NBA – After a rookie season ended in the NBA finals, the new Houston coach will find himself in a completely different context in Texas.
Back to square one for Making Udokawho will find a bench in the NBA on the side of Houston at the start of the school year, in a franchise light years away from what he left in Boston.
If he was able to benefit from one of the most talented roster in the league, made up of experienced players to accompany him in his first year as head coach with the C’s, the former assistant to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio will this time having to get the most out of a much less seasoned group.
On the sidelines of the Draft Combine organized in Chicago, Ime Udoka took the opportunity to remind the Houston Chronicle what his principles are based on as a coach. They’re basic, but the message needs to get through the minds of young people in Houston.
Force opponents to play one-on-one
“I would say that whatever the team or the staff, the first thing we want to see is offensive basketball, collective basketball, altruism, guys who play well. And that goes for everyone, regardless of the team,” he explained. “Then, defensively, I expect certain things from guys, and for me defense is all about effort. When you have players who are able to defend, with all these young athletic guys, it’s a change of mentality that you have to have for the most part.
Around his position 5, Ime Udoka should favor homogeneous and versatile profiles in order to be able to switch as much as possible in defense. The goal is to force the opponents out of their systems to play one-on-one.
“I would say teams generally struggle against defenses that can switch and stay in front of them. You put the pressure on the guys one-on-one. My philosophy in general is to make teams beat you one-on-one. So that’s kind of my concept. It’s about breaking them off their principles and having someone have to beat you one-on-one. Teams may have one or two quality players who can beat good defenders one-on-one.”
To Jalen Green to lead by example in defense
For the rest, the defense will be above all a question of state of mind, his group having at first sight the physical characteristics to meet his requirements.
“The first thing I would say is that we have competitors and that is an important element. Guys who have their heads on their shoulders, guys who want to be pushed to be great. Defense is a matter of mentality and effort. If our players have that competitive nature, there’s no reason they can’t be good defenders.”
This is particularly the case of Jalen Green, offensive leader who will have to be able to raise his voice defensively. For Ime Udoka, it’s only a matter of will, and that’s where the progress of the Rockets will go.
“If you have all these physical qualities, there’s no reason you can’t be a good defender. You have stature, athletic qualities. For the most part, it’s about getting tougher. We have a younger team. Some guys obviously need to get stronger in this area. But I keep coming back to that shift in mentality. If you’ve always focused on offense and you’ve had success, you’re going to tend to rely on that. But to understand what always helps you win, you have to look at all the successful teams, and defense is a constant.”
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Jalen Green | 76 | 34.2 | 41.6 | 33.8 | 78.6 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 22.1 |
| Kevin Porter, Jr. | 59 | 34.3 | 44.2 | 36.6 | 78.4 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 19.2 |
| Alperen Sengun | 75 | 28.9 | 55.3 | 33.3 | 71.5 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 9.0 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 14.8 |
| Eric Gordon | 47 | 30.2 | 43.9 | 34.7 | 81.5 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 13.1 |
| Jabari Smith, Jr. | 79 | 31.0 | 40.8 | 30.7 | 78.6 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 12.8 |
| K.j. Martin | 82 | 28.0 | 56.9 | 31.5 | 68.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 12.7 |
| Tari Eason | 82 | 21.6 | 44.8 | 34.3 | 75.2 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 9.3 |
| Jae’sean Tate | 31 | 21.9 | 48.0 | 28.3 | 72.5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 3.4 | 9.1 |
| Josh Christopher | 64 | 12.3 | 46.5 | 23.6 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 5.8 |
| Garrison Mathews | 45 | 13.4 | 35.3 | 34.2 | 91.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 4.8 |
| Tyty Washington, Jr. | 31 | 14.0 | 36.3 | 23.8 | 55.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 4.7 |
| Bruno Fernando | 31 | 11.7 | 51.6 | 0.0 | 68.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 4.1 |
| Daishen Nix | 57 | 16.0 | 34.2 | 28.6 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| Darius Days | 4 | 6.2 | 41.7 | 30.0 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.8 |
| Boban Marjanovic | 31 | 5.5 | 68.3 | 0.0 | 74.1 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| Usman Garuba | 75 | 12.9 | 48.6 | 40.7 | 61.7 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
| Frank Kaminsky | 10 | 5.9 | 31.6 | 20.0 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Trevor Hudgins | 5 | 5.7 | 22.2 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 |
2023-05-20 13:39:00
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