The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Ime Udoka on the Rockets Recent Games and Their Upcoming Clash with Phoenix

Episode Date: December 4, 2025

Ime Udoka on the Rockets Recent Games and Their Upcoming Clash with Phoenix

12-1 on Sports Talk 7-90. Let's spend 10 minutes with the head basketball coach of your Rockets who disposed of the Sacramento Kings last night. E. May I doke with us here on 7.90. Coach, it's Matt and Ross. I got to ask you, did you really call the team a junior varsity squad at halftime last night? I said stop playing like one, looking like one.

Take care of the ball to play with them, fourth, and something like that. you're just the best you may I'm gonna tell you right now and I'm not trying to blow smoke I'm just saying you go in there and they obviously listen to you that is what did you get the bluntness of your life

and I certainly appreciate it because I'm a very blunt person myself I just always like the honesty myself you know don't want to coach or anybody you know kind of blowing smoke and so and you're direct with them

and don't sugarcoat it they can tell if you're BSing or lying anyway so might as well hit them direct and I think guys respect that approach. You certainly did that. Not only did they cut the turnovers down, you put it together in a amazing third quarter, and the three-point shot was not a huge part of the team in the second half.

Were you surprised by that, or is that kind of what Sacramento dictated because they gave you some of the opportunities in the paint? No, we just take what the game gives us. I think we'll shoot them if they're available, but a lot of times they were bringing their big up in the pick and roll to take away some of our walking threes. when we hit out running guys in the pocket they stayed locked up on some of our shooters

which allowed us to get downhill and get to the paint and obviously if we're going to get all those paint points 78 you don't need to take a ton of three as we won't the alpi to a man Thompson combination was working vice versa it was working as well have you noticed even a better chemistry with those guys since they first stepped together on the same floor because it feels like they have a real good sense of knowing where each other's at Yeah, definitely. I think the time spent together over the last few years has really paid off. You know, Amend was the guy that handled a bunch, but now we have them in the dunker spot. We have them in the corner slashing and, you know, playing in the pick-and-roll at times.

So Alpi is always looking for them. A lot of teams back to paint, not just with the big, but bring the low band across. And Amman is great at slashing behind and finding his rhythm. And obviously, he's a lot there out there. So Alper, in the great path that he is constantly looking for him. Reed Shepard didn't get the start yesterday, but he did play 28 minutes. What factors into your decisions about the rotation starting guys? And, I mean, he's still getting his minutes, even though he wasn't starting in the starting lineup.

Yeah, a lot to do to personnel with the other team. We like balance as well for our team. So, you know, I have some really good scores that we wanted, you know, Josh and the Mendegaard, Levine, and DeRosen. And for the most part, he did a great job on them in general. You know, 12 points and only two for Levine. And so went with a more defensive-minded rotation, but also balance as well. You know, we have a lot of our really good scores in the starting lineup and Reed's punch off the bench.

It's been good for us most of the season. Rocket Tech coach, Ema Doka, with us here on Sports Talk 790. I have a more philosophical question for you because I noticed last night, Russell Westbrook, I should say, made the first couple of threes. Percentages are up this year for him. but you guys were still backing off of him. What goes into that decision-making as far as gaining enough sample size to maybe change your stripes when it comes to any player

as far as getting a hot hand or coming into the game if percentages are up relative to their career? Yes, I mean, it's game plan-wise and what teams like to do. They're a team that likes to get the paint, and he's really good at that, obviously, so you want to keep him away from the basket as much as possible. and you know it's funny at times you encourage guys to shoot and hope they make their first one or two

and they'll keep shooting a lot of times and the percentages usually catch up and so like I said we did a really good job on Murray you know two for 11 for five points der Rosen only 12 and Levine too will live with some of the others making and taking some tough shots and he hit his first two but went over five after that as well as the kid

Raynaud made two threes but had 25 points but if he's scoring 25 and the others are held to single digits. We'll take that trade off every day. You know, you've had a lot of nice stretches. We're a couple off days in between. We've had a busy stretch of games now. We've got a busy stretch coming up before the next week and then a long road trip. Have you had to alter in terms of practices, workouts, guys, you know, wanting to get their shots up but still get some downtime away because the schedule is about to pick up a little bit in here in the next few weeks?

Yeah, we definitely have. We got a good three-day break after the Golden State game. And so we took a good amount of time off. No, we had a back-to-back against Utah coming out of it. You know, time changes, coming back home for Thanksgiving and going back out west. And now, you know, five and seven days, basically. And so a lot less practice time now, the back-to-backers are going to eventually catch up to you. And so we're conserving as much energy and saving late as much as possible. So some of the teams we've just seen in Phoenix, so we can limit some practice time and more film work to walk through and get ready for that and the house back-to-back.

the back-to-back with Utah you beat them up pretty good on Sunday then they'll drop the game on Monday is that a lesson for the next time you got back-to-back to the same team or is it just a one-off in your mind no you have to understand when you beat a team by 30 you know on their home floor and you have to play them again they're going to come out with a different mindset and you try to guard against that and prepare for that and you know our intensity wasn't the same definitely in the second game especially in the first half We got down 20 and then, as always, fought our way back and got the three points late in the game. So if we bring that same intensity early in the game, it's a different story. But understanding the team is going to take that hit and be more aggressive,

you have to meet that for us, as far as. You were talking with Ross about the lineups and who starts and who's not. And I thought Kevin was pretty good yesterday about talking about Josh Okie, and he's not going to have a lot of shots. He's probably not more than the fourth or fifth option, and you're starting five. But his plus minus always seems to be good. he's always very active. And I know you've been asked about it a few times,

but has he been a low-key kind of wow? He even brought more than maybe we even thought he would when he finished a sign with the team. Yeah, I'll say you look at more so the defenders, the people he's guarding. You look at their numbers, and like I mentioned, those guys that were held to five and two and 12 points. You know, they have a 21-point score and 318-point scores.

And so to hold those guys down, he's done his job as far as that. he'll play off the other guys and be a recipient if Alpi and KV you get double teamed or get on transition or so be it but overall I think just the impact he's had has been great especially with the injuries I would say that's the reason you didn't expect it as much

with Dorian being out and Jayshan starting the season slow him getting that opportunity he really looked good as soon as he got here training camp and everything else and so taking advantage of opportunity and it's great to have another defender out there to take some of the load off man Stephen Adams continues to be a plus for

you, 11 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. You also had five of those on the offensive side. Can you just break down for us? Like, what is it about him that makes him so good on that end? How much of his instructions from you guys, the coaches, and just some kind of innate ability that he has to be so effective offensive rebounding? Yeah, for nothing to do with us. He's been doing this his whole career.

We, you know, double and triple down on it and encourage him to do it more as well as other guys. And when we got him from Memphis, we watched a ton of tape and saw the impact he had on that end of the floor in that area specifically. But, you know, it starts with strength. You know, you got to be strong enough to hold guys off, wedge him under the basket. But he has a great timing and sense of where the ball is going to come in anticipation. And so combination of all, a very high IQ player that knows his role and knows how he impacts the game. And, you know, obviously he's brought that toughness and those second chance points to us since he got here. last question you may

do you think dylan saves some material for you tomorrow night coming in town for the first time since the trade and have you saved some of your material for him as well he already mean he hugged it up with everybody he's going to talk and do what he does you saw a laker game obviously the other day but had a really good game against us as well

and so I think he's always going to be excited to play he carries that edge and chip on his shoulder regardless and there's no ill will between us but he always wants to show up the next team I'm sure and so doing a good great job, especially with Booker out, you know, 30 plus points against the Lakers the other night, 29 against us, and he's really finding his way offensively and brought that edge and toughness to Phoenix that needed.