NBA Realities

Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said a lack of offensive firepower led to the team’s first-round exit. During his final press conference for the season, Udoka was asked what the team was missing.

Rockets playoff offense

He said the team needed to have better free throws and three-point shooters.

Ime Udoka, grinning, on what he felt the Rockets were missing during the playoffs: “I’d say 90% free throw shooters and 50% 3-point shooters, that’s what we’re missing.”

At first glance, Ime Udoka is correct. Houston had a below-average offense in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. The Rockets averaged 104 points, shooting 44.6% on 82.3 attempts per game, which led them to be 11th in offensive production during the first round of the playoffs.

Houston’s offensive production was suppressed by bad free-throw shooting, as they shot 70% from the line on 28.6 attempts per game. Although the Rockets have room to improve offensively, their below-average offense is directly related to the head coach’s philosophy.

 Ime Udoka’s coaching philosophy 

Ime Udoka believes defense is the primary ingredient to winning games. According to ESPN, upon arriving in Houston, Udoka aimed to build a roster centered around defensive edge and toughness.

The Rockets’ front office had three free agency targets in mind before it began the coaching search: Brooks, VanVleet and big man Brook Lopez. They all fit Udoka’s vision as tough, defensive-minded vets. Lopez changed his mind at the last minute — after the Rockets had made salary-dumping moves to clear space to sign him — and returned to the Milwaukee Bucks. But the Rockets landed Brooks and VanVleet, signing them to deals worth a total of $215 million, providing Udoka a pair of relentlessly competitive tone-setters for the defensive turnaround.

“That approach just rubbed off on our whole team immediately,” Udoka said. “We can only say so much and teach so much and try to scheme around guys so much. But to have guys out there that do it on a nightly basis that have carved out their niche in the league with toughness and that edge, that defensive mentality, it was invaluable for our team. We needed it.”

The defensive acquisitions allowed Ime Udoka to implement a defensive system centered around switching when the team defends the pick-and-roll. Jalen Green was assigned to guard the New Orleans Pelicans’ wing CJ McCollum early in the second quarter of the road game. CJ received the ball on the left wing and stood there for a couple of seconds until Herb Jones came to set a screen.

CJ went over the screen, leading to a defensive switch as Alperen Şengün picked him up on the other side. He performed a bounce pass to Jones, who was rolling to the basket. Once Jones got the ball, Alperen Şengün rotated over to him for the rest of the position. Jones would get blocked a few seconds later by Amen Thompson when he tried a layup over Alperen Şengün.

Houston’s defensive system helped them become one of the top defenses in the league. They held opponents to 109.3 points per game, shooting 45.9% on 88.3 attempts.

These statistics made Houston the sixth-best defense in the league during the 2024-25 season. Although Houston’s defensive performance is exceptional, the defensive emphasis has artificially limited the team’s potential.

Houston wing Jabari Smith acknowledged on December 11th, 2024 that your defensive performance is one of the main factors in determining how many minutes a player gets per game.

“That’s just the bottom line with him,” Rockets power forward Jabari Smith Jr. told ESPN. “He lets you play free, but he’s going to expect you to play hard. He’s going to expect you to defend, and if you’re not doing that, you’re probably not going to be in the game.”

Reed Shepherd

Ime Udoka’s standards limited Reed Shepherd’s playing time. The third overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, Shepherd struggled to stay in front of his defensive assignment on a routine basis.

Reed Shepherd was assigned to guard Ajay Mitchell of the Oklahoma City Thunder with nine minutes to go in the second quarter of a home game. Mitchell got an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer. He held the ball for a few seconds until Isaiah Hartenstein came over to set a screen on the right wing.

Mitchell went over the screen and began to drive to the basket. Usually, a Houston Rockets player is on the other side of the screen, but Şengün decided to play dropped coverage during this particular position.

Consequently, Shepherd was responsible for slowing down Mitchell’s momentum. Unfortunately, Shepherd spent around two seconds trying to figure out how to get around the screen and could not stop Mitchell.

These possessions contributed to Shepard’s only appearance in 52 games during his rookie season. Despite Shepherd’s below-average defense effort, he could have given Houston a boost offensively.

Reed shot 52.1% from behind the arc on 4.4 attempts per game during his only season with the Kentucky Wildcats. Shepherd’s shooting ability would have prevented Houston from ranking 21st in three-point percentage at 35.3%.

Consequently, Ime Udoka will force Houston to shy away from offensive first players. Therefore, Houston is unlikely to be a high-powered offense with Ime Udoka as a coach. As a result, Houston does not have significant room for growth in future seasons.