Ime Udoka was handed his first major loss as head coach of the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, and he’s only been on the job for three weeks.
Udoka, who was dismissed by the Boston Celtics one year after being hired for his role in an unclear scandal, bounced back after a full season of unemployment when the Rockets welcomed him in with open arms in April. But Udoka abruptly learned that the road in Houston isn’t what it was in Boston, as the Rockets were up in contention for the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft lottery.
Before Udoka took the stage as representative of the Rockets at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, the odds were working to Houston’s advantage. The Rockets — San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons — had the best odds of landing the first pick at 14%, ahead of the Charlotte Hornets (12.5%) and Portland Trail Blazers (10.5%), according to Bleacher Report.
But then came the results…
Houston finished No. 4, beaten out by the Hornets and Trail Blazers, who both had worse odds than the Rockets heading into the lottery. A miserable season, rewarded with an even more miserable night in Chicago.
The Rockets did their part during the regular season, nearly finishing at the bottom of the barrel with a 22-60 record. It was clear what the goal was in Houston. Lose better than any other team in the league, which they couldn’t do correctly, and finish atop the draft lottery, more likely than not, to take projected generational talent Victor Wembanyama in June’s draft — which also isn’t happening.
Needless to say, Udoka isn’t off to a hot start in Houston or his revenge plot on Boston.
But to be fair, there’s still a (small) sense of hope moving forward. The Rockets still have the No. 4 draft. That puts Houston in contention for draft prospects such as Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore and Scoot Henderson. Houston also has $60 million worth of salary cap space to attack the free agency market, with not a single major contract in place under its current roster.
Next up (possibly) for Udoka and the Rockets: Time to tamper, right?
