Stephen A. Smith 'Not Surprised at All' by Houston Rockets Success This Season

The Houston Rockets have surprised quite a few people so far this season, and Stephen A. Smith is among them, as he praises head coach Ime Udoka and the team's roster.

Despite the Houston Rockets losing their last two games, they have had a solid start to their season, which is not exactly what some people expected.

Last season, through the Rocket's first 16 games, they only had three wins. Now, the team is 8-8 through that same stretch, and is looking better than it did just one season ago. And a lot of this can be attributed to the coaching change that the team made this offseason.

Head coach Ime Udoka has brought an entirely different feel to this Rocket's team, and it is not going unnoticed. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is among the Rocket's believers, and he has recently elaborated more on why Houston is having this newfound success.

Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is perhaps the biggest reason why the team is having the success that they are having to start the season / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

"I would tell you that I am not surprised at all, because Ime Udoka is a hell of a coach," Smith said. "Somebody tried to ruin his career, and I'm thankful that that did not happen, and that he's on the sidelines right now with the Houston Rockets and reminding them what a coach can do, because he can coach his a** off."

"They've got some talent on that squad. I think that they're on the rise, but I don't think that they have arrived. He's going to need more time than just one season... It's going to take a little bit more time for him to do in Houston what he did in Boston, but I have no doubt that he's going to pull it off."

The Rockets will be back in action on Saturday against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CDT from Crypto.com Arena.

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