Udoka doesn’t alter starting lineup
When Rockets coach Ime Udoka said he wanted to see his starters back together before moving to the lineup change that he had considered over the break, he had more than a onegame look in mind. That one game, if he were to be driven by emotion, might have been enough to pull the trigger on change. He didn’t.
Udoka stuck to his lineup plan with Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks both healthy, as they were in the solid start to the season, starting together as the Rockets embarked on an especially difficult and potentially decisive stretch of the season.
That also could be because the Rockets’ issues with the defense, easily punctured in New Orleans on Thursday, and the shooting, still unreliable despite the strong start against the Pelicans, are not a quick fix away from a solution.
That does not mean if things do not turn around that a different rotation might be as worth examining as the lineup that worked early in the season is being evaluated again now.
“I think there are different looks that you can have,” Udoka said. “Different players bring different skillsets to the table. Whether we are getting off to poor offensive or defensive starts, you can look at some personnel changes that can help us in those areas.
“So, we probably played the first 25, 26, 27 (games) better than the last 25, 26, 27. That includes (Thursday) night. We got off to a decent start but kind of fell off a cliff in the second quarter, turnover wise, letting them get out in transition. We did some of the things we liked in the first quarter; didn’t have a lot of carryover to the second. I think specific players do specific things better. That’s one of the things you want to look at with the lineups.”
The Rockets’ 24 turnovers on Thursday were a season high, but that was with VanVleet uncharacteristically struggling to take care of the ball. Unlike the terrible start in the final game before the All-Star break, a loss in Memphis that inspired Udoka to say he would look at changing his rotation for the first time unrelated to an injury, the Rockets started well against the Pelicans. Until the Pelicans ended the first quarter with a buzzer beater, it was a one-point game.
The Rockets, however, have not approached the caliber of defense they had played in the first 27 games. Through Christmas, the Rockets had the secondranked defense in the NBA. In the 28 games since, they have ranked 15th.
Some of that falloff can be tied to injuries, with Brooks missing nine games, VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. missing five and Cam Whitmore missing three, all since the first 27 games. But even when healthy, the Rockets have been nowhere near as active and disruptive as they were early in the season.
“(Thursday) I don’t think we guarded one-onone well,” Udoka said. “It was a little bit too easy for (C.J.) McCollum and at times (Zion) Williamson. The blow-bys are one thing. Keeping them in front and making them take a tougher shot, I think our one-onone defense wasn’t great.”
That has been an ongoing problem, at least when compared to the early season strength in that area. Beyond that, the Rockets have not defended the 3point line as well. Teams have increasingly targeted center Alperen Şengün not just inside, as the Pelicans did with Jonas Valanciunas, but also in pick-androll.
“Transition has hurt us, at times,” Udoka said. “For me, we haven’t been as sharp as we were at the start of the season. You can feel the difference, see the difference in how we’re guarding one-on-one, and guys … were guarding better early in the season.”
Offensively, Jalen Green’s shooting struggles have grown worse after a five-game stretch averaging 29.8 points when he seemed to be coming out of it. In the eight games since, he has averaged 14.4 points on 17.4% 3-point shooting.
Some of the potential lineup changes, however, might not solve that, even if not motivated by an effort to get an important player going. Rookie Amen Thompson, who had a career-high 22 points on Thursday, has been reliably productive when filling in for VanVleet and then off the bench when VanVleet returned. But he does not solve the Rockets’ range shooting issues, making 17.1% of his 3s this season.
“Teams are going to make us prove it,” Udoka said of the Rockets’ shooting, ranked 27th in 3-point percentage. “We are not one of the better shooting teams in the league, so teams are going to pack the paint and make us prove it to them. Along with our defense, our shooting to start the season was a lot better.”
Thompson’s play can be considered a bright spot, whether an immediate solution or something to build on.
“I think the expectation is to continue to build and be on the trajectory that he is,” Udoka said. “We always talk about the 25 games he missed with the injury and where he might have been right now. But with the opportunity, Fred being out and others being out, he has gotten more minutes, more looks in different spots. For him, it’s to continue to grow.
“I think you see him getting more comfortable game-by-game, minute-byminute while he’s out there. Even him in the fourth quarter, we wanted to get him some meaningful minutes, even though we’re playing a back-to-back. We’re in that mix of wanting to continue to develop him and get other younger guys meaningful minutes.”
As the Rockets began a stretch with three games against the Suns, including Friday’s game, and two against the Thunder, mixing development with the pursuit of better results remains a goal.
Neither needs a lineup change to be addressed. That does not rule one out. But after wanting more time to see his preferred lineup together, Udoka wanted more than one game, even if he did not see what he wanted.