The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Head Coach Ime Udoka Talks Recent Loss to OKC

Episode Date: January 16, 2026

Head Coach Ime Udoka Talks Recent Loss to OKC

on Sports Talk 790, our weekly visit right now with a head basketball coach of your Houston Rockets, who fell last night to the Oklahoma City Thunder. And we'll talk about that. And tonight's matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves, it is a late start. If you were at the game last night, thank you for being there at 6.30. Tonight you get a chance to relax a little bit and get a little bit there a little bit later. Ema, don't go with us here on the show. And Ross, could you pot him up for me here?

My phone system is down. So let's talk to coach right now. Ema, I'll tell you this. The first three quarters weren't, I mean, the easiest thing to watch. But your guys kind of hung around. Was there a sense in your mind to say, look, let's put together one good scoring quarter and we can win this bad boy instead. Unfortunately, went the other direction.

Yeah, it reminded me of Vegas a little bit last year against them. We defended a high level. Gilded Alexander was kind of held in check. General Williams only had six points, but we couldn't make enough shots to really extend that lead and take advantage knowing that they'll get going eventually. And to your point, it was like, okay, 77, 75, going the last quarter that's put one together and we went on a major drought and

they up their physicality. Yeah, I know that your squad's not shooting well from three obviously and you're trying to find an answer for that, but I will give credit and I hate giving credit because it's just what I don't want to do, but they intercept passing lanes, they're ferocious. Even though they've been a little more human

in the last couple months, Oklahoma City can make life miserable for teams defensively. Can they not? Yeah, they're one of the best in the league and pretty unique at what they do as far as making plays, getting steals, turnovers, deflections, and all those things. So you have to be disciplined and get off the ball and make the simple reads. But at the same time, you have to knock down those shots. And we've been in a little bit of a tough stretch right now where these games look a lot different

if we make some shots, obviously. But still guard at a high enough level, stay confident. You know, trust the work you put in all year and that worm will eventually turn. You know, and I think Kevin Durant shared your exact sentiment on that. So someone says, coach, hey, good morning, how are you? Let me buy you a cup of coffee and can you guys make some shots? How does it come right down to that? I mean, no bat.

The ball has to go through the hoop. But is it spacing? Is it shot selection? Is it timing? Tell me where a team that is collectively in a shooting slump, especially from three, try to shake itself when four or five guys are kind of struggling at the same time? You have to do other things to interject yourself into the game. The shots that are there at high quality looks that we've gotten all year and been one of the

most efficient shooting teams. You have to continue to take those, and it always happens throughout a year. You'll get a slump or two, and it snowballs into the entire team, but at the same time, still take those same shots, but do other things to get yourself going. Get in the passing lane, guard some transition offense, offensive rebounds, things like that, to see the ball go through and not just be relying on jump shots. Orrottet coach, IMA Adoka was here on a sports talk 790. And what is it like you, for you as a coach, when it's been of a bit of a bit of, a bad run like this as far as the self-evaluation process of you and your coaching staff balancing

saying yeah this is going to turn it's okay or we have to make some sort of changes or tinker with some things no it's a little bit of both um understanding as long as we've been around and then on players you see it happen once or twice the year and like i said it sucks when it's the whole team and you just need one or two guys to kind of step out step up and make those shots but at the same time you have to figure out other things and not just say okay the jump shots will follow eventually. Go to different actions, get other guys involved, and then tweak the lineup if you have to

inject some energy. And I think JD did that in the Chicago game. Taking a look at some other guys and how we can help them as well. Yeah, that's who I was going to bring up next, talking about tinkering and some changing. What led to the decision with some more minutes for J.D. Davidson and what have you seen from him that you like

and that you would like to improve? The injuries, I mean, Dorian being in and out a little bit, sorry going down, it's an opportunity to get some guy some looks. You know, he's one of our more natural point guards and guys that facilitate the offense and get us into stuff. And so knowing what we

have with him there, it's just a chance to get him a look with some guys being down right now. And that was really what led into that, but had a really good game against Chicago. I think OKC made it tough on everybody last night from a shooting standpoint. Nobody had an average or above average game. But

just getting to look at him over these next few games and seeing what he brings at the table, he's done it all through preseason and very comfortable. we'll put them in. You unfortunately got a T last night. The A.J. Mitchell's back court, did you get, obviously, did not get a satisfactory explanation? Did those referees even bother looking at the screen at all?

Are they like, I don't want to look at it? No, they never look up there. They don't want to see if they're right or wrong by looking up there, but it was just, you know, a culmination of some things. So that one stood out that nobody's watching the ball. They all tell me it's not my call, not my look. And so, okay, that's fine. But I think more so a culmination of a few different things.

frustration on my part. Well, I understand that for sure. That's the thing. If I was a referee and I goofed it up, I would let you have about a minute and a half and then we go on from there, but unfortunately that was not the case. Tell me about Stephen Adams, a huge rebounding night for you. You've not, you stayed away from back to backs on him. We've got one here tonight. So are you ready to announce whether he can go tonight? Is he going to take tonight off? I mean, you've got a bunch of games come up even after tonight's game. He'll be out tonight. Dorian will be available and hoping to have Tari back based on how he feels after going through a workout today. And so, you know, Minnesota is another team with some big bodies.

And, you know, Stephen is great against everybody. And so we'll be cautious with him as we have been to get him right throughout the season and have other guys available with Randall and Nasreid. And it's good to have some smaller bodies to put on those stretch five. I know he wants to play. I know you want him to play. But it's, it's, you got to follow the rulebook, don't you when it comes to team? to make sure he's ready for you come postseason time.

Yeah, yeah. I think he's night and day from last year. I mean, last year he couldn't go more than five minutes to start the season. And now he can run longer stretches and play up to 25, 30. And so we're just, like I said, being smart about the season, getting other guys look. That's why you got Clint Capella and all the guys that we brought in and get him to the end goal healthy and in a good rhythm.

I mentioned Katie a little bit ago, and he gave a good retrospect. What does he see through this? And obviously we don't get to talk to him as much as we get to talk to you, but how is he pacing this? Because, look, he has been through the highs and lows of an NBA season multiple times over, and this has not been a great January. How does he see things? And have you asked him or is he just doing it on his own to kind of keep the guys saying,

look, this is January. Nobody wins championships then. But, as you know, as things will be an uper competitive in the West like they were last year, that every game, especially it feels like after the turn of the calendar, seems to mean just a little bit more. Yeah, I've been playing as long as he has. He has a great perspective on that. But at the same time, none of us are happy or satisfied,

and he's at the top of the list as far as that. And so understanding where we want to get to is going to take a little bit of time with different personnel and him being inserted. But at the same time, the standard is the standard, and we want to play up to that and not play down to level our competition or up to a level of competition. We want to be consistent across the board. And as we know, it all helps to make shots, no doubt about that.

But we can get guys going himself. He holds himself to a high standard, and nobody's happening or losing regardless of the time of year. Another guy that holds himself to a high standard is Jabari, a couple of nice back-to-back games from three from him. Is that a pull-aside of conversation, say hi, keep it going? Let's change a couple of things up because he was his harshest critic after those games earlier in the month.

Yeah, I mean, you're getting right over-look. There's nothing more you can ask than that. But like I said, there's not just being relying on jump shots. You want to do the other things. You get to his mid-range game, which he had been missing some of those. I think him and Kevin missed a good American. a good mid-range shots last night, but he's one of our best offensive rebounders, a versatile offensive player that can do multiple different things.

And so it's not just sitting on the perimeter. Sometimes that happens when Portland goes zone or something like that, but doing other things to get yourself in the game, get to the free to line and get some layups and just to see the ball go through. And so great that he had to stretch against Chicago, and he's had some carryover lately. Last thing you mentioned zone when teams struggle from three teams will do that. We saw quite a bit of that with OKC last night.

If the three ain't fallen, how is the most effective way is basketball 101 to break that zone? Is it finding those guys on the baseline for those mid-range? A little bit of both. I think we have two really good players that we can flash in the middle with Kevin and Alprin. Kevin's very much automatic that lay up on the mid-range shot, but Alprin's such a good playmaker and finish her around the basket. If you get them in the middle and, but at the same time, you don't want to just rely on those guys going one-on-one there. You have to get some ball movement and penetration, not just pass the ball.

ball around. A lot of teams get stagnant against the own, and as long as you penetrate and relocate, you usually get a really good wide-over shot. Thank you for the time, Coach. We'll talk to you tonight, and best luck against the wolves. Thank you.