標籤: disrespectful

There are no guarantees on the NBA calendar, and that was made abundantly clear on Monday night, the way the Houston Rockets slipped on a banana peel and lost to the Chicago Bulls, 132-124, despite a 40-point night from Kevin Durant. The Rockets were playing from behind all night, and while they made a strong comeback to close the game, even taking the lead at one point late in the fourth, they ultimately lost and fell to 43–28 on the year.

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka lost his temper at the end of the game, as he ejected himself after an offensive foul by Durant sealed the game in the Bulls’ favor and the game was out of his team’s reach. And his bad mood continued after the final buzzer, as he lamented the poor effort his team showed against a lottery-bound Bulls team.

“Bad start, disrespect to the game, not ready from the start. Just non-aggressive, chasing them, watching them shoot. They had nothing to lose, they were gonna fire. Obviously, giving up 41 points in that first quarter is disappointing. It was a quarter that killed us. Not ready to play at all,” Udoka said in his postgame presser, via FullCourtPass on X (formerly Twitter).

Rockets fans have had enough of Ime Udoka

Rockets fans made it clear that it is Udoka’s responsibility to lead their team against a lousy team (on paper).

“Okay, if you were a good coach, maybe you would have groomed them in advance so they don’t look bad. Your coaching disrespects the game,” wrote X user @shaef__.

@defnotsmoj_ said, “You’ve been saying this all season. If the players aren’t listening to you then maybe you’re the problem.”

“This is the crap that bothers me. You’re the coach. You have to prepare your team to play on any given day. The constant lack of accountability while trying to wear down the opponent is bothering Im,” @_MaxClark continued.