After the Spurs, it was the Rockets’ turn to offer an open “scrimmage” to their fans. The opportunity for the recruits to introduce themselves, for former glories (Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler) to express themselves but also for Ime Udoka to reveal some aspects of his work.
Starting with its starting five with Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun. Facing them, Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, Jae’Sean Tate and Jeff Green. This second five, with two rookies, impressed with its changes in defense, and this will be one of the new coach’s areas of work.
A defense with a lot of “switch”
“As we start from scratch, we stick to fairly simple things,” warns Ime Udoka about the systems put in place so far. “We are overdosing on switch. We want everyone to be aggressive on the changes and we will balance that as we go, preparing for matches. I think guys who are naturally uncomfortable with it get better at it, and some do it really well. »
New leader, and even leader, of the team, Fred VanVleet completely adheres to these defensive principles, very demanding physically, but also in terms of reading the game. He warns that the interior players will therefore have to demonstrate mobility.
” This is a good thing. When you look at the group we have and you observe the players, one by one, they can be effective,” judged Fred VanVleet during “media day”. “There are a lot of switches in the way of playing in the NBA currently. For example, we really challenge Alpi to find different ways to be effective on defense. He probably won’t just stay under the backboard like he’s used to. He will become more active. Jeff (Green) will probably play in the 5. Obviously, there is Jabari (Smith Jr.) and all these interiors who are versatile. Jock (Landale) can also move a little. And then we have, the full-backs and the wingers… There’s potential to do a lot of good things in defense and I can’t wait for that to start.”
Another area of work: ball management, and that concerns Fred VanVleet. Last season, Kevin Porter Jr. played point guard, and he lost a lot of balls. Result: the Rockets conceded a lot of easy baskets on these turnovers. In fact, no team conceded more points from lost balls and counter-attacks!
“This team must change the image of the franchise! »
“Last year, we were in difficulty with points conceded on counter-attacks or after losing the ball”confirms Ime Udoka. “So we really want to take care of the ball. And when we score a basket, we have to move more quickly from offense to defense.”
For now, after a short week of training, the message is getting through, according to Ime Udoka.
” Everything went well “summarizes the former Boston coach about the “training camp”. “What I told the guys at the end was that honestly the effort was excellent. Concentration too. I brought up some points in the first video session, and they followed through well. We were very satisfied to see that they controlled themselves, that they took responsibility for each other, that there was a lot of communication on the ground. The presence of veterans is bearing fruit and the young people are giving their all.”
For Ime Udoka, the conclusion is simple: “This team must change the image of the franchise! »
