“ She's good! », smiles Ime Udoka who has just been asked by a journalist about the status of her blood pressure. “ It's good to play in such an environment and play a high-stakes match. And to come back to the 1990s. 91-90, we take “, develops the Rockets coach.
A way to put pressure on the unbreathable end of the match which took place at the Toyota Center. Her team in bad shape, she was able to respond with a big final run to win in the heart of a very defensive match and continue her journey in the NBA Cup.
“ The atmosphere was different. But like I said, we're playing for something. And it's a first for many of our guys to play such games. Guys who didn't make the playoffs », continues Ime Udoka.
And there are many of them. Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr.… None of the team's young executives made it to the final stages. The Texan franchise has also been deprived of the playoffs since 2020, when James Harden was still teaming up with Russell Westbrook.
“ It's very cool, especially for the guys who have been there since the beginning who haven't experienced this type of situation. We showed our development “, thus testifies Jalen Greenbelieving that his Rockets had “ not even dispute [leur] best match » of the year, in reference to their distant clumsiness (6/27 at 3-points).
Good for the long term
For Ime Udoka, beating the Warriors in this context, after years of drought, is a sign of “ determination to strive to go further. We want to achieve the goals that we narrowly missed last year. […] This will only help us in the long run. Pressure situations are new for some of our guys who haven't been there, and we have other guys who have experienced that every year. »
Despite a strong second half of the season last year, his team narrowly failed to qualify for the play-in, with five wins less than the same Warriors, 10th in the West.
To help the team return to this level, Ime Udoka can rely on a handful of veterans who have experienced big matches. Among them, Fred VanVleet, NBA champion in 2019 in Toronto.
“ It's nice, I haven't had this much fun in a long time, playing for something… Even more work awaits us now “, appreciates the playmakerbefore adding: “ We felt like we were close last year. Unfortunately, we didn't get there. We wanted to get there this year by playing well to start the season, it's a good test for us to go to Vegas. »
And a new “ not in the right direction » judges Ime Udoka, whose team occupies second place in its conference with 17 victories for 8 defeats.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Jalen Green | 24 | 32.6 | 39.9 | 32.8 | 87.2 | 0.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 19.5 |
| Alperen Sengun | 24 | 31.0 | 47.3 | 25.0 | 76.7 | 3.4 | 7.2 | 10.6 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 18.5 |
| Fred Vanvleet | 22 | 35.1 | 39.1 | 32.1 | 83.1 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.9 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 16.0 |
| Dillon Brooks | 24 | 31.0 | 42.2 | 38.6 | 82.9 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 12.8 |
| Amen Thompson | 24 | 26.9 | 54.6 | 30.0 | 69.9 | 2.3 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 11.9 |
| Jabari Smith, Jr. | 24 | 30.0 | 43.1 | 35.1 | 85.7 | 1.8 | 5.3 | 7.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 11.5 |
| Tari Eason | 22 | 22.9 | 47.6 | 30.3 | 76.7 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 11.3 |
| Cam Whitmore | 8 | 9.9 | 37.5 | 4.8 | 62.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 5.9 |
| Aaron Holiday | 14 | 9.5 | 48.8 | 46.9 | 77.8 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 4.4 |
| Jock Landale | 14 | 11.1 | 44.7 | 50.0 | 52.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 3.9 |
| Reed Sheppard | 24 | 11.7 | 35.7 | 30.4 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 3.8 |
| Steven Adams | 13 | 11.1 | 59.1 | 0.0 | 40.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 2.6 |
| Jeff Green | 7 | 5.7 | 53.8 | 37.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.4 |
| Jae'sean Tate | 10 | 5.9 | 56.3 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.4 |
| Nate Williams, Jr. | 3 | 3.3 | 75.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 |
| Jack McVeigh | 6 | 3.6 | 27.3 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.3 |
