The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Ime Udoka: Rockets Had 'A Full Team Effort' In Win To Clinch NBA Cup Group

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

The Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-111 in overtime Tuesday to clinch West Group A and a spot in the NBA Cup knockout round. "We had a really good run in overtime," head coach Ime Udoka said. "It was a full team effort." Following the win, the Rockets traveled to Philadelphia overnight as they will face the 76ers in the second of a back-to-back set. "There is where depth comes into play," Udoka said.

Rockets and the 76ers coming up tonight after last night's game with the Minnesota Timberwolves and went to overtime. The Rockets are going to go to the knockout round of the in-season tournament. But first things first, got to focus on tonight's opponent to Philadelphia 76ers. And we'll do that with our friend E. May Adoka, our head coach of Houston Rockets. Coach, congratulations. Very exciting victory that Philadelphia, excuse me, that Minnesota did everything they could to take that one away. in the fourth quarter, but you got some key stops. A men Thompson.

Alpe got some going things offensively late in the contest, some clutch free throws. It was a really satisfying victory, not a perfect game, but definitely a satisfying one. Yeah, it was one of the more sweet victories this year due to all the things you just mentioned. You know, obviously we built a lead and couldn't sustain it, but battled our way back into it.

Got a late lead. They made a push late in the fourth, and then we had a really good run. and overtime. We'll have an O run. So a lot of ups and downs, but stuck with it. A lot of guys stepped up, and it was a full team effort. How's everybody doing? Everybody sleep all last night? Do you sleep okay? We're all going to be a little tired, but we know what it is.

It's back to back that time of the year. And this is a tough one, Minnesota to Philly, lose an hour, get in late. But I have to muster up energy, and nobody's going to feel sorry for you. So this is where our depth comes into play, and guys will get ready for tonight. But we know it's a good challenge on the hand. Getting last night all the way was a good one, but we'll make it even sweeter to get two on this trip. Hey, the great shooting early on, Fred was knocking him down, Dylan was doing it. Man, there were so many different heroes.

How about the difference between the first and the second half with Alpi? Two points in the first two quarters. And look, I've called every one of his games, him going against Rudy Gobert. Now, I don't know how much of a difference it is with Carl Anthony Townsend out there with him, but that was the best night Alpi had going against Rudy Gober. maybe in his NBA career. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, he really was distributing the ball well in the first half. He had five assists in the first quarter, and I want to say seven around halftime.

Obviously, it ended with a triple-double. So he took what the game gave him. They were really showing the crowd there on his rolls when he found it in the pocket. And he got Jabari a lot of those threes dealing with all those kick-out threes. And so he did what came natural, made the right play. And so they went away from that at some point to start guarding. the shooters and he really got to go to work one-on-one quite a bit on Gobert. And so great to see him obviously come through in the second half scoring-wise,

but I think he had a really good overall game, obviously, with the stat line you see. And, yeah, Gobert is a tough challenge, but he uses his strength inside, kind of muscled him under and kind of had his way with him, especially in the fourth quarter. Did he need a game like that? Because I know there have been some times where I felt like he's probably been pretty frustrated because Gobert is such a defensive presence, that now his confidence level just goes up going against a guy like Ben and having as much success as he did. Yeah, I think he really did a good job of moving himself around,

and he wasn't only attacking in the post. He was finding it on the roll and the pick and roll, had some of those little mid-range shots, but also some of the isos around the elbows where he can use this quick first step and kind of get into his body there, so he can't time him on the blocks. And so he did it all every which way,

especially late in the game like you saw in the overtime. Obviously, he took over there. But great to see him find a way against a really good defender that presents some challenges, but we said it all the time. Alpi is going to be a matchup problem against pretty much everybody in league, and he figures out how to get it done. It's just his versatility. Moving him all around is obviously a big asset for him.

I'm going to start trying to push for a man. Thompson is like six-man-of-the-year kind of candidate coach. He has been crushing it. The side pocket three was huge for you last night. The mid-court steals, that's almost every single night. From a shooting perspective, a massive overhaul on how it leaves his hand, Is it just rhythm? Is it experience?

Is it better placement? I mean, it could be all the above. But not that he does a lot of that kind of deep range shooting, but that three last night he had late in the game couldn't have come in a better time. Yeah, I'd say it's a lot of what you just mentioned, but mainly confidence. He puts the work in.

He's taking tons of reps this summer and he does it every day. And so the stroke looks a little more smooth, no doubt about that. But confidence-wise, he's not afraid to let it fly. He gets to the spots and doesn't always, let them force him to take the shots that they want him to take. He'll attack and slice to the basket, but once they start to sag off a little bit more, he's very comfortable shooting that quarter three, especially.

And so it was good to see that happen, obviously the steals and the full-court lay-up. That was a big one late in the game, but he's going to continue to grow and he puts it into work. So his confidence is going to continue to be sky high and making a shot like that late in the game will only boost it even more. You may have go with us here on Sports Talk 7-9-A. Coach, you know, when we were growing up,

college players played two, three, four years. Now most guys are one and there was a lot of that last night with Reed out there. And they obviously, Dillingham was out there and you'll see some of that tonight as well. Do you as a coach just kind of have to sometimes take a step back and go, damn, 20 years ago, these 19-year-olds were finishing up their freshman year in college. Now they're expected to be rotation guys in the NBA. And how have you treated those type of players a little differently knowing that still, even though they're very exceptional, fine athletes,

the MBA game, the adjustment from a year in G League or a year in college is still so significantly different. Yeah, you have to be patient and understand that, you know, the rookies coming in are obviously three, four years younger than they used to be, and so the experience alone and the maturity and the physicality, and, you know, they're growing into their bodies, all those things. You have to take those into account. And so what we try to do is expedite the process as much,

as we can and get their IQ up and the physical will come when it comes. Obviously, with these guys being a little bit younger, but, you know, what I always say is if you're a smart player, you're a smart player, it doesn't matter if you're 19 or if you're 25. And so you will gain some more things and some more tricks being, you know, being around playing and having the experience. But we want to try to get the IQ up and obviously the mental side of the game. And so you're seeing growth in steps by guys as we go. And we love to watch that.

And like I always say, it takes. everybody different point in their career to kind of hit that light bulb moment. But when you see a click for guys, as you're seeing with some of our guys firsthand, it's a great thing. And so we just want to continue to grow throughout the year and guys take those steps like they did last year and carry over into this year. Philadelphia is really struggling, not that we're feeling sorry for him, coach, but a thought or two, look, injuries are a large part of the reason why. And you're going to have three players out tonight for them as well. Is that the number one thing when you scout them as you look forward to tonight? They just have not been able to have any sort of cohesive starting five at any point during the season?

Oh, yeah, obviously, that's very indicative of their record. But the guys that they have missing, you know, they've had their main three guys out for quite a bit. But other guys have stepped up. Maxie's back now and, you know, what he can do by himself. And so I have to be really conscious of the other guys that have stepped on McCain is playing well. And then other role players are going to try to take advantage. And so for us, it's going to go over. about our business and be consistent and play to our standard, not to a level who's out there in front of us.

And so we want to see some growth on our part, the maturity of a tough back-to-back, and I understand we have a few days off after this. And so we want to attack that. And like you said, nobody feels sorry for anybody in the NBA. This is just a part of it. Injuries is a part of it. And scheduling is a part of it. So we'll take care of what's in front of us and try to get one tonight in Philadelphia.

Well, I don't want you getting teed up tonight, but you're going to probably be shorter trigger. we're all going to be a little crankier. Just explain to the officials. If you've got something to complain about, say, look, I'm working out for five hours sleep. They'll amend that technically. There's no chance you're getting one tonight. I got you. I hope.

I hope. Well, get a nap, and we'll see you at the arena later on. And thank you for the time as always. Thank you, guys. I will see. You may adoka with us here on the Matt Thomas show with Ross, Rockets, and 76ers playing tonight. We'll have the broadcast with the launch pad at 5 o'clock network pregame at 530. And I'll have the call here from Philadelphia at.

6 p.m.