Ime Udoka explains how the Rockets became a strong defensive team / News - Basketnews.com

The new head coach of the Houston Rockets explained how the team became one of the best defensive squads in the NBA. He also shared valuable lessons and experiences he derived from his time with Gregg Popovich.

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Credit Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Ime Udoka had found himself sidelined for the majority of the 2022-23 season after he was embroiled in a controversy while he was the head coach of the Boston Celtics.

Free throws this season

74%15,5Points made:15,5Accuracy:74,4%Place in standings:24Record max:23Record min:8Most made FTs:Jalen GreenTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

He made a decent return to the league as the new head coach of the Houston Rockets after the club parted ways with Stephen Silas, currently boasting a 6-6 record across both the regular season and the In-Season Tournament.

Although the team has a long way to go, considering that a lot of it was built from the ground up, both in terms of the players and the coaching staff, results are promising so far.

One of the reasons why the team has shown good performance is because of the players' defensive effort and the schemes employed by Udoka.

The experienced head coach talked about his general defensive philosophy with the Rockets in an interview with The Athletic.

"Just not skipping any steps from Day 1. Based on our last three years, I’m not going to treat guys any differently and cut any slack or sweep anything under the rug. We had those conversations early where we needed to get better, and we needed to expedite the process," he said."We’ve added some veterans. We have a new philosophy and some different styles of coaching," he continued.

Udoka then mentioned the youthful Rockets squad.

"Now, we want guys to buy in. I said in my press conference, youth is not an excuse. If you make a mistake, I'm not going to sweep it under the rug because you're young, and you can make the same mistake over and over and over," he stated firmly.

The Rockets head coach then praised the roster of players.

"They understood that from day 1, and that's just who I am. But to everybody’s credit, they've grasped everything we’re trying to do. We've really improved, but obviously, we've got a ways to go, and we can get a lot better. That’s the great thing for this group — to see how much we can still improve," Udoka concluded by signaling caution.

Houston Rockets / Schedule

Los Angeles Clippers Houston Rockets104-100 Los Angeles Lakers Houston Rockets105-104 Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets121-116 Houston Rockets Memphis GrizzliesThu01:00 Houston Rockets Denver NuggetsSat01:00 Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets11-2901:30

It seems that Udoka's philosophy has stuck. Just as an example, the Houston Rockets was dead last in the NBA in transition defense last year. This year, they are the best. How did this transformation come about in a tactical sense beyond philosophy?

"I talked about our offense being our first leg of transition defense. Good shot selection, taking care of the ball... [In] those areas, we were 27th or worse last year with efficiency, assists, and turnovers," explained Udoka. "Obviously, that fuels fast breaks."

"That was the first thing: Let's run good offense, and we'll be better there. From there, we emphasize getting back and how good we can be in the half-court. Let’s take care of the transition and make teams beat us," he continued.

"We've done that, and we're top of the league in people shooting in the last quadrant, the last six seconds. So, we have a lot of end-of-shot clock possessions because we're switching and doing some good things. That trend will always bode well for your numbers."

Celtics' former head coach also made specific mentions to some of his players when explaining how the current Rockets' core of players perform well on defense.

"First off, you add Fred [VanFleet] and Dillon [Brooks], guys who are tough, hard-nosed, smart, high-IQ defenders who have had success," Udoka started by talking about his facilitators. "For me, I always looked at these guards; no matter who it is, if you have speed, athleticism, all these physical attributes, how can you not be an elite defender?

That was really the mindset. For a guy like Jalen [Green] or guys not known to be defenders, it's really changing the mindset because you have all the physical tools to do it.

I said to Alpi [Alperen Sengun], if you're one of the smartest, cerebral, high-IQ offensive players, you can learn to play defense with your deficiencies," Udoka commented on his interactions with Alperen Sengun, who is currently the best offensive performer in the Rockets.

He held his center to a high standard:"Okay, you're not an elite rim protector, [but] we'll put you in a position to be better and use angles, use your hands, and start to bait guys. You've seen [Nikola] Jokic and other guys who end up being decent defenders because they have high IQs."

The accomplished head coach also had some remarks to share about coaching in general, particularly regarding advice from Gregg Popovich, with whom Udoka worked in the years of 2012-19.

"Don't skip steps," Udoka summarized Popovich's lessons. "We had veteran teams every year, and we started from the bottom up like they didn't know anything. If you're doing that with veteran Hall of Famers who have won championships, obviously, you're going to do that with the younger team you need to build up," he said, reflecting on the Houston Rockets.

"Seeing that was one thing, but it's more the fundamentals, the basics, and [the] foundation. All those things about winning basketball, defense, and being unselfish, those all have been said, but it was more so watching it and watching him coach everybody the same," Udoka continued about Popovich. "Hold them to the same standard, if not harder, with Tim [Duncan], Tony [Parker] Manu [Ginobili], and the superstars."

"You push your guys harder, and everybody else follows suit. But I really think more about things that he's done than anything he said specifically — and that's 10 years of being around him — so there's tons of those," he concluded in a classy way.

The Houston Rockets will host the Memphis Grizzlies in the regular season today.

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.