Rockets head coach Ime Udoka pregame press conference before matchup with OKC
Are you guys is he getting a second opinion or what’s kind of the delay yeah probably second third or fourth and um you know have a few doctors look at the Imaging and see what they come up with we will know shortly I’ll let you know when I know what’s um been the
Conversation with like it seemed like like a month ago he was trending to come back and of course this is a player who hat yeah it’s um you know be smart big picture U obviously the later we go um you know into the season it sucks for
Him he wants to be out there playing obviously um like I said when he played he was in a little bit of pain play played through some things and then um as it got worse we decided to obviously give him that rest time um time went
Well for him felt like he was healing looked like he was healing and then the ramp up to return to play is when he started feeling the same pain and so from there we decided to give him a little bit more time and U get this latest Imaging and see what happens
After that so the conversation with him is really be patient look at the big picture and U you’re young in your career and we’re not going to do anything to jeopardize you going forward so whatever the best course of action is uh we’ll do that to take care of them
You’ve had some different fourth quarter rotations guys have played different amounts of minutes how do you think the group has responded to handle that I mean I think it’s it’s tough for certain guys I mean uh everybody wants to be out there playing we a competitive group and
A lot of depth and so for me it’s kind of said it from day one is um you know be rewarded based on how you’re playing and certain things of that nature um you know last game was I’m in with the with the defensive assignments he had and the
Way he was playing on both ends of of the floor and um you know it’s tough for certain guys like I said and um we got a competitive group so everybody wants to be out there I think they all handle a well root for each other but they also
Know that uh they’re going to get reward on what they’re doing on the court so it’s kind of self-explanatory as far as that with the man’s ability to score in the pain and his athleticism now he’s getting more minutes on the court is he plans to Pro uh run any design plays for
Him in the uh post with his advantages that he has most nice against other guards well a lot of times he’s not being guarded by guards um you know most of the time they’re trying to put big bodies on him um and U so from there we
Like him to attack and and get to his spots and also get guys involved but a lot of times we’ll match him out there with Alp so they can’t put their FIV man on him but when he’s out there they doing what aot Ben Simmons or some of
Those guys you put a bigger body on those guys so um the shooting improves we understand how teams are going to guard him bigger players at times but he has advantages with that as well um if he does have a guard on him we know he
Can get to a spot and kind of rise up or get on the offensive glass and find some ways to impact the game like he has lately so he’s he’s doing a good job of figuring out how to impact the game and I think we’re figuring out ways to use
It based on who the match up is going back to that rotation answer um because it has been so fluid to what degree is it a matchup base the decisions you make is it based on matching up with a particular opponent this is a little bit
Of both it’s match up based and it’s how you’re playing so um take a look at both and whatever unit we feel is best going best at the time or Personnel that’s playing the best it’s it’s a big part of it but obviously when Dyan gets fouls
And you want uh defensive bodies out there for Durant Booker you’re going to I’m man’s one of the guys we’re going to lean on so it’s a little bit of both do you expect the rookies to push the rest of the rotation in that regard and when
Did you kind of realize that they were going to start getting a regular run I guess well I would say for our men it was always the plan always immediate you know position of need uh behind Fred and just the injury kept him out for quite a
While so Aaron stepped up and played well and then working his way back into the rotation getting the shape um you know making up for the time he missed was a big thing with him cam as well I think uh you know we got a ton of wings
And bodies in front of him initially he was slow to learn what we were trying to get across and I think the time in the g- league helped him out but also the opportunity with Dylan going down and T being out kind of expedited that as well
So I think they’ve taken advantage of the opportunities they’ve gotten um but position need I think a men was always in the plan to work them in there and get significant significant minutes it’s just injury that kind of hampered that what are some challenges that this Thunder Group presents obviously you start with
Guildas Alexander you know an All-Star all NBA guard 30 point scorer for the last few years and so you know it’s always got to count for of those guys um but it’s not just him they they have a good amount of depth good wing in
General and I think home is a odd five man that presents a lot of problems and so you know got some pieces a little bit different they play they’re playing a little different than when we saw him last um fast first and fast raid points obviously number one in R protection
Block shots and then third and steel so they’re getting out and running a lot more and so um different challenges there but it all starts with Shay and and how you have to guard him because he can score get guys involved but um they do have depth in a lot of different guys
That can impact game and what you saw from go ahead I’m just same star yes what you saw from Jabari last game I know you talked about all these guys being better all around players is that kind of indicative of what you’re seeing from Javari yeah I
Think uh the Midway point that really you know got across how he can impact the game another ways not just being a spot up shooter or you know scoring the ball it’s using his versatility defensively saw that with d but also getting on the glass it’s been a big
Thing that he kind of flipped and turned the corner as far as that so um to have 17 offensive boards and Al be having five Al be having six him and uh I’m men having five each are impacting the game that way so he’s figuring out and I
Think that’s the allaround game we want to see from him not just if the shot is going in or not he’s impacted other ways and I was proud of him for sticking through it missed the first few shots and you know kept shooting them end up
Three for 10 from three but want to keep his confidence up and it was good for him to play through that you attribute your three-point defense to is it a prioritization in terms of sche length test what do you think the biggest factors have been so far this season in
I think the biggest is switching a lot of actions and so you keep the ball in front of you um you know last year we really got hurt by pick and roll threes specifically with our big being back and um you know guards not really fighting
To get over so we like to switch a lot of those actions take them off there um then we pride ourselves one-on-one defensively to lock into a man in a matchup and uh make other guy or take away the shots from other guys and so that’s the biggest part of it but also
Um understanding what speciic teams do and the way the league is playing now we want to take the three away and we’re doing a good job protecting the pain as well and that has to do with switching so a little bit of both but I think switching would be the biggest uh
Benefit for us thanks much thank you
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka’s pregame press conference as the Rockets matchup with OKC. Coach Udoka also gives an update on Tari Eason. #nba #rockets #alperensengun #tarieason #pressconference #amenthompson
