On Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to get the best of the Houston Rockets in what turned out to be a heated game between two teams that really don’t like one another.
Even though the Rockets have been one of the worst teams in the league over the last few years ever since trading superstar guard James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, the arrival of head coach Ime Udoka has gotten this team back in the right direction, with Houston starting to become a force to be reckoned with once again in the Western Conference.
In the same way he did with the Boston Celtics, Udoka has sparked a culture change for this team, which has them playing with a different attitude, effort, and motivation moving forward.
Earlier in the season, the Rockets crushed the Lakers in a 34-point route, which sent a message to LeBron James and his squad that Houston is no longer to be overlooked.
The Lakers were able to get some revenge on Saturday, but Udoka couldn’t help but take a shot at Darvin Ham’s team after the game.
“To kind of get punked by a team not known not known for physicality or punking people is not a good sign,” Udoda said via Lachard Binkley.
Ime Udoka on the Rockets effort vs. Lakers:
“To kind of get punked by a team not known not known for physicality or punking people is not a good sign.”
(h/t @BinkleyHoops) pic.twitter.com/uSPW8KrQSB
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 3, 2023
It seems clear that there’s a rivalry brewing between these two teams in the West moving forward, with Udoka and James going at it in this game, which resulted in the head coach being sent to the locker room early.
James has also had an ongoing rivalry with Dillon Brooks, which began last year when he was with the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Young Rockets Star Reveals Praise From James Harden