November 20, 2025 • 9 mins
Ime Udoka Joins as the Rockets Aim to Extend Their 5-Game Win Streak
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Rockets won their fifth in row last night in Cleveland.
Let's talk about it for ten minutes with the head
coach of the Houston Rockets. He may dooka with us
here on the Matt Thomas Show with Ross tomorrow night,
Denver in town. But first things first, victory over the Cavaliers, coach,
thanks for the time. What a strange second half. You
score seventeen to the third and put up a forty
spot in the fourth. That in quarter break must have
(00:22):
been quite a conversation between you and the boys.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Really, when we went up twenty two, got a little stagnant,
you know, stopped going away from the things that got
us the lead. And when you got some really good
scores like Don Mittell Hunter on that night, they can
get back in the game easily.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Hey, the first half was something special. You guys held
them to horrific three point shooting That had to have
been part of the repertoire. Because they shoot so many
of them doesn't necessarily mean they make a lot of them.
And boy, they couldn't find him in the first half especially.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, I focused with us to you know, defend Mitchell,
you know, make it hard on him, and you know,
kind of live with some others.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Guys. A Hunter made a few, but other than that, we.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Had some guys to take shots that we prefer them
to take the whole Mitchell, the two points on one
for seven in the first half is pretty much as
good as you can get. We knew he come out
aggressive in the third and he did that, made a
few shots. Like I said, we got a little stagnant,
and you know they're gonna keep firing. They're gonna keep
playing with that pace, and that's what got them back
in the game.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
You know, sometimes stagnant play is going to be happened.
It's a long season. But you found another hero last night.
And I feel like I'm talking to somebody different on
the post game every night, because there are different heroes.
What Aaron Holliday did for you in the fourth quarter,
that had been maybe his best stretches of Houston Rocket.
What he got from you last night, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
He was great.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
He came in and made timely shots. You know, he's
We have a foul trouble across the board a little
bit with Jabbari and some guys, and so we need
some other guys to come in and you know, defend
Hunter defend Mitchell, and you know he.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Did what he could there.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
But on the offensive end, Al Brandon Kevin are gonna
draw that attention. He obviously knocked down timely shots, but
got a lot of deflections, hands on the ball, get
out in transition, made some layups and floaters as well.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, may you were a role player in the NBA,
so you obviously the guys that are on that second
tier group. What have you used as your experiences to
talk to guys that Aaron's not gonna be called every
single night, but make the most of his opportunity that's given.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
To him here. You have to be professional, which he is.
He's been there from day one.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Be ready for every opportunity, and sometimes it's going to
be two minutes, three minutes here.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You have to come in and perform.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
And when you come in the game in those situations,
your job is to increase the lead and get an
uptick and effort.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
And all the intensity and all those things.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And I think that's it's a tough thing to do,
but it's an admirable thing the way Aaron goes about it.
Jay Shan, those guys ready to play aren't always called,
but have to stay prepared, and you see the work
they put in behind the scenes, and so for us,
it's no secret, no surprise that they're going to make
shots and play at a high level and they get
their opportunity.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Rockets head coach Imiadoka was here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety Aubry Schingon continues to impress, even going after
and scoring on the Defensive Player of the Year down
the stretch in the last game, where even since you've
been here, what have you seen from him as far
as growth in his game?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Says boys, understanding it's a long game. If he has
some ups and downs, he's going to still have his
opportunities to make plays on you know, whether he's scoring
the ball or facilitating for him. I don't think he
looks at anybody as Defensive Player Year or anything like that,
and neither do we. We feel he has an advantage
every night on whoever, and whether it's mobile one night.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Or who be it.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
You know, he's going to attack the same way, be aggressive,
and he's confident in his ability to score or make
the right play on anybody.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Obviously, one of the nicknames he's gotten has been baby Joker.
What what do you think. I mean, obviously, Nikolajokic is
just a different animal. But when you hear those comparisons,
what do you think about the similarities and differences of
their games.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, I mean there's the fact that they both, you know,
are flirting with triple doubles every night.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Jokis has had a ton help. He's right around there.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
The passing ability and assessed not a typical back to
the basket center. They both can score in the post,
but they can handle on the perimeter, they can be
we can run pick and rolls for them, They got
isolations on the wing. I would say the difference is
at this point, Jokics is just more seasoned and he
understands and makes a simple play. He'll get caught up
every now and then, but you know, he's young and
(04:14):
ambitious and learning on the fly as well. And I
think for him that his athleticism is a little higher
than Yokitches. And so they have a ton of similarities.
And that's obviously a great name to be compared to,
but he's trying to carve out his own niche and
he looks up to him and the things he does
and sees the areas he can be successful as well.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
I know he's been floating with triple doubles a lot
so far this year. Does he ever beg to stay
on the floor to get that one final assist or
is he get like one shot in one channel?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Need to get it done?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Of course they all beg the scene, and to me,
it's if you get in the natural flow of the game, great,
it's not We're not going to leave you an up
thirty and risk injury or anything like that. And so
you know it'll happen that it continues. He's had them
in European competition. He's flirt flirter with him, like you
said here, and so you know last year we had
an injury having not men. You know he's won away
and rolled his ankles out for a few games. So
(05:02):
unless and learn, will never do that again. The guys
understand that, especially a big you got to play with
the game. You mess around with it, things happen. So
he'll have a chance to get a ton and he
will throughout his career.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
How is a man embrace the role. He's been your
starting point guard and it's not an exclusively ball handled,
but he's been in that lineup and then in that
back Cord. He moved them all over the spots last
year because of injuries and whatnot. I know, turnovers are
always a thing. That's not his exclusive responsibility to make
sure the low turnovers aren't coming play. These are gonna
come into play obviously. But where do you see him
(05:33):
now as compared to the start of the season in
terms of just embracing the role of I'm in that
back court every single time and I'm the primary ball handler.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
It's just an understanding of, you know, one to be
an attack mode looking to score, when to set guys
up and look to get us into sets.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
And so at times, you know, we love him when
he grabs the rebound and.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Pushes at the pace he does, he's going to either
get to the basket or find guys. But in the
half court is who needs a shot? Who are we
trying to get a mismatch against?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Cross matching?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
The understanding that part of it. And so it's only
eleven games in and he's twelve games in. He's improving
rapidly at that. But it's different for him. I mean,
he had in his hands a ton throughout his care
and ote last two years did a bunch of different stuff.
Off ball and now we're asking him to get back
to facilitating it as well as being aggressive the score.
So it's a balancing act that he's improving on game
(06:21):
by game.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You mentioned injuries and trying to keep guys off the
floor and try to avoid that. And there were some
comments from Steve Kerr earlier this week about the pace
of the game now and the way that guys are
pushing their bodies just in your eyes from when you've
been playing from now, what do you think about those
comments from Steve Curf you heard them and just how
the game has evolved, and do you think the way
(06:45):
that the game has changed, do you think it is
causing more injuries.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
I don't know. It's a tough argument to have.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You know, there were one hundred and forty point games
back in the eighties. Consistently guys play seventy two games
or eighty two games back in the eighties, and you know,
I always you know, I think I take pride on
this guy like Jalen last year, in the last two
years playing all eighty two games, and different guys that
are playing all games, and.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
So some guys don't want to sit out.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
We understand the risk on older guys, but you know,
at the same time it's a balancing act. I think
you don't want to give guys a cop out, but
also understanding those nights of rest, especially three and four nights,
they'll start to add up. But I'm always cool as
far as that, and I always give guys examples of
John Stockton missing seventeen games over his career, and like
(07:30):
fourteen of them were due to a broken hands, so
that's three games and a twenty year career. Karl Malone
missed like seven games five or due to suspension, and
so I go down those things, and Michael Jordan playing
all eighty two at forty years old, so.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You can look at it both plays.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And guys got a condition themselves to be ready to play.
But at the same time, you know it's a balancing
act of.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Your ten youngest guys on the team. If you said
John Stockton's name, how many we know who John Stockton is?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
They all do.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
He's a Hall of Famer assist leader, and so they
may not have seen him, but they know who he is.
And so you know, I tell reading guys all the time.
Stocktor was on the toughest guys sitting cross greens, not
getting bullied by bigs, you know, taking hard fouls and
so just because you're a smaller point guard doesn't mean
get out of the way and get them a lay up.
I used John Stockton as an example all the time.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
All Right, good, because I'm I'm really nervous these guys
on know who these great ogs are. If I let
you run a thought or two about this Denver team,
it's a group play game tomorrow night. I'm excited about it.
The energy will be nice it It'll be a little
later games, so people get out and do their thing
before coming to the game. But look, we had a
great time in Vegas last year and I think those
guys wanted to have an opportunity to do that again.
And tomorrow night will be a huge portion of how
(08:37):
this group played. Tournament turns out.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it's added intent of it, for sure. You know,
the energy is different, like you mentioned, and I think
the fact that we got there last year and had
a really tight game against Okay, see that we didn't
play our best.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
And if we did, we were you know, had a good.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Fifteen point lead, probably if we made some shots because
we defended at such a high level. We want to
get back and give ourselves a chance again and be
on that stage. So, you know, if not only the
fact that we're neck and neck in the standings already,
just you know, to two really competitive teams that have
about the good starts. The tournament adds to it and
anytime you play a team like Denver, some of the
top of the West, you want to have a great game.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Thank you Iman for the time. It's always well, see
you tomorrow and I appreciate the visit as always.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Thank you guys,
Rockets won their fifth in row last night in Cleveland.
Let's talk about it for ten minutes with the head
coach of the Houston Rockets. He may dooka with us
here on the Matt Thomas Show with Ross tomorrow night,
Denver in town. But first things first, victory over the Cavaliers, coach,
thanks for the time. What a strange second half. You
score seventeen to the third and put up a forty
spot in the fourth. That in quarter break must have
(00:22):
been quite a conversation between you and the boys.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Really, when we went up twenty two, got a little stagnant,
you know, stopped going away from the things that got
us the lead. And when you got some really good
scores like Don Mittell Hunter on that night, they can
get back in the game easily.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Hey, the first half was something special. You guys held
them to horrific three point shooting That had to have
been part of the repertoire. Because they shoot so many
of them doesn't necessarily mean they make a lot of them.
And boy, they couldn't find him in the first half especially.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, I focused with us to you know, defend Mitchell,
you know, make it hard on him, and you know,
kind of live with some others.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Guys. A Hunter made a few, but other than that, we.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Had some guys to take shots that we prefer them
to take the whole Mitchell, the two points on one
for seven in the first half is pretty much as
good as you can get. We knew he come out
aggressive in the third and he did that, made a
few shots. Like I said, we got a little stagnant,
and you know they're gonna keep firing. They're gonna keep
playing with that pace, and that's what got them back
in the game.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
You know, sometimes stagnant play is going to be happened.
It's a long season. But you found another hero last night.
And I feel like I'm talking to somebody different on
the post game every night, because there are different heroes.
What Aaron Holliday did for you in the fourth quarter,
that had been maybe his best stretches of Houston Rocket.
What he got from you last night, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
He was great.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
He came in and made timely shots. You know, he's
We have a foul trouble across the board a little
bit with Jabbari and some guys, and so we need
some other guys to come in and you know, defend
Hunter defend Mitchell, and you know he.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Did what he could there.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
But on the offensive end, Al Brandon Kevin are gonna
draw that attention. He obviously knocked down timely shots, but
got a lot of deflections, hands on the ball, get
out in transition, made some layups and floaters as well.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, may you were a role player in the NBA,
so you obviously the guys that are on that second
tier group. What have you used as your experiences to
talk to guys that Aaron's not gonna be called every
single night, but make the most of his opportunity that's given.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
To him here. You have to be professional, which he is.
He's been there from day one.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Be ready for every opportunity, and sometimes it's going to
be two minutes, three minutes here.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You have to come in and perform.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
And when you come in the game in those situations,
your job is to increase the lead and get an
uptick and effort.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
And all the intensity and all those things.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And I think that's it's a tough thing to do,
but it's an admirable thing the way Aaron goes about it.
Jay Shan, those guys ready to play aren't always called,
but have to stay prepared, and you see the work
they put in behind the scenes, and so for us,
it's no secret, no surprise that they're going to make
shots and play at a high level and they get
their opportunity.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Rockets head coach Imiadoka was here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety Aubry Schingon continues to impress, even going after
and scoring on the Defensive Player of the Year down
the stretch in the last game, where even since you've
been here, what have you seen from him as far
as growth in his game?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Says boys, understanding it's a long game. If he has
some ups and downs, he's going to still have his
opportunities to make plays on you know, whether he's scoring
the ball or facilitating for him. I don't think he
looks at anybody as Defensive Player Year or anything like that,
and neither do we. We feel he has an advantage
every night on whoever, and whether it's mobile one night.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Or who be it.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
You know, he's going to attack the same way, be aggressive,
and he's confident in his ability to score or make
the right play on anybody.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Obviously, one of the nicknames he's gotten has been baby Joker.
What what do you think. I mean, obviously, Nikolajokic is
just a different animal. But when you hear those comparisons,
what do you think about the similarities and differences of
their games.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, I mean there's the fact that they both, you know,
are flirting with triple doubles every night.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Jokis has had a ton help. He's right around there.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
The passing ability and assessed not a typical back to
the basket center. They both can score in the post,
but they can handle on the perimeter, they can be
we can run pick and rolls for them, They got
isolations on the wing. I would say the difference is
at this point, Jokics is just more seasoned and he
understands and makes a simple play. He'll get caught up
every now and then, but you know, he's young and
(04:14):
ambitious and learning on the fly as well. And I
think for him that his athleticism is a little higher
than Yokitches. And so they have a ton of similarities.
And that's obviously a great name to be compared to,
but he's trying to carve out his own niche and
he looks up to him and the things he does
and sees the areas he can be successful as well.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
I know he's been floating with triple doubles a lot
so far this year. Does he ever beg to stay
on the floor to get that one final assist or
is he get like one shot in one channel?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Need to get it done?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Of course they all beg the scene, and to me,
it's if you get in the natural flow of the game, great,
it's not We're not going to leave you an up
thirty and risk injury or anything like that. And so
you know it'll happen that it continues. He's had them
in European competition. He's flirt flirter with him, like you
said here, and so you know last year we had
an injury having not men. You know he's won away
and rolled his ankles out for a few games. So
(05:02):
unless and learn, will never do that again. The guys
understand that, especially a big you got to play with
the game. You mess around with it, things happen. So
he'll have a chance to get a ton and he
will throughout his career.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
How is a man embrace the role. He's been your
starting point guard and it's not an exclusively ball handled,
but he's been in that lineup and then in that
back Cord. He moved them all over the spots last
year because of injuries and whatnot. I know, turnovers are
always a thing. That's not his exclusive responsibility to make
sure the low turnovers aren't coming play. These are gonna
come into play obviously. But where do you see him
(05:33):
now as compared to the start of the season in
terms of just embracing the role of I'm in that
back court every single time and I'm the primary ball handler.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
It's just an understanding of, you know, one to be
an attack mode looking to score, when to set guys
up and look to get us into sets.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
And so at times, you know, we love him when
he grabs the rebound and.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Pushes at the pace he does, he's going to either
get to the basket or find guys. But in the
half court is who needs a shot? Who are we
trying to get a mismatch against?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Cross matching?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
The understanding that part of it. And so it's only
eleven games in and he's twelve games in. He's improving
rapidly at that. But it's different for him. I mean,
he had in his hands a ton throughout his care
and ote last two years did a bunch of different stuff.
Off ball and now we're asking him to get back
to facilitating it as well as being aggressive the score.
So it's a balancing act that he's improving on game
(06:21):
by game.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You mentioned injuries and trying to keep guys off the
floor and try to avoid that. And there were some
comments from Steve Kerr earlier this week about the pace
of the game now and the way that guys are
pushing their bodies just in your eyes from when you've
been playing from now, what do you think about those
comments from Steve Curf you heard them and just how
the game has evolved, and do you think the way
(06:45):
that the game has changed, do you think it is
causing more injuries.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
I don't know. It's a tough argument to have.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You know, there were one hundred and forty point games
back in the eighties. Consistently guys play seventy two games
or eighty two games back in the eighties, and you know,
I always you know, I think I take pride on
this guy like Jalen last year, in the last two
years playing all eighty two games, and different guys that
are playing all games, and.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
So some guys don't want to sit out.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
We understand the risk on older guys, but you know,
at the same time it's a balancing act. I think
you don't want to give guys a cop out, but
also understanding those nights of rest, especially three and four nights,
they'll start to add up. But I'm always cool as
far as that, and I always give guys examples of
John Stockton missing seventeen games over his career, and like
(07:30):
fourteen of them were due to a broken hands, so
that's three games and a twenty year career. Karl Malone
missed like seven games five or due to suspension, and
so I go down those things, and Michael Jordan playing
all eighty two at forty years old, so.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You can look at it both plays.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And guys got a condition themselves to be ready to play.
But at the same time, you know it's a balancing
act of.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Your ten youngest guys on the team. If you said
John Stockton's name, how many we know who John Stockton is?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
They all do.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
He's a Hall of Famer assist leader, and so they
may not have seen him, but they know who he is.
And so you know, I tell reading guys all the time.
Stocktor was on the toughest guys sitting cross greens, not
getting bullied by bigs, you know, taking hard fouls and
so just because you're a smaller point guard doesn't mean
get out of the way and get them a lay up.
I used John Stockton as an example all the time.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
All Right, good, because I'm I'm really nervous these guys
on know who these great ogs are. If I let
you run a thought or two about this Denver team,
it's a group play game tomorrow night. I'm excited about it.
The energy will be nice it It'll be a little
later games, so people get out and do their thing
before coming to the game. But look, we had a
great time in Vegas last year and I think those
guys wanted to have an opportunity to do that again.
And tomorrow night will be a huge portion of how
(08:37):
this group played. Tournament turns out.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it's added intent of it, for sure. You know,
the energy is different, like you mentioned, and I think
the fact that we got there last year and had
a really tight game against Okay, see that we didn't
play our best.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
And if we did, we were you know, had a good.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Fifteen point lead, probably if we made some shots because
we defended at such a high level. We want to
get back and give ourselves a chance again and be
on that stage. So, you know, if not only the
fact that we're neck and neck in the standings already,
just you know, to two really competitive teams that have
about the good starts. The tournament adds to it and
anytime you play a team like Denver, some of the
top of the West, you want to have a great game.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Thank you Iman for the time. It's always well, see
you tomorrow and I appreciate the visit as always.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Thank you guys,
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.