Nets' Dennis Smith Jr. ruled out vs. Rockets with upper back soreness

HOUSTON — The Nets ended their road trip Wednesday shorthanded as Dennis Smith Jr. was ruled out just before tipoff against the Rockets due to upper back soreness.
Smith was tended to during the second half of the Nets’ loss at the Pelicans Tuesday. After the game, coach Jacque Vaughn was unclear on Smith’s status but on Wednesday afternoon, he was added to the injury report as questionable.
This is the third time Smith has missed time for issues with his back. He missed seven games in December for a upper back sprain and six games in December with a lower back sprain.

Coaching reunion

Vaughn and Rockets coach Ime Udoka were previously Nets assistants under Steve Nash in 2020-21. Wednesday is their first meeting as head coaches.
Their relationship goes back further to being teammates on the Spurs from 2007-09. Vaughn shared pregame how he rented Udoka’s house in San Antonio when he started his coaching career as a Spurs assistant.
“He was done playing and I left my family at Kansas and was trying to see 'do I really want to do this thing for a living?',” Vaughn said. “Incredible human being, obviously you see how he coaches his team. They've taken on his demeanor, a toughness, a physicality that he played with and [I'm] really happy for him.”
Udoka said pregame that his time with the Nets, along with his lone season as a 76ers assistant, was as integral to his coaching development as his seven seasons as a Spurs assistant.
He added coaching Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden helped him understand how to handle high-pressure situations in his one season as Celtics head coach. Now it's helping him as he tries to change the Rockets’ culture.
"I think that prepared me for Boston," Udoka said of his time with the Nets and 76ers. “It was very instrumental in my success going forward and prepares you for all these different situations with the knuckleheads we got."

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.