Ime Udoka after Rockets stun Thunder, win 10th straight

It's been one hell of a run. They'll get another one Friday in Utah. Then they have a tough 6 game stretch that will determine who they really are.

Dallas
Minnesota
Golden State
Miami
Dallas
Orlando

I've been saying this a lot lately but it's true...

It's gonna be fun!

 

Unfortunately, GS winning that back to back has made it almost imperative that we win at least 5 of these six games after beating Utah and the one loss can’t be to GS. Because of the tie-breaker we are effectively 2 games behind the Warriors with both teams with 10 games left. GS’ remaining schedule is much easier.

 

No doubt. It's getting real...

 

Paolo/Wagner put up a stinker yesterday.

 

The media has been hyping us booting GS out of the play-in and they took that to heart. Thanks media for lighting a fire under their asses, idiots!

 

Jalen Green is deservedly so going to get all the hype from this game but HUGE shouts out are in order for Dillon, Amen, and Jabari for stepping up in key moments. THAT is 100% the difference between this team and Rockets teams of the past that I can only attribute to the culture shift Udoka brings. These guys never lose confidence and keep that edge and effort on every play - it's the consistency that Udoka talk about in the presser. It's never "it's Jalen's turn, the rest of us are going to take a nap this play" - everyone is fighting to be ready on every play. Amen's MONSTER board game is evidence of that, Jabari's finding moments to be ready when called on(and delivering when he is), Dillon doing his best to keep pressure on the Thunder defense when the ball came his way and being far less reactive when defending and just putting in the effort and not reacting as much (although he still managed to pick up a BS tech but that was more about the refs than Brooks).....

I mean it's a really big moment for the culture of this team because we just saw the best team in the West even missing their best player put up a hell of an offensive night - and it didn't matter because we still did the little things that Udoka preaches game after game. They shot better than us(hitting 49% of shots and 36% from 3), blocked more of our shots, got to the line more(and shot better from there) and STILL lost the game because we did the little things - pressured OKC into turnovers with great individual defense, we took care of the ball better than OKC, we won the battle for offensive boards(give it to Amen directly here but also I see you Jock and even Aaron Holiday in limited minutes!), and Udoka did a great job riding the hot hand and keeping "on" the guys who were making a difference rather than sticking to a rotation.

I mean the ONLY they could have won this game is by getting more attempts at the basket and they did it - against a team we are aiming to be better than. It's incredible and I'm so proud of this squad from top to bottom. This is maybe my favorite Rocket team of all time and so much better than those Harden led teams because we do it as a team.

 

OKC Stunder.