Following the Houston Rockets’ 95-85 home loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game One of their playoff series, second-year Houston head coach Ime Udoka described how the team’s offensive struggles ended up being its downfall.
“You only score 85, it’s not a great offensive night, and the numbers show that,” he said during the Rockets’ postgame press conference. “Not our best offensive night by any means, like I said.”
Udoka claimed that Houston’s defensive effort was good enough to secure the victory.
“You hold someone to 95, you’d expect to win if you have a decent offensive night,” he said. “[We] had our chances. Got it to a four-point game with 2:34 [left in the game], I think. [We] gave up a three there but guarded well enough to win.”
Udoka didn’t say whether the team’s scoring issues warranted a change to the starting lineup. However, it sounds like he won’t make any adjustments for Game Two.
The Houston Rockets backcourt in the Playoffs pic.twitter.com/QZRAMOiYO8
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) April 21, 2025
“Some guys did struggle offensively,” Udoka explained. “You’re not going to overreact to one game, but if guys do play better, we have a chance there… It was an offensively poor showing. The defense was good enough. [I’m] not gonna overreact to that game. It’s some of our guys’ first time [playing in the playoffs], and we had our chances.”
Five of the Rockets’ eight players who started in Sunday’s game were making their playoff debut, including starters like small forward Amen Thompson, center Alperen Şengün, and shooting guard Jalen Green, Houston’s scoring leader during the regular season. He struggled in his first postseason game, being held to just seven points.
“I’ve gotta be better,” Green said after the loss. “It’s my first [playoff] game. I’m not too worried about it… I got a taste of what it was, and I’ve just got to answer back… I’ve got to take my time, make the right reads, get the spacing I want.”
Starting point guard Fred VanVleet echoed Green’s sentiments after he also had a lackluster ten-point outing. VanVleet said the Warriors overwhelmed the Rockets.
The Rockets’ offense in halfcourt situations in Game 1 was absolutely atrocious.
With Houston not having an elite No. 1 option, the Warriors were able to easily cut off their system.
A prime example why Houston needs to make a trade with the Suns for Kevin Durant this summer. pic.twitter.com/mIWUxwkKmy
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) April 21, 2025
“We just didn’t execute,” VanVleet said during a postgame interview. “Maybe the physicality was an issue.”
“We didn’t shoot it particularly well,” Udoka said. “Obviously, you look at Fred (VanVleet), Jalen (Green), Amen (Thompson). [They] didn’t have their usual night shooting.”
At least Udoka knows what it will take for the Rockets to bounce back and win their next matchup.
“[I] said to the group, we guarded well enough. [We’ve] got to have a better offensive showing, get our spacing down, and take care of the ball,” he explained.
The Rockets and Warriors are off until Wednesday Night when Game Two of their series is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 p.m. EDT.
