{"id":192564,"date":"2026-04-26T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=192564"},"modified":"2026-04-26T05:40:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T09:40:01","slug":"is-game-4-the-final-test-for-rockets-core-duo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/26\/is-game-4-the-final-test-for-rockets-core-duo\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Game 4 The Final Test For Rockets Core Duo?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday night<\/a>, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka looked on as his team lost its third straight playoff game to the Los Angeles Lakers. It put them down 0-3. No NBA team has recovered from such a deficit to win a seven-game series. Frankly, Houston\u2019s season looks over. Udoka\u2019s tenure with the franchise is likely at an end as well. What\u2019s left for Rockets fans in Game 4 is a possibly final test on whether their current core can work in a post-Udoka world.<\/p>\n

Is Game 4 The Final Test For Rockets’ Roster Experiment?<\/h2>\n

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There were already a few positive signs for Houston\u2019s young core in Game 3. The Rockets’ home crowd<\/a> brought a better performance out of them, as expected. They forced overtime after being down the entire second and third quarters and most of the fourth.<\/p>\n

All-Star Alperen Sengun<\/a> had his first star-player performance of the series. He had 33 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 assists with 3 steals and a block. He went 15 of 27 from the field and was a +10 overall, playing nearly 47 minutes in the four-point loss.<\/p>\n