After 1/5 of the regular season, the method Ime Udoka already seems to be bearing fruit since the Rockets have settled into 8th place in the Western Conference, and we will therefore have to count on them for the playoffs. Furthermore, Houston went from 29th to 4th place in the rankings. most effective defenses with 108.2 points conceded over 100 matches. Only the Wolves, Celtics and Magic are defending better this season. What is this due to?
“First of all, we added Fred (VanVleet) and Dillon (Brooks), guys who are tough, smart defenders and have had success in the past. Personally, I have always watched these defenders. No matter who you are, if you have the speed, the athleticism and all those physical attributes, how can you not be an elite defender? » asks Udoka.. “That was really my mindset. For a guy like Jalen (Green) or guys that aren’t known to be defenders, you really have to change your mindset because you have all the physical tools to do it.”
Become a good defender thanks to your playing intelligence
The former Celtics coach takes the example of Alperen Sengun. Top scorer and rebounder on his team, the Turkish pivot suffers in defense, but Udoka convinced him that he could do the job.
“I told Alpi: ‘If you are one of the smartest, most cerebral forwards, with a high IQ, you can learn to play defense with your shortcomings. Okay, you’re not a great rim protector, but we’ll put you in a position to be better, use angles, use hands and start trapping guys. We’ve seen Jokic and other guys like that end up being decent defenders because they have a high IQ. I try to take the best of our guys, their best qualities, and challenge them in that area. But the most important thing is the change in mentality. Everyone must be an advocate. You must not be the weak link in the chain. »
An effective retreat thanks to careful attacks
Another stat that stands out: the Rockets went from 30th to 1st place on defensive withdrawal! To justify this change, Udoka uses the famous adage: “The best defense is attack”.
“I said our offense is the first leg of our transition defense. Good shot selection, taking care of the ball… In these areas, we were 27th or worse last year in terms of efficiency, assists and turnovers. It’s obvious that this fuels quick transitions for opponents.” recalls the former Boston coach. “That was the first thing to do: run a good offense, and we will be better at that level. From there, we emphasize the dropback and our ability to be good in the half court. Let’s take care of the transition and make sure teams beat us. That’s what we did, and we lead the league in shots conceded in the last quarter of possessions, the last six seconds. So we have a lot of possessions that go until the end of playing time because we “switch” and we behave well. This trend always bodes well for your numbers. »
