The Rockets had warned that they were ready to move to the next level, and their start to the season confirms it. With 10 victories in 14 matches, Ime Udoka's men are in 3rd place in the Western Conference. They are on the heels of the Thunder (11v-3d) and last night, they blew away the Bulls (143-107) in Chicago to notch a 5th victory in a row. Like the Clippers, the Bulls were held below 40% on shots and 25% on 3-pointers. With an explosive attack and an effective defense, the Rockets are scary!
“Everyone talks to each other, everyone helps each other” appreciates Alperen Sengun, author of a 2nd triple-double in a row. “It feels like we’re a really good team. We do our job: on attack, on defense, on everything! »
Unsurprisingly, Ime Udoka is satisfied with the production of his players, and unsurprisingly, he retains the defensive effort before the 143 points scored.
“It was the defense which was the most impressive and which set the tone from the start” underlines the Houston coach. “They're a fast-paced team that shoots a lot of 3-pointers and we held them to 26 points in the first three quarters and 29 in the last. It’s a combination of defense and offense, rebounding, ball movement, shooting – a combination of all of that.”
The defense compensates for the possible clumsiness
As long as the defense is active, Udoka doesn't worry about his players being clumsy. “I wasn’t concerned at all” he confirms. “It was more defensive oversights that allowed them to reach 26 points in the first quarter. But we had good positions, and we know that it will come back at some point. It’s just about having continuity in the defensive effect. The more the match progressed, the more consistent we were in defense, then the shots came in. »
At the end, we are not far from the perfect match for the Rockets who signed their best performance of the season in many categories: points (143), points in the racket (80), baskets (55), assists ( 34) and rebounds (52). All without a single player for more than 28 minutes.
