Before De’Aaron Fox’s shot could clear the rim, Amen Thompson’s eyes darted towards the Rockets sideline. In Houston, nothing triggers an Ime Udoka tongue-lashing faster than a blown defensive assignment, and Thompson, his dynamic second-year swingman, seems to collect more than his share of earfuls. General manager Rafael Stone estimates Thompson’s ratio of scoring to getting yelled at by Udoka “is pretty close to 1-to-1.”
The situation is irrelevant. Practice, preseason or, in this case, a late February game against San Antonio. As a rookie, Thompson would often chafe at his head coach’s blistering critiques. “Sometimes he’ll look at you like he is crazy mad,” says Thompson. Lately, he’s learned to understand if not appreciate the feedback. “I hold him to a high standard because of the things he can do,” says Udoka, now in his second year in Houston. “I don’t want any bad habits. We know how good he can be.”
