When the Boston Celtics made their first run to the NBA Finals with their current core, it was back in 2022, and the team looked very different. Marcus Smart and Robert Williams were still anchoring the defense, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were still young, and, more significantly, Ime Udoka was the head coach.
Since then, the Celtics parted ways with Udoka, first suspending him for the season, then eventually moving on from him altogether. Joe Mazzulla took over, and Boston hasn’t looked back since. Meanwhile, Udoka jumped on board with the Houston Rockets, who have since improved tenfold as a team.
And now, Udoka is making a realization that he made with the Celtics.
Ime Udoka learning from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
As posted by Lachard Binkley of SI, Udoka said that the progress he’s seen with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun has been similar to what he saw with Tatum and Brown. And more than anything, he’s liked the way they’ve played off of each other.
“We like to involve those guys in actions together and not just one goes to work while the other watches and vice versa,” Udoka said.
For years, that was one of the biggest criticisms thrown Tatum and Brown’s way. “They can’t play together” was spewed everywhere in the media, and they only just proved it wrong (by those people’s standards) when they won a championship in 2024.
By playing off of each other rather than simply coexisting, the Celtics were able to get the most out of Tatum and Brown, and it’s no coincidence that Udoka helped them reach their first Finals.
Now, Green and Sengun are hoping to replicate that level of success in Houston. They are in a prime position to make the playoffs for the first time in their young careers this season, and Udoka is leading the way.
It’s a bit more straightforward for Green and Sengun to play together being a guard and a big, but the same basic principles apply—don’t just ball-watch when the other has the ball. Make a play together.
That’s what Udoka helped instill into Tatum and Brown when he was leading the way in Boston, and he’s making the same realization now in Houston. He wants them to work together, not around each other.
Clearly, Udoka’s realizations and coaching style have worked for the Rockets. Not only are they on their way to a playoff bid, but they’re firmly in the mix for home-court advantage, too.