Ime Udoka on 2024-25 Houston Rockets: ‘Deepest team I’ve had’
As head coach of the 2021-22 Celtics, Ime Udoka led Boston to the 2022 NBA Finals. He also had stops as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs, and that multi-year run included the Spurs' 2014 title.
Yet, he tells Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that there's something particularly distinctive about the 2024-25 Houston Rockets.
“This is the deepest team I’ve had,” Udoka told Mannix. “And I’ve been around some really good teams.”
That depth has been tested in recent months amid multi-week injuries to the likes of Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and now Amen Thompson.
Yet, quality bench performances from reserves such as Steven Adams, Aaron Holiday, Cam Whitmore, Jeff Green, Jock Landale, Jae'Sean Tate, Jeff Green, Nate Williams, and even rookie Reed Sheppard have helped plug gaps. And suddenly, the Rockets (41-25, No. 5 in the Western Conference standings) are on a four-game winning streak and only a game back of the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets (both 42-24) for the West's No. 2 spot.
Even so, the Rockets would certainly love to have Thompson back as soon as possible. But in the meantime, their depth is helping to mitigate his absence. The majority of Houston's minutes this season have gone to a seven-man group featuring VanVleet, Thompson, Smith, Eason, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, and Dillon Brooks, yet many sparingly used players from lower tiers have proven ready when Udoka calls their number to play.
Mannix' complete column on Udoka and the Rockets, which was written after the Sports Illustrated scribe paid an extended visit to Houston in recent weeks, can be read here.
Column: Yes, the Rockets are for real https://t.co/bnJnsm2eSq
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) March 13, 2025
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Ime Udoka on 2024-25 Houston Rockets: ‘Deepest team I’ve had’
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