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Will Guillory: Alperen Şengün will be active for tonight's game vs Miami, per Ime Udoka
Vanessa Richardson: Ime Udoka tells me Reed Sheppard will start tonight vs Hawks. Starting lineup: Reed Sheppard Amen Thompson Kevin Durant Jabari Smith Jr Alperen Şengün
Michael Shapiro: Just asked Ime Udoka about Kevin Durant’s preference to NOT be the lead ball-handler (and “get out of the way”) when opponents go to KD trap. Does Udoka agree with that? Not quite. “A lot of times he's gonna be initiating. … The double teams outside of turning it over have been very good for us this year. It bit us in the behind a few times, but overall the numbers show it [goes] really well when we don't turn it over and get it to scorers in the pocket and make the right play. But, obviously, the turnovers, way too high.” Adds: “We do want some other actions when [Durant] is being denied the way he is and trapped at the half court.”
Just asked Ime Udoka about Kevin Durant’s preference to NOT be the lead ball-handler (and “get out of the way”) when opponents go to KD trap.
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) March 19, 2026
Does Udoka agree with that? Not quite.
“A lot of times he's gonna be initiating. … The double teams outside of turning it over have… https://t.co/bQZc0pl7Pc pic.twitter.com/6PcMi5wM9n
Tim MacMahon: Rockets C Alperen Sengun (back) is out vs. Lakers tonight, per Ime Udoka. Clint Capela will get the start and match up with Deandre Ayton.
Varun Shankar: Ime Udoka on Bam's 83-point night. "First thing you think is how — not because of him but because of the way he plays. I saw he only made six threes but 40 free throws or something like that, tells the story right there," "and the Washington Wizards."
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RC Buford: “I think we had many coaches over the last 10 years who could have stepped into that role. Ime Udoka was with us, along with James Borrego, Brett Brown, Mike Budenholzer, and Will Hardy. There were many people with us who could have stepped into that role, but the longer Coach Pop stayed, the more those coaches moved on to other opportunities. When we needed Mitch to step up, he did so in a big way. It was incredibly emotional for him to take on that role. ‘Interim’ is probably the wrong word, because at the time of Pop’s stroke, we didn’t know whether Pop could come back. Mitch had that year to show the players—and all of us—who he could be as a coach.”
Varun Shankar: Amen Thompson will play tonight, Jabari Smith will test his ankle out per Udoka. No reaggravations, Udoka said, ankle injuries can just linger.
Still, it’s critical that Sheppard is given both the time, freedom and personnel to have his greatest output. Udoka has tried both approaches — allowing Sheppard to operate on the fly and calling him over to go through actual sets — and that combination is how the second-year guard can flourish, quickly. “It’s a little bit of both,” Sheppard told Yahoo Sports recently of how he sees the floor in real time. “The defense isn’t going to be the same every game or every trip down the court, so having some plays in your back pocket that you can go to no matter what.”
Varun Shankar: Amen rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter per Udoka, tbd on severity.
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Jabari Smith Jr., who’d been on a hot streak, exited the game after stepping on a teammate’s foot and rolling his ankle. Udoka said he thinks Smith Jr., who scored 13 points, will be out day to day. “Doesn’t look too terrible,” the coach said.
Michael Shapiro: 2 injury notes from @HoustonRockets coach Ime Udoka tonight: • Jae'Sean Tate has a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Expected to be out at least 4-6 weeks. Another loss for Houston's rotation. • Dorian Finney-Smith will continue to NOT play back-to-backs. Will sit either Wednesday vs. Sacramento or Thursday at Orlando. Still in the 20-25 minute range after offseason ankle surgery. Udoka said he’s also awaiting doctor's clearance to increase minutes limit.
Will Guillory: Final: Rockets 105, Hornets 101 Big-time win on the road for Houston after falling behind by double digits in the 1st half. Kevin Durant finished with 35 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. But the biggest stretch of the night came during the first 6 minutes of the 4th when Udoka left KD on the bench and his teammates built up enough of a lead for the 37-year-old to close it out at the end. Rockets improve to 34-20.
Varun Shankar: Rafael Stone: "Given the number of injuries we've taken, one thing we did look at was ... 'Is this just not our year?'" Said he feels Rockets had some of the worst injury look in the year. Praises Udoka/players and notes that record and underlying stats don't reflect injuries.