How Ime Udoka built the Houston Rockets' new identity - ESPN

AMEN THOMPSON TROTS back in transition defense a half-step too slow when LA Clippers guard Norman Powell catches a pass on the right wing and attacks during an early possession in the Houston Rockets' road win Sunday. Powell takes a couple of dribbles with Thompson on his hip, bumps him and gets Thompson to bite on a pump fake.

After Thompson watches Powell's floater go through the net, he glances toward the Rockets' bench.

It doesn't happen often, but when the man Thompson is guarding gets a bucket on him, he tends to look toward the sideline to see how his head coach reacts. There isn't much mystery.

«I am bothered,» Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka told ESPN.

That's an understatement — and not an unusual state of mind for Udoka. As Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet put it, «Well, he is always pissed off.»

Udoka's brow furls and his eyes narrow when he's disappointed in any of his players' defensive effort. But he's particularly perturbed when Thompson falls short of the coach's high expectations. It's an especially seething sneer any time Thompson gets scored on.

«Imagine the most mad face ever, just staring daggers at you,» Thompson told ESPN after a Dec. 1 win over the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, who shot 2-of-10 from the floor with Thompson as the primary defender.

Thompson quietly admits he's amused by the visible angst he sees from Udoka, who has a reputation for orneriness and is as physically imposing as any NBA coach, with broad shoulders on his 6-foot-6 frame. Thompson also appreciates it, considering it's evidence of the confidence his coach has in his ability to be an elite defensive stopper.

«He's not particularly happy when someone scores on Amen,» Rockets general manager Rafael Stone