The Rockets have amassed a very nice collection of young talent, led by the likes of Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. But coach Ime Udoka is leaning on his more experienced types to provide consistency and get his messages across.
And it’s working.
Houston took a significant step forward last season, leaping from 22 wins to 41. This year, the Rox stand at 17-9 in the three-team pack with the Grizzlies and Mavericks drafting off Western Conference leader Oklahoma City.
“The veterans are the reason (the Rockets) win,” one scout told Heavy Sports. “Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks — they bring a work mentality to all of the young guys, and then the young guys kind of fill in.”
Rockets Leaning on Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks
Accordingly, VanVleet and Brooks are Nos. 1 and 3 on the club, respectively, in minutes played.
“Fred and Dillon are consistent, and then every game one or two of the young guys will have a big game,” the scout went on. “You can see it in their game-by-game numbers. Jalen Green is a big talent, and he’s going to be really great, but he’ll have a quiet game here and there, and then he’ll explode for a big number. There’s some inconsistency there, but it’s OK, because they’re all filling in for each other.
“Amen Thompson will have a big game, or Jabari Smith or Sengun. But Fred and Dillon are the ones who lead. Ime has to love having those two guys, not only on the floor but in the locker room. Those are the kind of veterans that hold the team responsible from the inside. It’s not just the coach getting on them.”
One source close to the situation put it another way.
“VanVleet ..,” he said. “You want to talk about a tough SOB, man? He really is a tough SOB. He’s unreal.”
After getting frustrated trying to work with some of the younger players in Toronto, VanVleet has to be happy his toughness and messages are getting through in Houston.
And he has support by others who’ve been around.
“Aaron Holiday is just like his brother Jrue,” said a league exec. “He’s less talented than his brother, but he’s got the same kind of mentality, and that really helps a team. He’s been really good in the room and, when he’s gotten the chance, on the floor.”
Ime Udoka Back to His Old-School Style
Guiding all this from the sideline is Udoka, who, if anything, has dug in even more in his second year with the Rockets after an unseemly departure from the Celtics.
This is, after all, the same guy who saved Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Finals against Golden State by calling the slipping Celts into a huddle and asking, “Will you guys stop playing like (expletives)?”
One veteran scout has taken particular notice of Udoka’s unbending approach.
“You know how this guy is,” he said. “If one of those young guys isn’t playing well, they’re so fast out of the game. He’s not afraid. It doesn’t matter if it’s the fourth quarter or what your contract is, if you’re not playing the right way, you’re out.
“He sticks to that more than any coach I’ve ever seen. He’s like unrelenting when it comes to that. He really is.”
Perhaps it’s of little coincidence then that the Rockets are sticking close to the top of the West.
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