The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Ime Udoka on Game 6: Rockets vs Lakers Playoff Showdown

Episode Date: May 1, 2026

Ime Udoka on Game 6: Rockets vs Lakers Playoff Showdown

So I asked I made Doke. I said, Amy, come on the show on, like Wednesday. He's like, no, it's too soon. He said Friday. I said, okay, one o'clock Friday, here we go. And Eme and the Rockets have proven that this series will go on to a game number six tonight. And coach joins us here on the show. Amy, good afternoon to you.

What a nice bounce by for your squad, the last couple of games. Tell me about it. And I don't know if you read much into this, but what's the demeanor like in games four and five talking to those guys? pregame is compared to maybe so the first three games of the series if there is such a thing? It's confidence, obviously, building. But, you know, we had a let down at the end of game three and looked at a lot of positives and, you know, really had a dominant three quarters outside of the finish. And so there was a lot of good to look at, a lot of things that we knew we did well enough

to win and carried that over to game four and five. And so now the shooting numbers have come back around. We're still defending at a high level, and so confidence is high. confidence is high. Also, another nice thing has happened in the last couple of games is you've not allowed one of their scores to have great first period of play. Was that a focus? You know, look, it's 48 minutes, but man, to see guys like Kennard or Marcus Smart have those

great first quarters were certainly alarming in the early parts of the series. Yeah, we looked at the first three games and giving up 33, 33 and 39 in the first quarter. And being at a small deficit, most of those, we wanted to get out to a great start. Started with game four, you know, being up 26, 22, and then last game, we didn't score a ton, but we held them in the 20s. So we wanted to get off the better starts than we've done that lately.

Smart came out, hit a few threes and freethos, but outside of that, first eight points in the first quarter, he ended up with 11, so did a much better job on him. Kinar had only have one part, one point. And so much better focus on those two guys. Is it okay to say you let Deioner 8 and do what he needs to do and getting those two-point shots? if it comes with the fact that your perimeter defense is better.

I mean, obviously you want everybody to be stopped, but can you live with DeAndre doing what he did and not allowing guys like Kennard and Marcus Smart and LeBron to a small extent to hit a bunch of threes? Yeah, I mean, every time you go into a game plan, you want the ball to find certain guys more than others. And even if he's making some of those shots, we don't feel that can beat us at a high level

and keeping everybody else contained is pretty much part of the game plan. So we're going to live with some of those, especially with the opera and helping on some of the drives. And we feel we can contain the others. We'll be in good shape. Austin Reeves got in there, and as you and I were kind of joking about a little bit, Austin's going to get to the free throw line. He certainly did a bunch 13 times.

That's kind of his modus operandi. But what did you notice from the game plan of the Lakers with Austin out there as compared to some of the minutes that Luke Kouinard was taken from him before he came back and being healthy for them? Well, they run a lot of the same plays for those two. so the actions weren't much different, but he's a better one-on-one player, and to your point, getting to the free-throlet line is a big thing. So they try to bring read-up into some actions with him.

I think outside of the fouls and us going under two pick and rolls where he got three-point shots, we did a good job funneling him inside. I think it looked like he got worn down as the game went on, and then we made him work on the other end. So obviously one of the best scores all year. What he's done is taking a big jump this year, and that's why they've improved,

and they're going to try to get him his actions. get them to a free to line and we've got to do a better job in our family. And one of the things, of course, you kind of mentioned what the turnaround is the defense, especially with Reed Shepherd and Alperin, Shingoon. What have you been seeing from those two guys, especially just from a competitive standpoint and being up to the challenge to improve their defense? Yeah, taking on the challenge is the first part and just being more physical in general. You know, we were putting them on certain matchups and they're doing a good job.

Alperin specifically putting out some fires guarding his man in like. I said, we're living with some of the aiding things that are going to be residual effects of that. But for the most part, they're doing a really good job. Obviously, if you hold a team to under 100 as many times as we have, especially 93 and 99 in the last two games, you know you're doing some good things. And so still areas we can clean up. We took a look at that today where we can even improve more. But defense is feeling our offense. The turnovers are great.

The activity is great. And they're a big part of that. Rocket Tech coach, Ema, Doga, was here on Sports Talk 790. What's the latest you can give us on Kevin Durant and trying to work his way back? Of course, not going to be available tonight, but potentially for Game 7. Yeah, he's still going through the process and getting some work in and seeing how it feels. You know, the mobility and the pain are two different things. And you can probably push through some pain at times.

But if you're limited with your movement and some of the things you can do as far as him being the score that he is, it's going to be tough. And so as much as it sucks for him and us, you know, other guys have stepped up and we have to go with who we got. And so looking at him, obviously out tonight, we'll see what happens in the next few days. But, you know, those bone bruises are tricky. You know, it takes some time. And you look at Marcus Smart earlier this season, missed nine games due to bone bruise and the healing process of one thing. But like I said, the mobility being limited is much more impactful. Your guys have rallied around the fact that Katie's not gone.

That's what two straight games of all five of your starters in double-frews? figures. That's not a typical for a regular season game, but to see good balance growing like that in the playoffs has to be a positive sign for you. Yeah, everybody's aggressive. The ball is moving, you know, turnovers down,

assist numbers up, and guys are shooting well, like I said, even in the first two games, we had really good looks that we didn't make, and we know if we continue to get paint touches, those are great for us. And then Reed and Alpi, getting into the paint is open up shots for everybody else, and that balance is hard to guard.

So we're not relying on one or two guys, everybody else contributing. And like I said, the turnovers have really fueled our offense as well. Reed has the mid-range shot in the fourth quarter. He comes back and steals LeBron's attempted pass, winds up going for a dunk in the middle of the lane. For a confidence standpoint for him, and look, every moment is an experience for him. But as you saw it through your eyes, how much in Reed and grow up in that, just that stretch where those two big plays were such a big part of that fourth quarter? Yeah, huge, obviously. They cut into the lead.

We had missed some good shots as well, but we knew the coverage they would have with reading the pick and roll as opposed to our men or somebody else. And so he got the space to operate, just had a good screen, had a good setup, and got to a spot. And so we trust him with that shot all day. Obviously, one of the best shooters we have, but the instinct to go make a play as well on James driving,

he's really good at that. He got great hands and anticipation and to push us back to seven at that point was obviously needed, but huge for him. Just growing experiences, like he said, first time really playing in a heated, heated playoff series. And so great to see him come through at that point. And before I let you go, the turnovers are going to continue to haunt them a little bit. You guys are taking advantage of that. Is that making you, from a defensive standpoint, want some guys to try some things

or just let the Lakers kind of do what they've been doing a lot? And this is hand in the ball over me. You've had 27 steals in the last couple of games. Yes, both. I think we have the freedom to make plays. We have guys with great instinct. A man, Reed, Tari, obviously. And so their freedom to make plays, especially when you're guarding certain guys. And like I said, we want the ball to find other guys. And so it's just a really good mix. But when they're trying to take advantage some mismatches with Aiden in the post or Hachamura, I think our rotations have been good. We've been doing our work early fighting those guys off the post. And you've seen a lot of steals on those high, low passes.

And so activity is great. Like I said, we know. how much that fuels us offensively if we can get out and run and play against a non-set defense. It's been great for us all year. I hear L.A. is lovely in early May. Let's go back one more time. Thank you, coach, for the visit. And good luck tonight against the Lakers. Thank you.