The Los Angeles Lakers' aggressive defense hounded Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant in Game 2, enough to force KD into nine turnovers. But Rockets coach Ime Udoka isn't about to give the Lakers credit for their efforts.
While speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of a must-win Game 3 in Houston, Udoka made it sound like the Rockets are shooting themselves in the foot offensively, not the victims of LA's ball pressure or JJ Redick's disorienting coverage switches.
Ime Udoka seems to know an easy fix for Rockets' offensive woes
Udoka thinks the Rockets are overcomplicating things, suggesting that a simple solution is in sight to vanquish the Lakers.
"The first piece for Kevin is (to) make the easy pass, let our guys make plays behind it, and take the first easy shot," Udoka said confidently. "We passed up some 3s, got to the basket, passed up some shots, kicked it out, missed some shots. We want guys to be aggressive and confident."
Sounds basic enough, doesn't it? But then again, if it was so easy, why are the Rockets down 0-2 at the moment, despite facing a Lakers squad missing its two most dangerous offensive weapons?
The Rockets were held to under 100 points in each of the opening games of the series. They shot 33% from 3 in Game 1, and then dropped down to 24% from 3 in Game 2 (a yucky 7-for-29), despite having Kevin Durant back in the lineup. This suggests that Houston is getting less comfortable as they see more of the Lakers, contrary to Udoka's insinuations that they just need to settle in and take the easy shot.
Ime Udoka isn't fooling anyone in refusing to credit the Lakers
Oddly, Udoka chose to brand the Rockets' low scoring and poor shooting as consequences of their own making, rather than as results of the excellent Lakers defense. Many coaches would have had no problem tipping their cap to the opponent and admitting that they simply need to make adjustments and be better moving forward in the series. No competitive edge would be lost.
But that's not really how Udoka rolls. He'd rather pretend like the solution to the Lakers' defense is "easy" and try to gain a psychological edge there, for whatever reason. He's not tricking anyone on the Lakers with the strategy, and if the Rockets fail to deliver in Game 3, no one in the entire basketball world will believe Udoka, either.
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