The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Rockets Head Coach Ime Udoka: Tari Eason 'Impacts The Game In A Crazy Way'

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

The Rockets were one clean inbound and wide-open layup away from extending their winning streak to six games; however, Damian Lillard's driving layup with 3.9 seconds left ended up being the decider in the 101-100 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. The Rockets overcame a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter and led until Lillard's closing basket. A strong defensive effort held stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard to 20 and 18 points, respectively, but this created an opportunity for role players such as Brook Lopez to take over. Lopez had 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. "We were helping a little bit too much at times," Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. Before Milwaukee, the Rockets earned a quality win in Chicago, defeating the Bulls 143-107 on Sunday. Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 28 points, while Alperen Sengun recorded his second triple-double of the season. All five starters reached double figures. "If we can get stops and run, that's when we're at our best," Udoka said. Despite a loss in Milwaukee, the Rockets have found a powerful spark off the bench in Tari Eason. The forward had 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocks against the Bucks. After missing much of last season due to a lower leg injury, Eason has improved through "the progression of playing consistent minutes," and he now "impacts the game in a crazy way," Udoka said. The Rockets return to the Toyota Center on Wednesday to host the Indiana Pacers in a matchup that will feature the debut of the 2024-25 City Edition uniform. The jersey celebrates the Rockets' 1994 and 1995 championships, and many former Rockets will be in attendance to commemorate the victories. "We got to put on a show and get a win for them."

Let's spend 10 quality minutes with our pal Ema Adoka. He is your Houston Rockets coach. Rockets coming off that one-on-one quick trip to the Midwest, taking on Chicago, Milwaukee. They got the Indiana Pacers tonight. Ema with us here on the show. Coach, good afternoon. Let me ask you this.

I spend all the time my broadcast hoping that someday you as coaches can just say, please give us more reviews, please give us more challenges. And I know that the NBA doesn't want a three-hour game. But this video of Yana stepping out of bounds that no one saw, I mean, I know mistakes happen, Coach, but damn that hurts. Yeah, obviously, that's a play that, you know, would have changed the game. And we would have got the ball back and then we had to foul. But, you know, we don't like to look at one mistake as losing a game or winning a game.

But, you know, we looked at a lot of the other things that we didn't do well, especially in the first half guarding the three-point line. And that's what really made a difference in the game. Yeah, I don't think I want to see Gary Trent ever shoot the ball again. And Brooke Lopez, too. I'll say this. And look, the bucks are having a disappointing season. But that's still a team that is a perennial Eastern Conference power.

What did your guys learn about going against that kind of squad and having the type of game that you had against them? Well, we learned that, you know, we can guard the main guys really well and let the others get away and that can change the game. And so when you hold Janus to 20 points on 17 shots and Damila, at 18 points on 18 shots. You're doing your job with the main guys. But to your point, Lopez and Trent really made the difference specifically in the first

half, both going four for five from three. And, you know, they went 11 for 23 in the first half from three. And then we held them to two for 10 in the second half and adjusted and defended the way we do all year from the three point line, but really let them get going early. And that's what kind of gave them to lead in the first half. When you say defend the better, the three better, is that not allowing the extra pass? Is that a hand in the face? Is it a combination of both?

Yeah, it was a, they're a very high level one pass and three team. You know, they draw a lot of attention with Anto de Kompo and Lillard. And those guys are ready to load up. And I think we were helping a little bit too much at times. And then our closeouts and contests weren't good at all. We were short closeouts instead of running these guys off the line. We know they're catching shoot players. And basically 10 of the 13 that they made were due to our mistakes.

You maya doka with us here on Sports Talks, it was fun in the fact that despite things got kind of certainly in the first half, Fred took off in the third quarter, Jalen did a lot of work in the fourth. I feel like this year we have seen a lot of that work the hot hand not only gets hot, but it's like give me the ball,

I'll do this by myself if I have to. There's been a lot of that so far this year. Yeah, at times. And obviously the games where everybody's contributing and we have great balance. Those are the games that we like on a regular basis. but when some guys are struggling, I think guys take the onus on themselves to make it happen,

and you saw Fred do that the other night in jailing at times, Alperin's the other times, and, you know, that's what great players do. They see others struggling and try to make something happen. So they've done that, but I'd rather take the Chicago game where everybody's contributing. We've got multiple people in double figures, and we have a comfortable win.

That was a great night for the game against the Bulls, and that's one of the situations that you guarded the three. They took a bunch, didn't make them, and it led to a lot of transition baskets, a lot of fast break points. And then it feels like to me, you mean, you would know this. A man and Tari are due for at least two mid-court steals and putbacks in one game. And that has been a nice little asset for you to have from a defensive perspective. Yeah, I mean, we start the game with some guys that are obviously high-level defenders, but to bring those two off the bench and do what they do.

be as disruptive as they are is a luxury for sure. They're going to play on-ball off ball, pick up the ball pressure, and like you said, full court, they get a stealer to a game, which turns into a highlight. So we defended the three much better against them than Milwaukee. Got a ton

of stops and got out and ran against a team. That's not a great transition, defensive team. So, God did well, and that's our formula. Defense offensive, we can get stops and run. That's where we're at our best. You've had Alpi, have triple doubles. You've had Fred score, a bunch of points in a short period of time.

Jalen's giving you those types of games as well. Jabari gave you one last week, but I would think probably if you pulled him aside, he's probably not overly happy with this offensive production this year. When you guys talk about his development and maybe nights where the ball is dropping, is it bad shot selection? Is it spacing? Is it just ball rims out? When you guys break that down, what do you see from him offensively?

A little bit of everything as far as what you just mentioned. the open shots you're either going to make them where you're not. You saw that at the end of the Milwaukee game. We had some open looks that we missed that would have obviously extended the lead. And they made a few big shots. And so sometimes it simply comes down to that. And we keep encouraging him to be aggressive and confident and take the right shots, which he did in the Clipper game and obviously carried over to Chicago.

And so that's going to happen or not. But there are other ways you can impact the game and not just rely on jump shots going in or scoring in general. So be disruptive defensively. You know, he's been really good at getting on the offensive glass and then getting out in transition and spacing to your point, whether it's a three-point or a drive-thor basket. Transition is a big thing for him as well as the rest of our guys.

And so that's the main message. Continue to be aggressive and confident, but find a way to impact it when the shot's not falling. Let's get the tower for a little bit. I mean, just a glue guy. We were just talking about this before you joined us. Every NBA team wants a guy like that. It doesn't necessarily look at the scorecard

and says, I need as many shots, but I want to be there when necessary, and the defensive intensity and the offensive rebound. And you and I've talked about this a lot about the time away, frustrated him to no end. But even going back to his first year, which was a very nice rookie campaign to where he is right now, where has the jump in his development come from? I think just as all-around comfort offensive, offensively. You know, he does the things that he does naturally, which you mentioned defensively, and offensive rebound.

He has a knack for those things that you can't really teach. But offensively the shot has become much better, much smoother. I think him getting out of transition and handling and starting to create for himself and others is a big area of growth for him as well. So I think it's just all around the progression of playing consistent minutes. You know, that was halted last year at a time with the injuries. But he's a guy that's going to continue to take leaps every time he plays and obviously impacts the game in a crazy way.

So him being healthy is the biggest part, but you see the jump shot. And I think his recognition offensively of running for running, getting the spacing, being a screener handling a little bit more, all those things have really grown as well. Tonight you got the Pacers coach. I'm just looking at their roster. They're beat up a little bit, aren't they? Yeah, they've had some tweaks here and there. Guys have been in the lineup.

But, you know, we anticipate a lot of those guys being back tonight. And when they're back there, a really good team, obviously. And, you know, Headless Snake is Halliburton. Seaccom and Turner and Mathrim is playing extremely well for them. So they got a lot of guys, McConnell off the bench, topping off the bench, and a lot of guys that can contribute. They still want to play at the fast pace that they did last year. And, you know, they got to, went deep in the playoffs last year with that style.

And so although they're struggling a little bit now with guys in the lineup, we know when they're in full strength, they're a formidable opponent. Yeah, their pacing was up significantly over the year before. When you say that, for the audience, it's just kind of just catching a little bit of basketball here and there. what does Indiana do beyond the obvious of just pushing that makes them such a high-paced basketball team? A lot of people only push off of makes and turn or misses and turnovers. They play with an extremely fast pace off of makes. They like to inbound quick.

And I think Halliburne's one of the best that their kick-ahead passes. He takes one dribble and he finds guys streaking up toward, turn her down the middle. And so he's kind of the engine behind that. And then in the half court, they really play with a ton of pace. And so it's not just full-court transition. And at seven and the half court, they slip most, the majority of their screens are slipping out to cause confusion so a guy can get ahead of steam or they can find a shooter slipping out. So they play really fast in the half court as well. And so that makes them as equally as dangerous, not just transition-wise.

Lastly, we're celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Rockets Championship tonight. Were you a big connoisseur of mid-90s rockets or NBA in general or did you just kind of just pick and choose your games? I was when Clyde came over. No, wait a minute. That's a year after. What are you talking about? That's not nice. Mid-90s. You know, I was watching Portland, obviously, watching Clyde Drexland, Portland. And then I always watched them due to my Nigerian background with Akeem being here. And so watched them quite a bit when Clyde came over, watched them a ton.

And, yeah, the jersey was sweet. You remember those older ones with the gold trim on them. and so it would be a good thing to have back tonight. And I heard we got a bunch of the guys that wore those jerseys in attendance tonight. So I've got to put it on the show and get a win for now. I know I got Robert Ory coming on the show in the next segment. So I'm going to say get some rest. I'll see you at the arena tonight and good luck against the Pacers.

Tell them, hello. That's my old teammate from San Antonio. Oh, I'm going to make sure and say you wanted to interview with me. You can hang out if you want to. I got other things. Fair enough. All right. We'll see you tonight.

Thanks, coach. Appreciate it.