Ime Udoka on Rockets OT loss to Warriors, Alperen Sengun's struggles

After thinking about it, it seems to me that Ime is trying to force Alpi to change his game, and Alpi isn't fully doing what Ime is trying to force him to do, and that's why Ime then punishes him by not playing him in the fourth.

It doesn't seem to be a performance issue to me, more of a "you play the new role I want you to play, or you don't play at all" kind of issue.

 

Reed Sheppard can run the point and play off guard as well on the offensive end of the court.

 

I still don't understand those who justify a player's poor performance based on the argument that other players had a worse performance. It's a sign of supreme stupidity.
Sengun played terribly badly. And Udoka, who knows more about this sport than all of us who write here combined, benched him for a reason, period.
It seems that the solution to justify poor performances is to always blame the coach.
Just because Sengun had a bad game doesn't make him any less important to this team. But stop with this crap.

 

Can you quantify that? The stats (counting, advanced, etc.) do not confirm what you are saying.

 

This isn't supreme stupidity, it's you missing the point. Nobody is trying to justify it based on other players performances. The reason to bring this up is because this is a coach who prides himself on holding players accountable and treating them equally. If that's going to be your calling card as a coach, then why are other players who (seemingly) played much worse still given huge minutes? Why aren't they benched as well? Benching players who play poorly can definitely be an effective coaching strategy, but you lose a lot of credibility if you play favorites. You can't have some guys who are above the law.

 

How about we take a bet on when Sengun will get benched and not return to the game?
I’m guessing it’ll happen around the 9-minute mark of the 2nd quarter.

I support Ime fully with his decisions, we are lucky to have him, especially when he destroys Sengun's confidence.

 

I think eventually yes. Right now when he runs the point he is just a more conservative FVV with worst defense. His time will come, but not before we consolidate assets. There are not enough minutes for our developing core. It should have been taken care of in the off-season, but hopefully it doesn’t turn into another lottery season by waiting too long to make the obvious adjustments. We will see. I think we largely see the same future for the Rockets, just a little difference in approach.

 

Telltale sign of a terrible coach

 

Why do you guys hate Ime so much? He won't leave our team without fully purifying the draft picks we had. Don't you see the amazing chemistry between everyone? it's an absolute ball movement bonanza.

 

Uh, you still didn't acknowledge Alpi leaving the beanch early and going to the locker room. If anyone else did that, I'm sure they would have been lit up on this board.

 

I still think Ime is a great coach. Also, I am just speculating...trying to make sense of what he is doing.

 

Good you admit he is great. The more he benches Sengun, the better his greatness is. He will be soon considered to be HoF.

 

I am not saying that's what he's doing either. In the event that you're right though, then no, that's obviously silly for him to do that.

Great coaches don't tell great players to change their game. They accentuate great players' skill sets and facilitate a cohesive game plan around those stars. It is clear Sengun is not playing up to his abilities so far this season, that's fair to say, but doesn't change the fact that Ime is failing him with how he's being deployed. There isn't a single player in the league of his importance who is yanked around like this.

 

Silas and Ime both benched Sengun. We can change coaches but it seems like this is a recurring issue that maybe the fans don't understand. People on clutchfans aren't NBA coaches for a reason.

 

Could Alpi, Dillion Brooks, Cam Whitmore, and draft picks get us Giannis?

 

I didn't even notice this in the game, so I just went back and looked to see what happened. The best timeline I can give is this - Sengun played normal minutes in the first quarter, then was seen on the bench at the end of the first and start of the second. He got brought in for exactly one possession at about 8 minutes, he caused a turnover from a tipped pass, and then was subbed out immediately. He was still there on the bench from 8 minutes up until about 5 minutes, and then there was a TV timeout. When the broadcast came back from the TV timeout, he wasn't there. I don't know if something was said during the timeout, or if there was any kind of altercation. I don't think we'll ever know what happened, Udoka played dumb in the presser even though he obviously knows what's going on. So I think they want to keep it in house. It is worth noting he was back in the third quarter, and stayed until the game was over, through the end of overtime. So not quite a KPJ leaving the game type situation, he was only gone for about five minutes. But still not a good look.

 

He did play well in the 3rd imo and then got benched for the 4th as well which makes it even more interesting.

 

Maybe he just needed to go to the bathroom.

 

Small Ball Lineup needed

PG Reed Sheppard
SG Jalen Green
SF Amen Thompson
PF Tari Eason / Cam Whitmore
C Jabari Smith Jr.

Alperen Sengun needs to be put on Injured List. Can't move laterally on defense or switch on defense, can't dunk or shot block. Back Injury all those times his Rookie Year falling on the floor, taking charges is coming back.

Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks both are slow laterally and Fred especially looks out of shape.