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Ime needs an offensive assistant

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Plowman, Apr 21, 2025 at 8:14 AM.

  1. Reeko

    Reeko Member

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    SL has 2 complete non-shooters in Amen and Sengun…2 weak shooters in FVV and Jalen…and then Dillon Brooks

    nobody on the perimeter can generate good offense for themselves and others

    team can’t even make free throws…they were the worst free throw shooting team in the league a full percentage point behind the 29th ranked team…they went 11-20 last night

    y’all want a coach to turn sh*t and piss into iced tea

    Ime’s offense might be a problem, but the bigger problem by far is the personnel
     
  2. dobro1229

    dobro1229 Member

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    I'm sure it was more of a group decision than just Ime but point taken. Yes, they chose personnel, and opted for FVV over Harden for a number of reasons. As I said, after this series we'll have plenty of time to debate if Stone, and Co. should have made a move for the stars that were available over the past couple seasons, and I guess you can include Harden in that discussion.

    HOWEVER... I will point out that if you are talking not just about all-stars with regular season success, and that aforementioned "Clutch Gene"... you could make a case that given Harden's horrible playoff blunders he is also lacking that same "Clutch gene" that Jalen and Sengun might or might not have as well... at least yet.

    Jimmy Butler, and Kevin Durant... those are probably better players to critique Stone for not going and getting when they had the chance this past year. Jimmy Butler especially.
     
  3. StephenAdams

    StephenAdams Member

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    Oook chris broussarded
     
  4. JW86

    JW86 Member

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    It’s kind of crazy we’ve had stubborn coaches ever since Adelman left: McHale, D’Antoni and now Udoka.
     
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  5. dobro1229

    dobro1229 Member

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    What specifically do you disagree with? I don't get the Broussard +r****ded mashed up correlation. If you think I'm wrong, tell me why.
     
  6. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    FVV is the oc. He's supposed to see the off tape adjustments GS made and teach the youngins.
    It's worked pretty damn well when you consider our expectations coming into this season.

    It's only one game. We will see how much they'll learn against the golden bois
     
  7. xiki

    xiki Member

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    An O-assistant or
    - - someone who can generate his own O from the backcourt
    &
    - - someone who is a knockdown 3pt sniper who can also play reasonable D
    ?
     
  8. Plowman

    Plowman Member

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    Both? :D

    Yeah, a closer.

    Hmmm
     
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  9. MacNYao

    MacNYao Member

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    Can we not get sets/plays where we utilise Apli and Jalen more effectively? I get it that the opposing denfese makes it hard for them to get the ball, but isnt that what happens to every other teams leading scorers, the defense makes it harder for them to get the ball? So why cant we counter the opposing teams tactics?
     
  10. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    I’ve been training my entire god **** mother****ing life for this **** job. Who the **** do I punch and laugh at to start, ****-******* losers?
     
  11. Hemingway

    Hemingway Member
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    Not sure an assistant is the answer, unless he’s given rotation responsibilities. Maybe Ime just needs more experience. He is obviously a good motivator and a good defensive coach. But his situational decisions are perplexing. Going back to his starting lineup to close the game in game 1 was absolutely mind-boggling stupid. Even the most ardent Ime supporters have got to see that shortcoming. Stone needs to remove FVV to take away Ime’s crutch. Make him become a better decision maker or move on
     
  12. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist

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    Yes it's obvious, anyone who says it's a superstars issue didn't watch the Celtics-Warriors Finals. Ime lost that Finals to a team with fewer superstars and his team outshot the Warriors from 3.

    Anyone who says coaching doesn't matter just needs to see Atkinson win COTY with a team that was already very good last season. Where you put players and how often they get the ball is a massive difference maker. The best teams in the NBA have a net rating of 2 to 8ppg. If you don't think a coach can tank/raise a net rating by 4ppg you really don't understand basketball.

    Two bigs on the floor is a cheat, anyone can do it - doesn't require any ingenuity. In this era, to have two bigs on the floor, still only one player on the floor should be a non-shooter.

    The difficulty with Ime is he's an egotistical person obviously from what we know about his personality, and then his 36 year old assistant took over his job and bested him. Mazzulla kept everything useful from Ime's defense because it's easy to copy, and then he actually went to work on the offense. Two of Ime's favorite players were shipped out in order for the Celtics to win a title. The toughest 3 guys on the roster in fact in Grant Williams, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams were out.

    So now good luck trying to convince him to trust an extremely talented assistant who has the chops to be a HC in the near future. Everything Ime tries to do today is suspiciously the exact opposite of what Mazzula would do. The guys he's hired as assistants are all his best friends. It's a little clique-ish what's going on but to be honest we needed him for this phase of the rebuild. That stuff was the least of our worries but now that we're in the playoff picture the details will start to matter and the other half of the court will matter a lot.

    What this situation requires is a man to man talk with Udoka. I'm not sure Stone has the ability to do it charismatically, powerfully and respectfully. So I think the most likely outcome is that Udoka forces an overpay on a trade this summer, subsequently we still don't perform well in the playoffs (like Celtics vs Warriors) and then Udoka is in the hot seat the following summer. Then we'll get a coach who will use Udoka's defense and improve the offense, then we'll be in business. I hope instead Udoka just steps outside the box for a second and realizes there's nothing wrong with someone helping him and in the real world if we want to reach the pinnacle we have to share the stage with talented people.
     
    #32 Mathloom, Apr 22, 2025 at 3:43 AM
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2025 at 11:36 AM
    MettaWorldPete and Plowman like this.
  13. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    I said it in the past. I'm saying it again.

    There is not much difference between a "good" coach and a "great" coach. Every coach has strengths and weaknesses. There's no coach (or extremely few) who is good at every situation. That's why even good coaches who have done well get fired when the team situation changes. But there's a huge difference between a good coach and a bad coach. So the goal isn't finding a great coach. The goal is avoiding a bad coach.

    Udoka is clearly not a bad coach. And he is good at molding young players and setting team culture. That's how he could turn this young team around in just two years. But he's not good at every situation. Good leaders understand their own limitations and find complementary helps. I hope Ime does that.

    Also, pretty much every coach gets tuned out by players after a while, maybe 2 or 3 years. Young players may tune in longer. The "play harder" type of coaches will get tuned out by vets. We'll see.
     
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  14. Newlin

    Newlin Member

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    I think we have 14 assistant coaches. Pretty sure some are offensive coaches.
     
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  15. RB713

    RB713 Member

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    What about that Silas guy? I hear he taught Luka and Curry everything. Lol.
     
  16. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    Not gonna happen. Ime would essentially be hiring his potential replacement. He would probably take another job somewhere else
     
  17. robbie380

    robbie380 ლ(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿ლ)
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    I’d settle for 2 guards that can shoot
     
  18. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    The skillset needed for coaching defense is different than what works for offense. Offense is about confidence and precision plays. Defense is 80% hard intensity and 20% fundamentals. Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Ime Udoka are defensive-first coaches. Mike D'Antoni, Steve Nash, Steve Kerr are offensive-minded coaches. Van Gundy and Udoka's styles are more the disciplinarian approach -- this can be harmful to shooting... as I believe shooters benefit from more of a free flowing, loose approach (high confidence). Ime also prioritizes playing time based on defensive effectiveness. This has held back Sheppard and Whitmore's playing time.

    The solution is a BALANCED APPROACH. If FVV and Jalen Green aren't shooting, then put in Sheppard and Whitmore! There is nothing to lose and we have to find a spark.
     
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  19. Hemingway

    Hemingway Member
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    We definitely need to make a move or 2 this summer. Whether it’s a blockbuster or some peripheral moves to get more shooters. The best move we can make is to remove FVV from this team. Every change to the rotation that Ime has made was predicated by injuries. Just like Ime needs to adjust to the roster he is given, the GM needs to adjust to his head coach’s shortcomings and put him in a position to succeed. Giving Ime the option to start FVV again next year, would be an extremely poor decision by the GM. Hopefully experience will allow Ime to become a better bench coach, but personnel moves by the GM giving him more options could help move him along.
     
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  20. maw7079

    maw7079 Member

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    He needs to swallow his pride and play Cam, stop trying to bury the kid. Cam should’ve been being developed like they were trying to develop Jalen green, which is a dead end.
     

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