The Rockets didn’t commit a turnover in the final 20 minutes of their win over the Clippers on Sunday despite the absence of Fred VanVleet, who is recovering from a right knee injury.
It was a very encouraging sign for coach Ime Udoka, who leaned on Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun to organize the offense, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes.
“He’s such a calming influence for the team, that kind of gets us into what we need to a lot,” Udoka said of VanVleet. “We still want guys to grow and learn that. So when he’s not out there, it’s good for us to do it a little bit more. We went to a few different guys to initiate offense.”
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They face the Warriors in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday. It’s possible that VanVleet could return to action for the tournament game. Forward Tari Eason, who has missed the last two games while in concussion protocol, could also return Wednesday, according to Feigen.
Thompson already sees himself as a top-notch defender in his second NBA season, he told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “I view myself as one of the best defenders. Obviously, I think it’s very hard to score on me. I think my presence is known on defense,” he said.
Udoka made several stops in Europe during his playing career. He has some “overseas” advice for Turkish native Sengun, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net relays.. “My biggest thing with him is, I say to him, ‘Don’t get the European out of your game. Play through stuff. Stop crying,’” Udoka said.