Ime Udoka after Rockets squeeze by Jazz in OT

Ime Udoka after Rockets squeeze by Jazz in OT

You have any sort of update on Jabari he was down on the ground at the end of the game there yeah he sprained his ankle and obviously had to shoot the free throws and luckily they called timeout to get him out but um don’t know the severity and you know obviously with the

Back toback it’s going to be tough but uh I I didn’t see how bad he rolled it and haven’t heard both of the rookies you know had significant playing time and made significant plays down the stretch just what did you think of their contributions it was great I said it to

The team in there um congrats to the bench they really came in with energy and affected the game in a positive way and so yeah to your point not just them um you know Aaron came in early in the in the first half really had a good stin

There Jeff was good and then J Sean as well but yes they had plays that stood out obviously cam was attacking the basket and both of them were defending especially our men at a high level you you trusted the men a lot defensively in certain spots I mean just how important

Is it going to keep coming through in those moment for this team yeah it’s kind of who he is you know it’s it’s not on the NBA level but but he’s been a lock down guy his whole life and obviously has a just the experience part you know I think with different matchups

And different guys and um but the more he plays the better he’ll get and so that’s one thing that we’re confident confident translated to the NBA right away was his defensive effort intensity um versatility and all that and so it was good to see him do that tonight and

Guard multiple different guys ston Clarkston and some marking Fred has been so vital in close games for you to be able to win a game like this when he’s not in there how important is that moving forward yeah it was good it it was you know get a chance to do some

Different things see what else Works besides him handling and initiating a lot of pick and rolles in the games um went to Al quite a bit and then went to another play that worked quite well and so Jabari got a few shots out of that

And so it’s good other guys got to step up um Jaylen came in and kind of ran the point with that unit and um was good to get the win good to get overtime win we’ve lost three this year how valuable was it particularly for your rookies to

Learn to kind of win ugly yeah it’s always good I said those ones are satisfying no doubt not just the overtime part but how we got it out um you know played really well the first half the second the third quarter obviously a 38 Point quarter got a tie

Game that was a little bit ugly there and then battled back and forth so a lot of guys got a chance to experience a you know real tough basketball game and tier Point grinded it out with without some key guys being out there so it’s good for him did you see the defensive

Adjustments that you wanted to see that you kind of were talking about yesterday after practice it some and then it was some mistakes um they’re a team they’re number one off Ball action team in the league and um for the most part in the first half we were great second half we

Weren’t and so they got those slips to the basket and so um you know Dylan not being here for the shoot around and stuff I think that affected him a little bit some of the things we walked over and talked about but um yeah I think we

Mixed it up late in the game the overtime the play to go into overtime we switched with alpie there and came hit late and so our rotations were on point behind it and it’s good to see that carry over are you starting to see some

Of the things you want to see from cam early in the season and is that going to lead to more minutes especially like in close games like tonight yeah I think he’s been that since he’s been back he was forced into it due to some injuries and so he got his opportunities been

Good as far as that never was concerned about him offensively um more so shot selection was the main thing but the defensive side has been better um even tonight though there’s still errors it’s not just him it’s Guys across the board but um with Clarkson specifically going

Under a few times and we want to chase him over the top every time and so things they have to learn about personel have been around he hasn’t faced but um yeah he’s been great in his opportunities and tar out Dylan out and then Fred and some guys tonight I think

He stepped up and did a great job on both ends before the game will hardy was actually talking about your season in Boston and you know the poor start that you guys had there and that he learned from that really to remain calm even in the face of slow starts and that things

Can turn around is is that something a lesson that you can apply even here too even though it’s different teams and different circumstances yeah some I think the difference was you know there was a lot of Co a lot of um injuries Jaylen Brown the guys were out for 15

Games or so so when we did have our full roster we were really good but I remember at times they know me well the whole staff my guys here and will and they would look at me waiting for the real eay to come out and coming flipping

Tables and doing all that and I said let’s be patient and we’ll figure it out because we it’s some good signs when we’re whole and so yeah uh it was not time to panic and I think with our guys we really got off to a really good start

And grasped everything we were trying to do and so we’ve had some regression with the lack of practices and injuries but big picture we picked it up pretty quickly so we’re happy with that just got to take the next step now why did you decide to go back to jayen when Fred

Went out and did you see anything that he can maybe build on for tomorrow in the games that follow yeah obviously one of our better scorers um at the guard spot um you know Aaron had his stint there but it’s a guy that you want to trust especially when it’s time to you

Know get downhill get into some shots there and then he ran the point we run him quite a bit in practice through scripting sessions where he’s handling at the point and that came in handy tonight um you know R mam was well doing well at the two and Jabari at the three

And four and Dylan those guys so it was an natural thought for him us to go there and then we just did the sub offense defense with him and I’m in down the stretch did you see things during that stretch that he can build on yeah he initiated offense well got us into

Our sets that we were running um the first play that we ran about three times out of into overtime he got us into that made the right reads there um only had the three-point shot so he didn’t get a ton of looks out of it but um yeah

That’s one thing and and then obviously being in end the game you have to guard um and he had tough matchups there with uh Clarkson and seon and did solid I mean they were a handful for everybody tonight the group to end overtime the Thompson Brooks Tate grah just to have

That toolbox available how important is that for different game down over time late in fourth quarters yeah I think we’ve always had decent groups as far as versatility wise um you know tari and those guys in the mix we can go several different ways uh we can go extra big

And we had Alp out a few possessions so we could switch across the board and so um yeah it’s good for them them experience- wise but we know what we have as far as guys it’s just we don’t have the full unit out there and we

Haven’t had it for a while with Dylan andar out but uh C stepped up um Aron steps in when he needs to and our man has been great too so it’s it’s good to see a full compliment of guys um taking advantage of the opportunity thanks thank you

Houston Rockets Fan Information Source

Ime Udoka talks to reporters after the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz in overtime on 1/20/2024. Alperen Sengun scored 37 points while Jabari Smith Jr. added 24.