Rockets' Cam Whitmore Improving on Defense

Houston Rockets second-year pro Cam Whitmore has been through ups and downs during his tenure with the team, but he is approaching a peak because of his efforts on the defensive end of the floor.

Whitmore spoke with The Athletic insider Kelly Iko about his defense and how he is growing in that regard.

“I just had to be locked in for real,” Whitmore said via Iko. “Sometimes I’m in la-la land a little bit, but that’s just on me. I owe it all to my (lack of) effort and laziness, but effort is free. It’s just something I had to do, dial in on it a little bit more and try to get on the floor with that.”

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka has always been a defense-first kind of guy, so getting Whitmore to buy in on that part of his game has been a big reason behind the team's success.

“It was always his recognition,” Udoka said.

“It’s hard to communicate when you’re a step behind yourself. So awareness, recognition, reaction — all those things that we’re doing off-ball (were crucial). It was more about off-ball defense and team defense in general. He’s a big, physical body and is going to take on challenges one-on-one, but that’s not how we play. We don’t just fight and get through every screen and stay with a man, we do a lot more communication and stuff to be proactive. He was a little slow with those initially, (but) much better now.”

Whitmore won't always be a defensive stalwart for the Rockets, but if he can improve on defense, he could take the team into another stratosphere.

“It adds to the guys we already have that do it,” Udoka said.

“Our steal numbers are so high because of Amen (Thompson), Tari (Eason) and Fred (VanVleet), the guys with good hands and instincts. He’s become more aggressive on the ball as well, learning when to make a play when a guy is going into a scoring move or his back is turned. Add him to the list and that’s something we need to generate transition baskets.”