Ime Udoka reveals head-scratching reason for playing Reed Sheppard only 10 minutes in Game 2

The Houston Rockets turned in another pedestrian offensive performance during Tuesday’s 101-94 Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite Kevin Durant’s return, Ime Udoka’s squad failed to crack 100 points for the second straight game, falling behind 0-2 in the series.

Udoka pointed to the Rockets’ inability to make shots when asked where they came up short.

“[Shooting] 7 for 29 from three, 8 for 20 on second chance points, and 40 percent [overall], it’s not good enough,” he said. “Too many points left off the board, either point-blank layups or wide-open kick-out threes. Just not shooting it well enough, 24 percent from three.”

Udoka’s response raised questions about his decision to play Reed Sheppard just 10 minutes during the loss. Despite his team’s shooting struggles, he said he didn’t consider giving Sheppard more playing time.

“No, I think we were guarding well enough, and with the unit that we had in, we went one small and switched a lot of the actions. So I stayed with that. Holding them to 101 is good enough. We just didn’t score,” Udoka said.

Sheppard shot 6-of-20 from the field and 5-of-14 from three while playing 36 minutes during Houston’s Game 1 loss. He continued to struggle early in Game 2, missing his first four shots.

Ime Udoka benches Reed Sheppard despite Rockets’ offensive struggles during Game 2

Still, the third-year guard led the Rockets in made threes by a wide margin during the regular season, shooting 39.4 percent on 13.4 attempts per 100 possessions. Houston desperately needed another outside shooter down the stretch on Tuesday. Udoka’s squad shot 2-of-12 from three in the second half while mustering just 43 points.

Udoka opted to roll with more sizable defenders, such as Tari Eason, Josh Okogie, and Jae’Sean Tate. It’s not surprising to see the Rockets coach lean into a defensive identity given his track record. However, Houston’s late-game offensive struggles have been a growing storyline throughout this season.

The Rockets ranked 20th in clutch offensive rating during the regular season. They’ve shot 39.0 percent from the field and 29.0 percent from three across their first two playoff games against the Luka Doncic-Austin Reaves-less Lakers.

“We’re just not making shots, to be honest,” Durant said after Game 2. “We’re not shooting the ball well. We’re getting good looks. We’re missing a lot of layups. I just think that’s the difference in the game. They’re making shots. [Marcus] Smart was the guy that knocked down shots for him today, and Kennard, too… So we got to cut their water off, but we also got to be aggressive to knock down our shots, too.”

With Sheppard on the bench for most of Tuesday’s game, Durant struggled while facing constant double-teams with limited floor spacing around him. The 37-year-old turned the ball over nine times, tying a playoff career-high.

Durant said he needs to be more aggressive, despite Los Angeles doubling him.

“They start doubling me from possession one, man. I think I have to be better at not putting my teammates in bad positions when I swing that ball,” he said. “Sometimes I could beat the double, get downhill, and make the shot a little easier for them. I could shoot the ball. With two to three people on me, if I shoot the ball, we can get offensive rebound. So I’m trying to make passes. I’m trying to make the correct [read] and swing the ball sometimes, but I I feel like I got to shoot more of those and put my teammates in better positions.

But I feel like we still got some good looks up at it. 24 percent from the from the three, 40 [percent] from the field. Tough night shooting the ball for us, and they knock down shots. Their back court at 48 points combined and hit eight threes. Then Rui [Hachimura] hit three threes himself, you know, so it’s tough. But I just got to be more aggressive to look to score. No matter where the double team come from, no matter who’s doubling, there’s plenty of times I feel like I could have just shot over those guys.”

Udoka and Durant will continue to search for answers offensively when the Rockets return home for Game 3 on Wednesday.

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