Rockets' Game 3 Collapse Doesn't Fall on Ime Udoka

He's been far from perfect, but the players haven't helped.

Apr 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka at press conference during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets' 2026 postseason trip has been a nightmare. Despite being viewed as heavy favorites over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Rockets are down 0-3.

Sure, injuries have played a part. The Rockets have been without Kevin Durant for two of their three postseason games against the Lakers this series. In addition to being without Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet. 

However, the Lakers have also been marred by injuries, on a greater scale, without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves -- their two best players. And it hasn't prevented them from winning three straight in the series. 

One of the major storylines, as a whole, has been the fact that Rockets coach Ime Udoka has lost the coaching battle to Lakers coach JJ Redick. Which shouldn't be a surprise, considering the differences in philosophy between the two coaches. 

Redick is a tactician who makes in-game adjustments and/or changes. Udoka’s approach has generally been to challenge players to win their matchups and/or dig deep to outmuscle and outhustle their opponent as a collective.

Time and time again, Udoka has challenged the players to dig deep and muster up the internal fortitude to squeak out victories. Which is an effective approach on some nights. 

There's never a one-size-fits-all. It's always matchup dependent.

When it doesn't work, Udoka garners ridicule and/or additional scrutiny. Many times it's warranted.

Other times, not so much. However, at times like Game 3, Houston’s collapse doesn't exactly fall on Udoka's shoulders. 

Granted, his response to the loss is an entirely different story, as he took to bashing the team for their lack of on-court execution. Houston became just the second team in the better part of the last three decades to lose a postseason game when leading by at least six points with 30 seconds left on the clock.

That type of collapse will always fall on the coach, in the court of public opinion. However, the Rockets had two major turnovers -- one by Jabari Smith Jr. that allowed the Lakers to go down the floor and trim the lead to three points. That has little to do with Udoka.

The Lakers received an ill-advised foul by Jae’Sean Tate, which sent Marcus Smart to the line for three free throws. Which also doesn't fall on Udoka (although one can make an argument that putting Tate in the game there was the real mistake).

Then, with the Rockets up three, Reed Sheppard committed a turnover that led to a game-tying 3-point shot on the other end for the Lakers, by way of LeBron James. Which Sheppard also took credit for and bears blame for.

Granted, this is not to say that Udoka is exempt from blame. At all. As stated above, he's lost this coaching battle to Redick.

However, the Rockets' late collapse in Game 3 can't exactly be attributed to Udoka.