Knicks hollering at everyone's coach is pretty weird. Like, I've def been accused of being too cynical but this almost seems like fake news. That or it's wildly unprofessional desperation.
I find the level of hate for Udoka on this site to be really odd. The Rockets have vastly improved since Udoka took over. There was no culture or identity before he was coach and the organization was teetering on toxic.
I think I prefer this over a Kumbaya style of koolaid drinking. I don't think people are all over Udoka for the Culture setting part but the part that gets you from being merely good to being great...... He has done a lot of good but let's be clear here, other than those 2 years and the 1 Final appearance Udoka is not an experienced coach. He is a very good coach but he hasn't had years of experience. He is 47 and in his best years, there are for sure younger coaches.
I think it's down to some posters having a certain read on his personality that may or may not be accurate. If you think he's really stubborn and has a massive ego and is not currently a good offensive coach, then I guess I can see being negative on him as the long-term solution at head coach. You do have to be good on both sides of the ball. But to that I would say, he's definitely been great at establishing a certain team culture and defensive identity--you can see that in the product on the court--and for the personality aspects, we only really know what we see in the post-game interviews and the like, we aren't there in the locker room. I'd imagine most coaches and players view these presser type things as kind of a necessary evil, something you're required to do because of the nature of the sport as an entertainment product, but not a valuable use of their time in basketball terms. So the impression you get from him in interviews may not be the reality on the ground. It may be that he's a better offensive coach than you think, and these first two years were about getting the defense locked in first, and now he'll shift his priorities. We'll just have to wait and see.
It'd be like kicking out Kelvin Sampson after his first 3 years at UH when they never got further than the NIT first round
Most of the guys you are calling haters are just criticizing Ime for his lack of flexibility and his lack of offensive acumen. Watching his rotations, watching his press conferences (where he never takes any blame upon himself), and watching how ineffective the offense was are all valid criticisms, not hate. I’m probably one of the most critical of Ime, but even I have not been advocating for firing him this year. I do think it bares watching whether he can adjust on the offensive side of the ball or if he is a defense only coach. Unless, we make a trade this team is not a contending team, and like last year, more emphasis should be put on developing the young guys than running mediocre at best vets out for 40m a game. My observation is that he did a great job at changing the culture and instilling a great defensive mindset on a very young team. That’s not easy and should be applauded, but not at the expense of ignoring weaknesses that must be improved for this team to take the next step. Same thing goes for Stone. Great job so far, but is he the GM that can put us on the trail to a championship? I think this upcoming season should be do or die for both men in this organization. If they just run it back and fail, they should be held accountable.
Udoka has been a SAVIOR for this franchise. We have it lucky and should not take it for granted. Udoka is not perfect, but he is still pretty top level. I cant wait until his contract is extended to lock him in long term. He is a player magnet. He is an advantage for FAs. Players drafted want to go to a good org with culture. Wemby didnt want to come here because of the Silas stink. That is gone now. This team is in a highly respected situation.
Are there really folks hating on Udoka? Lol. Do you remember what this team looked like just 3 years ago? No wonder I don't visit the GARM much these days.
It's no different than folks hating on the Harden era just because we didn't win the big one. Some people are just unreasonable.
Hate is being brandished way too much around here. Criticism is not hate and if reasonable is the basis for debate on a sports forum. How boring would this place be if we all just rah rah our way to another 1st round exit. Lighten up folks.
While I don't hate him, I'm forced to admit that he has serious shortcomings as a head coach - especially when you look at the level of coaching during these playoffs. He appears to be a one-dimensional, defensive minded coach. His offensive system is very pedestrian. If you look at the coaching strategies being deployed by Carlisle and Daigneault you can clearly see them to be miles ahead of Udoka. The closest I can see to him is Thibodeau who also used a set rotation and did not tap into his bench until he was forced to do so by the Pacers. By then, it was too little, too late. I can't help but wonder how much different the Rockets would have looked had Udoka had given more developmental playing time during the season to players like Shepard, Tate and Whitmore. If these NBA Finals are showing us one thing it's that you need a deep squad capable of playing hard, fast that can score points in order to compete in the West.
Every coach has to consider his roster when implementing a system. UDOKA might understand and even be able to teach those principles.... But execution and Jalen green aren't two things I hold synonymously. UDOKA identified defense as the primary strategy by which this roster could win ..and it did win . Okc probably has the most talent in the league . Indy has had an incredible playoff run and were underrated from a talent standpoint. Carlisle also played 32 year old TJ McConnell and 26 year old Obi Toppin more minutes this season than recent #4 pick jarace walker . Most every coach has a preference for playing veterans who can help them win games , because if they don't win .. they get fired. I can believe there could be 5-10 coaches in the NBA better than UDOKA. If you wanna know what a bad coach looks like , go back to bickerstaffs year here. MDA had his flaws as a coach too , but he consistently got us deep in the playoffs. Well , he had a great roster too . We should not be trying to move on from UDOKA until at least 2 more seasons
Do you know who was criticized early in his coaching career for being too rigid with his rotations, offensively pedestrian and overly defensive minded, hyper critical and controlling of his players, and refused to give developmental time to rookies under his watch? Rick Carlisle Not to say that Udoka is definitively going to follow the same development path, but to treat him as this monolith that is fixed in cement and won't also improve with more experience seems way to premature to me. It took Jason Kidd telling him to shove it before Carlisle eased up on being overly controlling on offense. There is no Larry Brown out there to replace Udoka right now, and this current Rockets roster is nowhere close to the 2003 Detroit Pistons. Let Udoka continue to develop with the same patience we've given to all of the baby Rockets going through growing pains on the court, and we might just have a guy who could provide stability to the sideline for a decade. If they crap out in two years, never having gotten out of the first round, Udoka has not kept up with other developing coaches, and he seems to have lost the locker room, ship him out. I'm cognizant of the fact that Carlisle also had to get fired twice to be willing to evolve. There's always the possibility that Udoka is a future HOF-level coach, but the Rockets just have him a bit too early in his career, or he's a Doc Rivers, who will only be as good as his roster.
He definitely does not have 2 more seasons...the upcoming season will his prove it one. It's a make or break season for him.
Even if he's not an offensive coach, he can just hire one and still be our awesome head coach with a great offensive coordinator. Ime's our biggest strength, it's the players that are the issue.
All very reasonable and the same thing I’m saying accept the time-frame. I say if he is given a more balanced squad, then there needs to be offensive improvement next year or he should be replaced. If Stone doesn’t do his job to give Ime the resources and we stand pat or regress, Stone should be gone and Ime given another chance. In the era of the 2nd aprons you can’t continually kick the can down the road, with cap issues staring you in the place. We wasted this past year not seeing what many of our young players could do with the appropriate playing time and the appropriate position. We really can’t afford to waste another year.
I don't know that a comparison to Rick Carlisle is really fair, as he is one of the 3-4 greatest offensive coaches in NBA history and is the best spacing coach in NBA history. However, I would point out that there is no Tyrese Haliburton on the Rockets to run the offense. I think Daigneault is a good coach as well, but again - he has SGA to run the offense through, and Udoka has Jalen Green. The reality is that the Rockets are not a very talented offensive team. They lack shooters, they lack players that can create for others and they lack a real star level offensive player. As for Thibs - his bench sucked, that is why he did not play them more. He also had to cover up for the defensive short comings of KAT and Brunson, and that limited what he could or could not do. Also - I would point out that the Thunder, supposedly the deepest team in the NBA has been using an 8 man rotation against the Pacers so far in the Finals.
