Ime Udoka Reveals Rockets’ Emotional Trap as Draymond Green Admits Feeling Targeted by NBA Refs’

Michael Caine’s version of Alfred in ‘The Dark Knight’ once famously said, “Some men just want to watch the world burn”. Why? Some might prefer a hostile environment, as it might work in their favor. This is what made the 90s Detroit Pistons notorious, as using physicality gave them an edge unlike any other NBA team. Three decades later, they have a potential successor, as seen during Game 2 of the playoff series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. After all, the jeers from the home crowd and the Rockets roster getting rough gave Ime Udoka some satisfaction.

In the aftermath of the Rockets’ 109-94 win against the Warriors, the 47-year-old head coach participated in a presser. During the same, Udoka discussed how the Rockets tend to thrive on physicality. In his own words, “That’s who we are, you know. That’s our identity, for the most part”. It is the reason why Ime Udoka believes the team did not have to adopt a different identity as it approached the postseason. They already thrived on physical force and being rough. Putting their reputation on display in the recent game finally gave the Rockets squad an edge over Stephen Curry and co.

“Golden State as well, it’s physical. You just have to play through it. You can’t expect it on one end, then cry about on the other,” said Udoka. “And so, um, if it gets chippy, we’ve seen over the last two years, you know, that works in our favor for the most part. Gets us amped up”.

Game 2 featured a total of six technical fouls, a flagrant 1, minor scuffles, and multiple “F— you, Draymond!” chants at Toyota Center. The lattermost factor is just one part of why NBA coaches prefer playing at home, as their teams would have the support of the home crowd while the rival teams would be getting nothing but boos, jeers, and swears. Draymond Green, who himself carries a reputation for being ‘dirty’, met his match when the Rockets decided to get more physical. With 8 minutes left in the game, and the Rockets leading by double digits, Jalen Green and the Warriors’ power forward fought for space. Jalen delivered an elbow to Draymond’s face, which was initially called a personal foul on Jalen Green before being upgraded to a flagrant-1 foul.

As 5:23 remained, Draymond Green and Fred VanVleet got into a scruffle that led to players from both sides gathering and pushing and shoving in a scrum. As highlighted by ‘Golden State Of Mind’, the Rockets squad, especially Jalen Green, were more intentional with picking at pressure points. They targeted weak spots they could single out within the Warriors’ defense. The team singled out Quinten Post once he came to the floor. Their close defense and body blocks limited the player to just 12 points. In the end, keeping the entire Bay Area franchise battling in a close, half-court ‘arena’ led to the Rockets winning by a 15-point margin. From the looks of it, Ime Udoka has found his winning formula, and won’t give it up easily.

“I don’t mind it” Udoka continued when asked what’s it like to coach when things get “chippy”. “It’s good for us. It’s who we kind of are, um, you know”.

The physicality reached a major point when Jimmy Butler had a hard fall after Amen Thompson collided with him. Butler was undercut as he was going up for a rebound. This sent him crashing to the floor. It was revealed that the Warriors star had sustained a pelvic contusion. An MRI will soon reveal the severity of the injury. The incident did not play well for Warriors fans. After all, a long-term Jimmy Butler absence would greatly reduce the Warriors’ odds of making it to the next round of the playoffs. Due to this, several Warriors fans soon headed up to social media and called for Amen Thompson’s suspension.

Warriors fans weren’t the only ones disappointed. The players themselves saw what Ime Udoka’s squad is capable of, and would have probably been shaken. For Draymond Green, however, the ‘injustice’ went beyond simply the rival team’s physicality. It went till the NBA referees.

Draymond Green voices frustration against NBA referees: “A lot happened if I didn’t get a tech”

If there is one player who continues having clashes with NBA referees from time to time, it is Draymond Green. The player has a reputation for getting physical and trash-talking as if he were the modern Kevin Garnett. However, he also has a reputation for claiming to be ‘unfairly targeted’ by the officials. Green famously said back in 2016 that “I got two techs this year for yelling, ‘Ahhh’? At this point, do I need to wear a mask? Am I allowed to show emotion on the floor? That’s who I am. I play with emotion.”  Now, almost a decade later, the player feels that showing emotion got him in trouble again.

In the aftermath of the Warriors’ loss, Draymond Green was asked about his scuffle with Fred VanVleet. The power forward downplayed the incident, stating that he and VanVleet were “just talking” and “everybody came and surrounded and started pushing”. Despite this, Green felt double-targeted. After all, as he revealed, “You know a lot happened if I didn’t get a tech. If anything happened, I would get a tech. So, nothing happened. We were standing there, talking”.

Surprisingly, Draymond Green did not get a technical foul. With the fight spilling among so many people, there were simply too many violations to keep track of. Therefore, Green did get off scot-free this time. Even Steve Kerr, who usually does not take Green’s behaviour lying down, defended him by saying, “Draymond’s been around forever. He’s an instigator. He’s always gonna be in the mix and because of his career, his championships, his fire, he’s gonna be a lightning rod. That’s all part of it.”

Well, Warriors will certainly need that ‘instigation’ to put out their own physical plays during the upcoming Game 3. Esepcially if they will be playing without Jimmy Butler. An eye for an eye.