Houston Rockets have seen encouraging development from their young core, with players like Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Tari Eason stepping up over the last two games.
Regardless of how the series ends, their recent performances have highlighted noticeable improvement, especially on the defensive end, where they’ve managed to keep the Los Angeles Lakers under 100 points in consecutive matchups.
Head coach Ime Udoka praised the group’s collective effort and growth, pointing to how the young lineup is gaining valuable experience in high-pressure situations.
“Big-time performances by everybody across the board,” head coach Ime Udoka said Wednesday.
“You start this really young lineup, and they are somewhat battle-tested now. (We needed to) show growth in certain moments and progress in certain moments.
“Obviously, in a game situation when you turn the ball over twice and foul a shooter (in Game 3’s collapse), you want to show growth, and I think we did that tonight.”
Rockets Notes: Smith, Sheppard, Young Core, Durant https://t.co/ZQ6lR9rWSc
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) May 1, 2026
