Newly appointed Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka doesn’t seem to be very pleased by the most recent antics of Dillon Brooks. As some NBA fans might be aware, the Rockets made quite a few changes this NBA offseason in terms of both coaching management and roster construction.
The team signed on Ime Udoka, who previously coached the Boston Celtics, and even brought in veteran stars such as Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet onto the roster in order to guide and mentor the young squad. While all of this seems good on paper for Rockets fans, the most recent behavior displayed by Brooks might be a cause for concern.
Although Dillon Brooks has already created a reputation for himself in the league, his new head coach was not very happy with his recent behavior. Especially since it led to an ejection. With that being said, let us take a better look at the situation for additional context.
Why was Ime Udoka frustrated with Dillon Brooks?
Members of the basketball community who have been following Dillon Brooks from his time with the Memphis Grizzlies can certainly agree that he is quite a polarizing NBA star. While some would argue that he is an elite defender who has the potential to get under others’ nerves, others will claim that he is a dirty player who talks a lot of trash but is unable to back it up during the moments that matter.
Coming back to the current issue at hand, the Houston Rockets were playing against the Indiana Pacers as a part of the NBA preseason. This was an opportunity for Brooks to show his new team what he was capable of doing. However, he ended up letting his emotions get the better of him and ended up hitting Daniel Theis in the groin while appearing to fight over a screen.
This led to Brooks being ejected from the game and earning Udoka’s displeasure at the same time. Although Houston ended up winning the game, Udoka was questioned about Dillon’s behavior and held back no punches when discussing the newest Rockets member.
“On the previous play, Theis may have flopped, in his [Brooks] opinion…So, he does something on the next play. You can’t let that carry over. The same guy baited him twice…You have to learn to control your emotions and stay in the game, you can’t get yourself taken out in the first quarter…We love his aggressiveness and physicality, but reputations carry in the NBA, and people will look for certain things, and you have to learn to monitor that better.”
Ime Udoka certainly makes a valid point. NBA officials will certainly be on the lookout for questionable behavior from Dillon now that he has already built a reputation for himself. Hopefully, he learns from this and is able to keep his emotions in check.
