On Saturday, in former Celtics coach Ime Udoka’s return to Boston, the Boston Celtics defeated Houston 145-113 to maintain their home winning record. Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and Jayson Tatum added 27.
In their comeback victory on Thursday, the Celtics overcame a well-known opponent.
In Ime Udoka’s first visit back to TD Garden, the Celtics destroyed the Rockets 145-113 to make up for the harm done to their net rating on Thursday after being thoroughly embarrassed by the Bucks.
The lessons are as follows.
1. Regarding Udoka, players and coaches alike—including Udoka himself—seemed to agree that “let’s move past it.”
Udoka made it clear that he and the other players from the Celtics’ 2022 NBA Finals run have moved on. Udoka was suspended from the team before the 2022–2023 season began due to an inappropriate contact with a female assistant.
The lessons are as follows.
1. Regarding Udoka, players and coaches alike—including Udoka himself—seemed to agree that “let’s move past it.”
Udoka made it clear that he and the other players from the Celtics’ 2022 NBA Finals run have moved on. Udoka was suspended from the team before the 2022–2023 season began due to an inappropriate contact with a female assistant.
Conversely, the Celtics players remained largely (and understandably) silent regarding Udoka. Tatum stated that he wished to maintain the confidentiality of his talks with Udoka. After the game, Payton Pritchard, who grew up in Portland and knew Udoka, gave his former coach a heartfelt greeting. He conceded that it was “a little bit” strange to face Udoka.
Pritchard said, “But they’re competitors, you know.” “Their coaching staff is excellent. He’s an excellent coach, but we just—I’m not sure. To us, it’s just another game, and I believe they thought the same thing.
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