventually Ime will need to play Uncle Jeff at center and go small. Right now Sengun's getting exposed and his fans cant keep pointing the finger elsewhere

 

I was watching the TNT overtime backboard stream so it was maybe a little misleading, but you get a good view of how elite the Rockets are at rotating and how Dillon Brooks uses footwork to make LeBron/Doncics lives difficult, as well as not committing until the last second to switch & double.

I actually thought they did a great job on defense, it's just LA has elite playmakers who were able to pass out of doubles and their guys hit corner 3's a split second before the close out could get tehre.

 

It’s amazing the game was close despite these poor decisions, and it’s amazing we won 49 by now with poor offensive guidance all over the season. Some may say we over achieved our potential, but considering our struggles in ball movement and shooting, we can actually win much more games. I wonder if Ime can find some assistance coach that can take good care of our offense game.

 

I dont think anyone is disillusioned by how this team wins right now or about what theyve accomplished this year. This is a gritty team that has stepped up and performed very well in a loaded western conference.

The question is about how this team gets to the next level and what pieces to hold on to for contending in the future.

Games like last night just give a glimpse of the caliber of players wed have to get past in multiple playoff games.

 

Jalen is our #2 option, but his shot was off all night. With Jalen struggling, FVV and Brooks created off the bounce in a #2b or 2c role. They never offer much in those areas, and the Lakers were pleased to let them try. What's missing in the Houston decision-making tree is a decisive #3 option.

The Lakers have that in spades: the star (option #1 or #2) initiates and passes to veteran shooters (#3). They take the shot or continue to pick the D apart with spacing and crisp passing.

Amen and Jabari need instruction to get the ball into spots where they can operate as a third option. They can offer much more than crashing the glass or hoisting up 3s.

 

This Lakers team is not a good matchup for us...hate to say it, but I would prefer matching up with the Warriors than the Lakers.

 

I’d prefer to avoid both teams.

 

100% agree!

 

no way. Warriors are always a bad match up - and since the Rockets like to play zone, the Warriors love to cut and get easy baskets. Hard pass on Golden State. I'll take my chances with the Lakers if it was between the two.

 

I agree, we don't do well 5v8.

 

A lot of posters have pointed we don't have a hierarchy for closing out in the last quarter. It looks like its this sometimes me sometimes you always us mentality. I would like to see this change in the playoffs.

Even if we dont have a certified go to guy, lets just assign someone or two. Jalen, Alpi, and Amen are our best offensive players. Why not put the burden on those guys to close out in the 4th quarter. Even if they dont succeed this time around, it will give them the experience to grow and get better.