Ime Udoka may save the Rockets again amid point guard turmoil

As the Houston Rockets attempt to chase a title this year with superstar-caliber scorer Kevin Durant on the roster, their biggest challenge, hands down, will be to overcome the devastating loss of starting point guard Fred VanVleet.

Yet, according to Joe House on a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Show, there should be faith that head coach Ime Udoka can rally his troops even considering this loss, raising the team's floor just enough that they are still able to compete.

Although there will be some shaky moments with some combination of Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard taking over VanVleet's role, Udoka is the right coach for the moment, and, if all of the players can buy in, this team can very quickly become dangerous once again.

Ime Udoka is the perfect coach for the Rockets in this pivotal moment

Last season, as Houston soared to the second seed in the Western Conference, it was, in large part, due to the hard-nosed, defensive identity that Udoka had imbibed across the entire roster, regardless of fit or skill-set.

Now, with Durant on the roster, the team will have all of the offense it needs to compete, and House believes that Udoka will not allow the team to be overcome by the loss of their starting point guard: "Are they going to be like Minnesota: a .500 team for a little while until they figure it out? Not with [Ime Udoka}. I think they're going to come out prepared."

In many ways, those that are doubting the Rockets with VanVleet out have serious justification. Not only was VanVleet their primary playmaker last season, averaging 5.7 assists per 36 minutes on the court, but he has also been the veteran leader that has helped heave their young core out of the rebuilding stage.

His loss, therefore, represents more than a loss of an on-court skill-set. It is the loss of a vital piece of the culture that Houston has built over the past few seasons.

However, at the same time, the Rockets have such a versatile rotation, and such a number of lengthy, unique players, that they can now put out a series of terrifying lineups by moving Thompson to point guard.

Therefore, while losing VanVleet so close to the start of the season could be disastrous for many teams, Udoka has enough tools, and the proper coaching mindset, to get this team to rally nonetheless, and one should expect them to come out firing after a 4-0 record in the preseason.