{"id":716597,"date":"2026-04-23T14:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/716597\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:54:22","slug":"ime-udoka-explains-the-rockets-issues-after-game-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/716597\/","title":{"rendered":"Ime Udoka Explains the Rockets\u2019 Issues After Game 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

This first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers has not gone the Houston Rockets\u2019 way in the slightest. It has gone the completely opposite way<\/a> of what the expectations were coming in. The Rockets supposedly got the favorable matchup, going against the Lakers without their starting backcourt in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves due to injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, the Rockets lost Game 2 i<\/a>n Los Angeles 101-94 and are down 0-2 in the series, much to the shock of the general public. While Kevin Durant was unavailable for the Rockets in Game 1 with a right knee contusion, he was able to suit up <\/a>for Game 2. That was supposed to significantly favor Houston, but it made no difference to the result.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was a tale of two halves as Durant scored 20 in the first half, but just three in the second as the Lakers adjusted their defensive game plan. The Rockets had seen the double teams against Durant in the regular-season matchups, but still struggled to deal with that as KD had nine turnovers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The offensive struggles were just about the same as Game 1. Although the Rockets shot slightly better from the field at 40 percent, they were abysmal from three at just 24 percent (7\/29). The Lakers defense gave them trouble in getting open or good shots and holding onto the ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Udoka\u2019s Post-Game Press Conference\"Houston<\/p>\n

Apr 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka at press conference during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka has received plenty of criticism for his lack of offensive adjustments, and that was even more loud during and after Game 2. His style of isolation basketball has not worked well with this team at various points against playoff competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He shared his overall takeaways from the first two games of the series when asked in the press conference.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDefending well enough but not scoring. That\u2019s the bottom line of these two games. We need to figure out ways to see the ball go in the basket, attack out of that and get to some sets where we\u2019re not as stagnant and turn-over prone,\u201d Udoka said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Udoka explained what went wrong once again when the Lakers doubled Durant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTurnovers are a part of it. We\u2019ve got to be aggressive and be in attack mode out of that. Too many times we held it, they get back to their matchup and we don\u2019t have any advantage and get a late shot clock,\u201d Udoka said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It really started to become a factor in the third quarter when the Rockets could only manage 17 points. With Durant not scoring himself, the offense <\/a>became stagnant and Houston did not have an answer. No one else consistently stepped up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That starts with Alperen Sengun. The Rockets All-Star center ended up with good numbers of 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and two blocks, but it was a different story during the game. He was inconsistent and struggled with shot selection. Udoka gave his thoughts on Sengun\u2019s performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThink being a little hesitant when you\u2019re in there. You gotta go and he did that a few times and went and got layups, but you got to be aggressive and not hesitant there. You\u2019re point blank at the basket or you\u2019re finding guys, and I think just a little too much hesitation and that makes you miss those shots,\u201d Udoka said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the offense was struggling late during the season, the Rockets turned to Reed Sheppard to lead as the only true point guard on the roster. It provided great results with ball movement and a rejuvenated offense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He only played 11 minutes in Game 2 off the bench and scored 0 points. Even then he was plus-1 thanks to three assists and a steal. The Rockets offense did look a bit cleaner when he was in the game, but Sheppard was also 0\/3 from three. While he may have deserved more minutes, Sheppard has to heat up shooting-wise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is what Udoka said regarding Sheppard postgame. Clearly, he never considered him an option.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we were guarding well enough, and with the unit that we had in, we went small and switched a lot of the action so stayed with that. Holding them to 101 is enough, we just didn\u2019t score,\u201d Udoka said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Udoka explained how the Rockets missed some open threes when they were able to make some good plays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMissed too many layups and threes, scoring has been a problem in this series, shooting 40 percent again,\u201d Udoka said. \u201cToo many points left off the board, either point-blank layups or wide-open kick-out threes. Just not shooting it well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udoka gave credit to Marcus Smart for making some tough shots, but clearly admitted the defense was not good enough on both Luke Kennard and Smart and failed to rotate when switching in the second half. Smart had 25 points on 5\/7 shooting from the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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