By Jordan Long
The Rockets hired Silas on October 28th, 2020. The Rockets didn’t have the type of success they hoped, going a disappointing 59-177 a winning percentage of .250. The Rockets may not have earned a playoff spot, but they increased their wins each year with Silas as Head Coach. It grew from 17 in 2020 to 22 this season. It was still not enough to save his job since he failed to turn this team into a winning basketball team.
Houston started a coaching search. They decided the best candidate to take over this team is Ime Udoka. Udoka is a surprise name. He doesn’t have much Head Coaching experience. Udoka was an assistant coach in the NBA from 2012 to 2021. His stops included San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn.
Udoka finally had his big break, becoming the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics. He went 51-31 last year. Boston advanced to the NBA Finals but were beaten by the Golden State Warriors in 6 games.
In a surprise move, Udoka didn’t coach the team last year. He was suspended by the team on September 23, 2022, because he broke their code of conduct. The Celtics then hired Joe Mazzulla as their Head coach on February 16th, 2023. Boston cut ties with Udoka on the same day.
Udoka was available for any franchise to hire him. The Rockets could have hired a coach with more NBA experience. This included Terry Stotts and Frank Vogel. Stotts’ record as an NBA Head Coach is 517-486, a winning percentage of .515. His teams earned a playoff spot 9 times. Vogel’s overall record as an NBA Head Coach is 431-389, a winning percentage of .526. His teams went to the playoffs 7 times. Vogel coached the Lakers to the NBA Championship in the bubble setting in 2020. Houston feels Udoka is the right choice.
Udoka has his chance to show his only season in Boston wasn’t a fluke. It won’t be easy. Houston is rebuilding. They haven’t earned a playoff spot since 2020. It may take Udoka a few seasons to earn a playoff spot with Houston. The Rockets front office should be patient with him. They would like nothing more than for Udoka to help them become a consistent playoff team. The goal of course is to win the NBA Championship.
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