Ime Udoka calls out his own team after crushing loss to the Warriors

The Houston Rockets were given a golden opportunity to rise into the Play-In Tournament with a win over the Golden State Warriors. Instead, the franchise lost in a game that was nowhere near competitive in the closing minutes. As noted by Clutch Points, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka called out his players after the loss. The coach said that "the moment was too big" for a lot of his players.

Udoka continued by saying that his team looked "soft or scared" and "didn't rise up to the moment". As Kendra Andrew of ESPN noted, the Rockets are in a terrible spot to make the Play-In Tournament after losing this matchup. Even if they were able to win the rest of their games, they need the Warriors to go to 1-5 for the rest of the season.

Part of the appeal of bringing Udoka towards Houston was that the team would compete in the playoffs. As the Rockets fall into an extremely early and unpopular exit, what does the franchise do now going forward?

What do the Rockets do now with no postseason appearance?

While the Rockets still have control of the Nets' first-round picks until 2027, the franchise is in a really bad spot. Houston invested a lot into this season and was not able to get into the playoffs or the play-in tournament. Based on rumors coming around the league, the Rockets will likely try and keep Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, who will be extension-eligible.

While the Rockets are likely to extend both of these young players after their great ends to the regular season, it would not be extremely out of the ordinary for them to make a blockbuster move. The franchise was rumored to make moves for an All-Star-like veteran at the deadline but ended up staying put. As the team looks to make the playoffs next season, Udoka should hope that his roster can rise to the moment and will not have to call out his team next season.