Rockets Coach Ime Udoka Does Not Hold Back On NBA Officiating: 'Get Some F***ing Glasses'
Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is here to chew bubblegum and rip pesky NBA refs to shreds.
SACRAMENTO - Head Coach Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Cup on December 3, 2024 at Golden 1 Center. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
Udoka and Rockets center Tari Eason were booted from Tuesday's NBA Cup loss to the Sacramento Kings. This inspired the coach to launch a tirade after the game, mocking the officiating.
The coach particularly went off on a fourth-quarter sequence between Rockets' Alperen Sengun and Kings' Domantas Sabonis.
Ime's bickering with the official led to his ejection, though it took a minute, and several folks holding back Udoka, before he truly left the game.
Afterward, Tari Eason started getting into it with a fan.
As Eason tried to confront the Kings fan, security held the big man back before getting sent to the locker room early.
Tuesday's big spat will earn Udoka a fine from the league and possibly Eason over his argument with the fan.
If not for his on-court tirade, Udoka will surely be fined for his postgame comments tackling the officiating, including referee John Goble.
"Blatant missed calls right in front of you," the coach said. "They’re calling ticky-tack moving screens, and bulls*** like that, and then you don’t want to call the obvious ones right in front of you?
"So that was it. Alpie got fouled a few times on that drive, and on the layup, and they don’t want to call it. I told him ‘Get some f****** glasses. Open your eyes.’
"Take your sensitivity and emotions out of it and call the game the right way. It’s obvious right in front of you, and John Goble — or whoever it was — sees it, doesn’t call it, and I let him know about it."
SACRAMENTO - Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka gets a technical foul while standing next to Fred VanVleet #5 of the Houston Rockets during their game against the Sacramento Kings in the second half at Golden 1 Center on December 3, 2024. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
If Udoka is getting fined by the league, which he surely anticipates, the fiery coach wants to ensure he gets his money's worth. And that he did.
Udoka's turnaround of the Houston Rockets continues to impress, elevating the team to second in the West with a 15-7 record, just a couple of years removed from a pair of 20-win seasons.
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