Ime Udoka Articles - Page 4

Bolstered by a nearly fully healthy roster, at long last, and fueled by an electric second quarter, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (12-9) rolled to an easier-than-expected win over the Houston Rockets, 107-97, on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena. Playing their fifth contest in eight days — the first in Los Angeles since […]

In a back-and-forth game at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night, the Houston Rockets found themselves on the losing end, falling to the Dallas Mavericks 121-115. This loss not only eliminates the Rockets from the In-Season Tournament, but also extends their road woes. In addition to being 8-7 on the season, Houston is now 0-6 […]

There was no question that Ime Udoka was piecing together something special when he was the head coach of the Boston Celtics. But while Udoka was performing well on the sidelines, the former NBA veteran was also caught having a relationship with a Celtics staff member. This ultimately resulted in suspension for violating the team’s […]

The Houston Rockets have had a much better start to the 2023-24 season than expected, racing out to an 8-6 record after their blowout 105-86 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Unsurprisingly, Jalen Green has played a big role in their hot start, and he’s already winning over his new head coach Ime […]

Ime Udoka’s Houston Rockets face a huge problem: Winning on the road. The team’s early season vigor, marked by a 6-3 start, is now overshadowed by their struggles away from home. Houston’s overall record stands at 6-6, with five of those losses coming on the road. Their road struggles–including a defeat to the Los Angeles […]

The Houston Rockets have not seen a third-year leap from athletic shooting guard Jalen Green; to start the 2023-24 season, Green’s scoring numbers have been down, his efficiency metrics have been discouraging, and his overall fit alongside a core of Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet appears to be up in the air. In fact, during […]

Man, is it fun to watch Houston Rockets basketball again. Riding high following a 6-1 home stand, the Rockets will travel to Los Angeles and play against the slumping Clippers this Friday in their second game of the in-season tournament. In West Group B, the Rockets will look to make it 2-0 in group play. […]

The newly retooled Houston Rockets are 6-3 on the young NBA season and turning heads as one of the most exciting and talented young teams in the league. Coach Ime Udoka is helping to shift the perspective of fans on the Rockets in leading them forward despite their youth. The All-Star Game merits of Alperen […]

Ime Udoka has been managing his young core of Houston Rockets players fairly well. A huge addition in terms of veteran leadership on the work was Fred VanVleet. He made guys like Tari Eason, and Jabari Smith Jr. take a big leap in the first few games of the season. But, one high-caliber player has […]

With a chance to go above .500 for the first time in two years and nine months, the Houston Rockets faced no shortage of motivation heading into their Wednesday night matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, head coach Ime Udoka saw it fit to light an even greater fire underneath third-year guard Jalen Green, […]

It’s five games in, and Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka is already making strides as a leader. Even though it’s a small sample size, it’s safe to declare that Udoka is a much better coach than Stephen Silas due to a more embraced situation. While the Rockets are 2-3 to start the season, the last […]

HOUSTON – Starting the season 0-3 was the least of the Houston Rockets expectations. One of the main reasons why the team hasn’t scratched out a win is due to their bench. Trading away Kevin Porter Jr. due to his domestic assault case, coupled with Tari Eason’s injury, has significantly impacted the second unit, which […]

The Houston Rockets are scheduled to take on Orlando in the Magic Kingdom on October 25, tipping off the 2023-2024 NBA season in Florida. It should be an exciting one for the Rockets regardless of their finish, as the team is loaded with young talent as well as controversial defensive stalwart Dillon Brooks, who arrived […]

The Houston Rockets enter the 2023-24 NBA season with one of the more intriguing rosters in the league. The Rockets added several veterans such as Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jeff Green, and Jock Landale in the offseason to complement a crop of young talent that includes Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and this year’s No. 4 […]

For the majority of the past year or so, a potential James Harden reunion with the Houston Rockets has been floated out by reputable NBA insiders, one of which was ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowkski. But that possibility became less and less enticing for the Rockets in the aftermath of their hiring of Ime Udoka as the […]

The Houston Rockets have been, simply put, abysmal for the past three seasons. Ever since the Rockets traded away James Harden in early 2021, the Rockets have fallen on hard times, yet to turn things around in what has been a rebuilding process that’s been full of tumult. But with new head coach Ime Udoka […]

The Houston Rockets were wheeling and dealing this offseason by spending an exorbitant amount of money to sign several veteran free agents. They signed Fred VanVleet to a monstrous three-year, $130 million contract and gave Dillion Brooks a four-year, $86 million deal a day later. After that, they signed Jeff Green to a two-year $16 […]

Just before the 2022-23 NBA season began, the Boston Celtics were in complete disarray. Ime Udoka, the head coach who led the C’s to their first Finals appearance in over a decade, was suspended and Boston was searching for a new leader. But instead of panicking, Celtics star Jayson Tatum tried to unite the locker […]

While things didn’t end well for Ime Udoka with the Boston Celtics, Grant Williams has nothing but respect and admiration for his former coach. The new Dallas Mavericks forward admitted as much in his recent talk with Emily Austin of The Hoop Chat. In the interview, Austin asked Williams about his previous comments on Udoka […]

When James Harden was the featured star of the Houston Rockets, this team was always one of the final squads standing in the playoffs, right on the cusp of the NBA Finals. However, Harden and the Rockets were never able to break through, resulting in the franchise taking a step back. Three seasons have come […]

Marcus Smart was traded out of Boston, but that doesn’t mean his love for the Celtics is gone. And speaking of love, Smart tied the knot last weekend with Maisa Hallum, whom he proposed to while still on the C’s in December. The wedding was also a reunion of sorts as plenty of current and […]

The breakup between new Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka and his longtime partner, actress Nia Long, is getting uglier and now includes a legal custody battle over their 11-year-old son. TMZ is reporting that Long filed documents in a Los Angeles court to request “primary legal and physical custody” of the former couple’s son, […]

Although the Houston Rockets can’t have been too happy when veteran center Brook Lopez spurned them in free agency to rejoin the Milwaukee Bucks, the immediate benefit of a 2023 Defensive Player of the Year finalist choosing against anchoring their defense was that there would be not significant change in the role of 21-year-old center […]

Most NBA coaches have several years to prepare for a head coach position, but not Joe Mazzulla. The Boston Celtics boss had to immediately fill in after Ime Udoka was suspended and while it meant that he could take over a talented squad, it also placed tons of pressure on the young coach. Under Mazzulla, […]

Before making the big move to the Dallas Mavericks this summer, Grant Williams spent the first four seasons of his career with the Boston Celtics. During that time, the new Mavs recruit had the opportunity to play under three different coaches — all of whom have made their respective marks not only on the franchise […]

For a while there, it seemed like 2018 NBA MVP James Harden was a lock to return to the Houston Rockets. Then rumors surfaced about Harden only using his history with the Rockets and their desperation to make the playoffs to drive up his price, and that he was expected to stay with the Philadelphia […]

The Houston Rockets are “close” to hiring former San Antonio Spurs center Tiago Splitter as an assistant for Ime Udoka’s staff, according to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko. Splitter and Udoka were on staff with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021-22. Splitter has been with the Nets since the 2019-20 season. Udoka has also reportedly brought three […]

Losing in the NBA Finals a year ago and making upgrades to their roster in the offseason, the Boston Celtics looked to be the team to beat in the NBA this season. However, they were unable to get back to the Finals this season, losing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the […]

Just when Boston Celtics fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, their former coach Ime Udoka comes in and adds insult to injury. An already-thin Celtics coaching staff under Joe Mazzulla will reportedly be gutted further by Udoka, as he’s expected to bring in three assistants from Boston to join him on the Houston Rockets […]

The Boston Celtics are in a deep hole against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, trailing in the series 3-0, and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Celtics’ downfall could relate to the dismissal of head coach Ime Udoka last offseason. “This team, this locker room, they never got over Ime Udoka’s […]

The Houston Rockets are starting to build a coaching staff around new head coach Ime Udoka. Their latest addition, as reports by Tim MacMahon of ESPN, is someone with plenty of NBA coaching experience and is a well-known name among basketball fans in the state of Texas: Royal Ivey. “Nets assistant coach Royal Ivey will […]

Nia Long is seemingly taking a jab at her ex-fiancé, Ime Udoka after he cheated on her while they were engaged. The 52-year-old actress took to Instagram on Saturday to post a quote that reads: “The best revenge, is no revenge, Move on. Be happy.” Her post received an outpouring of support from various celebrities, […]

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta hit out at critics of Ime Udoka getting a second chance. Udoka was recently unveiled as the new Rockets head coach in what is his first coaching gig since his scandal with the Boston Celtics that saw him get indefinitely suspended before no longer being employed. As a reminder, the […]

New Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke to the media in his introductory press conference, and he addressed the scandal that led to the end of his tenure with the Boston Celtics, via Marc J. Spears. “This past year being honest and up front about what I went through,” Ime Udoka said, via Spears. […]

Ime Udoka is now the Houston Rockets’ newest head coach amid some criticisms about how fast it was for him to land a major gig in the NBA despite the controversial nature of his departure from the Boston Celtics. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone welcomed Udoka to the franchise via a statement. “We are excited […]

Ime Udoka’s inappropriate relationship with a basketball staffer doomed his tenure with the Boston Celtics before 2022-23 tipped off. A couple months later, reports emerged that the Brooklyn Nets were on verge of hiring Udoka to replace Steve Nash as head coach, only for the team to reverse course and promote Jacque Vaughn from within. […]

The Houston Rockets have seemingly found a new head coach to run the team after the franchise reportedly agreed on a deal with former Boston Celtics mentor Ime Udoka. Reactions to the Rockets’ hiring of Ime Udoka came not a year after he was suspended and eventually fired by the Boston Celtics for an improper […]

The Houston Rockets are hiring former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, and NBA legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to express his happiness for Udoka getting the job. “I reached out to Ime Udoka to say congratulations on accepting the Rockets head coaching job! Houston is getting a championship-caliber coach,” Magic Johnson said on […]

The Houston Rockets are officially hiring disgraced tactician Ime Udoka to be their next head coach, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Udoka had been one of the top candidates for the Rockets coaching gig, but he’s actually not the favorite. After the team fired Stephen Silas following another poor season, Nick Nurse was heavily linked […]