When I saw "Grade Ime Udoka," my immediate reaction was D. Then I noticed it was a bumped thread, and saw my initial grade had been C-. Too stubborn, and apparently no ability to scheme offense whatsoever. That we're over halfway thru the season and still haven't successfully integrated Sheppard and Durant into the offense, either individually or together, is beyond comprehension. He either doesn't have the attention of his players, or else his players are stupid or incompetent. How hard is it to insist on crisp passing, movement without the ball, movement on inbounds plays, focus at the free-throw line?... His rotations consistently put his team at a disadvantage. They're so bad that he's routinely accused of deliberately sabotaging the team, holding grudges, playing favorites, even rigging games. Finally, I''m not too fired up about our roster construction. Supposedly he played a key role in that, too. He might be in the upper half of NBA coaches, but maybe not. As things stand right now, I'll go with a grade of D. Still plenty of time for a course correction, but it'll take some introspection on Ime's part.
I still think he's a good coach, but I don't think he is handling this roster very well. Having said that, there's still time to make some changes and I hope that they do because this current group doesn't look particularly special. He lost 60 percent of his starting lineup. Adaptations need to be made all around, including, maybe even especially, with the coaching. He needs to do better with what he has to work with, even if it's not an ideal group right now.
Feel like an echo but i'll say it again: Reed hasn't signed an extension yet & Rockets aren't the Dodgers. Although..... Dodgers get 66 million/year extra until 2039 because they declared bankruptcy? Quants, run the numbers!
I feel like Udoker instilled the gist of his plans in his first 2 years and he just coasted and scowled the rest of the way with KD. Nothing new and innovative. A hardworking, rebounding, superstar led team but inflexible.
Ime is the quintessential player's coach. Doc Rivers 2.0. Needs a rainman offensive assistant and a top 5 shooting coach to be special.
D for me as well. Underachieving with this roster and the close losses (too many to count this season) were more a reflection of bad coaching and lineup rotations rather than player mistakes. Would be nice if we could do another updated vote to reflect this (initially voted A-)
A for setting a different culture, mentality, mindset. B for saying b**** C for results D for overall coaching E for overvaluing effort and being inconsistent with it F for maturity
B- Ime will keep a team playoff relevant, but never championship winning. Has no offensive chops and tries to cover up for it by pushing his team to play harder on defense. Prove me wrong Ime.
