Is Ime Udoka's Time in Houston Coming to an End Soon?
Mirroring past NBA firings, a struggling Rockets squad and identical season record raise questions about Udoka's future in Houston.
After a relatively mediocre, maybe even underwhelming season, many Rockets fans are upset with one thing in particular. From rotations and starting lineups, to play calling and execution, all of the blame falls on one guy: Houston’s head coach, Ime Udoka. While it might seem incredibly unlikely for a team to fire their head coach at this point of the season, it’s not unprecedented.
It might be getting more common and acceptable in the NBA. Just last year, the Memphis Grizzlies fired their head coach at this exact point in the season. And I mean exact.
On March 28th of last year, the Grizzlies’ recent losses had dropped them out of a top four seed in the West. They dismissed Taylor Jenkins despite him having the most wins in their franchise’s history, and a 44-29 record that season. Now, on March 28th of this year, the Rockets also have a 44-29 record.
Like the Grizzlies last season, Houston has recently dropped out of the fourth seed. To further the similarities, Memphis struggled against the teams above them in the standings, going 3-6 up to that point of the season, according to Teresa M. Walker .