Why Ime Udoka Is Not The Reason The Rockets Are Underperforming

After coming into the series a heavy favorite against the depleted Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets are facing a 0-2 hole heading into Game 3. Game 1’s loss was semi-defensible, as Houston was without their leading scorer, Kevin Durant.

However, The Slim Reaper returned in Game 2, and yet the Rockets were still abysmal offensively – posting a 105.6 offensive rating. As analysts will do, the media has been frying head coach Ime Udoka for seemingly underperforming thus far. One comment from The Ringer’s Zach Lowe has really gained some traction:

Now, people are questioning Udoka’s ability to guide the Rockets to the next level, with some even speculating whether or not he should remain the coach after this season.

I’m here to tell those people that Udoka is not only a great coach, but he’s also not the reason the Rockets are struggling right now.

Ime Udoka Is A Good Coach

As former NBA player Jeremy Lin highlighted in a recent Instagram reel (did you know he has 2.2 million followers on Instagram?), part of what makes a good coach is their ability to concoct smart plays in after timeout situations (ATOs).

This season, Udoka is first among all coaches in ATO efficiency relative to offensive rating (chart below is up-to-date as of March 18). Udoka fared well in the other years I ran this analysis as well.

What is even wilder is that, even if you don’t adjust for the quality of a team’s offensive personnel (Houston is 19th in halfcourt points per play), Udoka’s Rockets still finished first overall in points per ATO possession. Despite his stoic, tough guy persona, Udoka is actually a master of Xs and Os and play diagramming.

Another way to measure a coach’s acumen is how much they can squeeze out of their defense. Offense is largely based on talent and teammate synergy, but defense is more so about effort, trust, and communication – all things a great leader can coach up.

In his three seasons in southeast Texas, the Rockets have ranked in the top ten in defensive rating all three times, with two seasons in the top six (including this one). And in his lone season with the Boston Celtics, his group was the second-best in basketball.

For his career (328 regular season games), Udoka’s teams boast a win percentage of 59.8%, which ranks sixth among active coaches and 31st all-time.

This Rockets’ Team Is Not Good

Listen, I love Lowe and respect everything he has done for the industry. I also agree with him that Reed Sheppard is deserving of more playing time (I never said Udoka was pitching a perfect game), but the people who are surprised that the Rockets are down 0-2 are severely overestimating just how good they are.

This team has very little spacing (28th in 3-point rate), hardly any playoff-caliber lead ball handlers (24th in turnover rate), and not enough quick decision-makers to pick apart the advantages head coach JJ Redick is conceding with his defensive decision-making. Kevin Durant has proven throughout his career that he struggles with subpar spacing in the playoffs and functions better as a number two option. And this team just has not been the same since Steven Adams went down with injury. This is all without mentioning that Fred VanVleet has not played a second for them this season.

If you want someone to blame, point the finger at the front office for creating a roster with so many easily exploitable flaws, or the basketball gods for sidelining the two players who were supposed to patch these holes. Whatever you do, don’t blame Udoka for this awful mess.