Udoka has led a quick turnaround in Houston
There was no question Ime Udoka would have success in Houston. He led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first season as coach, but then his personal issues and bad decisions derailed his tenure in Boston.
How quickly Udoka would enjoy success with the Rockets was a question for a franchise that had been moribund since James Harden departed for Brooklyn four years ago. Udoka told his younger players that work habits and culture would have to change after Houston amassed only with 59 wins over the previous three seasons.
And after spending most of his first season taking baby steps, becoming an improved home team but still poor on the road, Udoka has the Rockets playing their best basketball in years over the past two weeks. Behind the wildly athletic Jalen Green and veteran Fred VanVleet, the Rockets have won 11 consecutive games and are making a playoff push.
The Rockers are one game behind the Warriors for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference with nine games to play. The Warriors travel to Houston for a showdown Thursday, a game that could signal the end of the Golden State dynasty and the return of the Rockets as a contender.
Making the play-in may earn Udoka some Coach of the Year votes, and it will punctuate what has been a breakthrough season for the franchise.
“Consistency across the board, we have been more consistent in what we’re doing,” Udoka said this past week. “We can rely on defense when we need to, and the offense will get going eventually.”
After winning their 10th in a row, at Oklahoma City in overtime last Wednesday, the players celebrated heartily. On March 6, the Rockets were languishing at 27-35 following a home loss to the Clippers. And then they were dealt a blow when gifted center Alperen Sengun was sidelined for the season with an ankle injury.
Since then, Green has become the unquestioned leader, averaging 28.5 points in March, 9 above his season average, and shooting 42.9 percent from the 3-point line. Udoka said he understands why his younger players are cherishing this push so much. The Rockets were a directionless team for years without Harden. Now they have a path to success with a no-nonsense leader in Udoka.
“I didn’t have the pain of the last three years of all the losing,” Udoka said. “It obviously means a lot to them, myself as well. [Ten wins in a row] is hard to do in the NBA. Guys are proud of that effort, and well deserved. The last three years, 17, 20, 22 wins, that’s the reaction you’re going to get when you put together 10 in a row.”
It’s not Udoka’s nature to laud his players for short-term accomplishments because they are still so far from their eventual goal. The Rockets took a chance on Udoka considering his recent past, and he has kept it strictly basketball in Houston, giving the Rockets more of a defensive mind-set, while raising the expectations of the younger players.
He motivated Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Boston with his hardnosed style. It’s the same approach in Houston, and the results have been promising.
“To still be playing for something, 10 in a row, and playing against high-quality teams, that’s the reaction you’re going to get,” Udoka said. “I think the young guys to go through this and obviously making the playoffs, the playin would be another step. But going through what they are now and the other side of .500 this late in the season is huge for them.”
SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY Boston remains special to Rivers
Last year, Doc Rivers was coaching the 76ers, and he fell short of knocking off the Celtics in the playoffs, a series loss that likely cost him his job. This year, he is leading the Bucks as they vie for a second NBA title in four years, and the Celtics are the primary nemesis.
Coming back to Boston remains a sentimental journey for Rivers, who coached the Celtics for nine years and led the franchise to its first title in 22 years. He will always be cherished here because that 2008 team is cherished.
“All of [my previous jobs] have meaning because you worked there. Orlando gave me my first job,” he said. “The Clippers, Philly. But come on, c’mon, I was here for nine years. We won a title. We went to the Finals twice. My emotional energy will always be here. It’s another home for me.
“I come here in the summer. I go to the Vineyard, spend time, I feel like a Bostonian when I do that. That will never go away. It’s cool being here whenever I get here. I go to the same places. I eat the same food. I’m just happy all those restaurants are still open, which means I have good taste.”
It’s been 11 years since Rivers decided he wanted to part of a rebuild and took the Clippers job, opening the opportunity for Brad Stevens to resurrect the Celtics. Rivers said he still feels a deep connection to the franchise.
“I’m not removed from it when you get to the building, when you walk in the building,” he said. “You see all the people that you know. Your friends are still your friends here. They don’t go away. You just have special relationships with people here. That’s the part the people don’t get that will never go away. The connection with those people just never leaves, from the trainers to the equipment manager. It just never goes away.”
Rivers acknowledged it’s more difficult coaching a team that is trying to knock off the Celtics. He remembers how desperate the city was for a championship. It’s now been 16 years since that last title, and the hunger has returned.
“I told the story last year when we came here for Game 7. This guy on the street gave me this big hug, said he was conflicted, and then he said, ‘No, I’m not. I really want you to lose today.’ ” Rivers said. “That kind of stuff happens. But it’s a competition. When the game starts, they want to beat you and you want to beat them.”
There’s been an adjustment period in Milwaukee. The Bucks have looked strong in stretches, befuddling in others. The defense has improved. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have given Rivers their approval after a difficult stretch with previous coach Adrian Griffin.
Rivers said his plan is to practice more and put less emphasis on games down the stretch to prepare his aging team for the postseason.
“I will say there are some similarities [to those older Celtics teams], for sure,” said Rivers. “We’ve definitely made a choice of having more practices now. Where at this time of the year we probably would not do that, but we choose to. I think it’s important, and they may cost us a game or two by doing that, and I’m fine with that. I don’t want to lose any games, but it’s more about getting ready. We’ve explained that to our guys and I think it’s going to pay dividends.”
Rivers knows the team has been engaged amid the changes.
“I think we’ve improved,” he said. “We’re going to be to very tough to beat once it comes. In some ways, it’s been easier with the players that we have because they’re very coachable, just a great group of high-character guys.”
Rivers said the Bucks aren’t the same defensively without Jrue Holiday, but he’s trying to adjust.
“We’re not going to run the Jrue Holiday defense,” Rivers said. “Jrue and Dame are completely different guys. Dame is an offensive scorer who can play defense. Jrue’s a guy who can score that is a great defender. It forces you to play differently. Jrue’s ability to pressure the ball up the floor, we don’t have that. We don’t have the guards that can just get over screens. It forces us to play different, but we’re still learning that.”
ETC. Can 76ers deliver late-season push?
The 76ers have experienced yet another up-and-down season with Joel Embiid having missed the past two months because of knee surgery and the roster experiencing changes with several trades. Philadelphia has dropped into position for the Play-In Tournament and will have to make a late-season push to pass Indiana for the sixth seed. The good news is Embiid is expected back before the end of the regular season.
The 76ers are in precarious times because they don’t have a championship-caliber roster, but they have to make a push every season with Embiid. Will the 76ers serve as a potential firstround upset pick with a healthy Embiid? Will players such as Tobias Harris and Buddy Hield improve their contributions enough to turn the 76ers into a threat?
While the Celtics have taken a definitive step forward, their rivals are no longer an elite team in the East. Firstyear coach Nick Nurse believes the team is improving, but the 76ers are 713 since the All-Star Break and haven’t won more than two in a row since January.
Nurse sees improvement. And the hope is Embiid’s return will make all the difference.
The 76ers lost a heartbreaker Wednesday to the Clippers, with Nurse and swingman Kelly Oubre each fined $50,000 Friday for criticizing officials after the loss. Oubre pointed at and called each official the same choice word after no foul was whistled on Paul George on Oubre’s drive in the final seconds.
“I think our defense is getting a lot better. It is,” Oubre said. “We’re getting a lot better and we’re figuring out some things and effort is there, and all that kind of stuff. I mean, we outplayed [the Clippers], I thought we guarded them, we created good shots, all that kind of stuff. They were certainly using their physicality. They were really trying to bury us all the way down in the basket. They were really crashing the glass, all those kinds of things. And I thought we stood in there for the most part pretty good on it.”
Tyrese Maxey has been trying to carry the load with Embiid out, and while he has turned in a sparkling season without the presence of James Harden, it’s been difficult being the primary scoring option. But Maxey said he enjoys trying to please a fanbase that’s waited more than 40 years for a title.
“We have to take care of the ball, we have to finish games,” he said. “I think the fans show up every night, I’m not going to lie, they show up every night. No matter what day it is, no matter who we’re playing, but, of course, they put their two cents into the game, and we have the best fans in the business.”
Hield, acquired in a trade with the Pacers, has tried to become a 3-point spark while improving his defense and playmaking. The results have been mixed.
“I’ve just got to keep being patient,” Hield said. “That’s the big word. Wait for things to come. Just try to make the right play and be aggressive, when I need to be aggressive, or be patient, of course.”
On his improvement defensively, he said, “When you figure out things, you do more to earn more minutes on the basketball court. You try to perfect your defense and knowing defenses. You know, everybody says play defense first on the court, then everything handles the rest. Doing my job defensively and getting timely stops and being the guy the team try to pick up.”
Of course, Wednesday was also the return of Harden to Philadelphia. After an uneven playoff performance, including an essential no-show in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics, Harden wanted an extension, said he was promised one, and then publicly criticized president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, calling him a “liar.”
Morey executed a trade for Harden to the Clippers, with mixed results for both teams. Neither has flourished, but Harden was booed each time he touched the ball Wednesday.
“It was one versus 20,000. We’ve got his back,” George said. “We’ve got to be a support system, and we’ve got to pick him up and lift him. And I thought we did that, we were there for him. And try to make it as easy as possible for him to kind of drown out the noise.
“It was no conversation; we’ve all gone through it. It’s always bittersweet. And it’s always going to be bad blood, when a player decides to play elsewhere. That was his decision and we’ve got his back through the process and we were able to come out and play.”
Harden said he has fond memories of his time in Philadelphia, and was confused by the crowd reaction.
“I think I did a lot,” he said. “I also had a very impactful, positive impact on a lot of people while I was here, a year and a half. I’m grateful for those relationships, I’m grateful for the opportunity and things like that. Those things that I can cherish and move on with. Everything else doesn’t matter. I expected [the booing]. I don’t really know what it’s about, but I expected it. So, it is what it is. I don’t know why they were booing.”
Layups
There’s major controversy in Minnesota and it has nothing to do with the Timberwolves’ quest for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Owner Glen Taylor announced the club is no longer for sale and a group led by former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and entrepreneur Marc Lore is no longer in line for the purchase. Taylor claims the prospective ownership group did not meet conditions to execute the sale and will remain minority partners. “I will continue to work with Marc, Alex, and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” Taylor said in a statement. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.” Meanwhile, representatives for Rodriguez and Lore said Taylor is experiencing “seller’s remorse” and they were prepared to meet all conditions for the sale. Taylor’s difficult relationship with Hall of Famer and former Celtic Kevin Garnett is one of the reasons why the Timberwolves have yet to retire his number. Garnett told the Globe last year that a potential ownership change might spark his jersey retirement, but that apparently won’t happen any time soon . . . Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he is content with the club not utilizing its open roster spot as the playoffs approach. The Celtics are limited in who they could bring in because most of the desirable players through the buyout market have been signed. Most of the available players are free agents waived by other clubs or G League products who may not make much of a contribution. The Celtics could convert the contract of Neemias Queta to a standard NBA contract, which would make him eligible for the playoff roster, but it appears they would have made that transaction already if they wanted to guarantee his contract. The club also will has to determine this summer what to do with former second-round pick JD Davison, who has spent most of his first two seasons in the G League. Players can only spend two years on a two-way contract with the same team, meaning the Celtics would have to make a standard NBA contract commitment to Davison.