October 29, 2025 • 31 mins
With Wednesday’s 139-121 victory at Toronto, the Rockets (2-2) secured their first winning streak of the 2025-26 campaign and are now NBA’s most efficient offense of the young season.
Featuring Ben DuBose, Paulo Alves, and Dave Hardisty, the “ClutchFans Live” show recaps all the key storylines. Topics include big scoring nights from Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr.; a dominant rebounding performance, led by interior strength from Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun; and potential concerns on defense (where the Rockets currently rank in the bottom half of the league).
This episode can be viewed in video form here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C4F5xTVeKc
Featuring Ben DuBose, Paulo Alves, and Dave Hardisty, the “ClutchFans Live” show recaps all the key storylines. Topics include big scoring nights from Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr.; a dominant rebounding performance, led by interior strength from Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun; and potential concerns on defense (where the Rockets currently rank in the bottom half of the league).
This episode can be viewed in video form here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C4F5xTVeKc
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome into the post game.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Rockets get a one thirty nine to one twenty one
road win in Toronto to even up their their record
at two and two, go back to five hundred this year.
I am here with Palo Elves NBA or Palo Elves
at Palo L's NBA and Ben Debos at Ben Debos.
Appreciate both of you guys being here this first time
(00:25):
we've done this show with three, So we're gonna give
this a shot and see how this goes.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
And guys, you know, this is a big win.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I wouldn't say Toronto.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Is the biggest test, but it's a bigger test than
Brooklyn certainly, and the Rockets passed a lot of challenges tonight.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Yeah, and first things first, let's make it clear the
Rockets had to win this game so that the Raptors
could be sacrificed in order for the Blue Jays to win.
That's the most That's the most important thing here. I
think Houston Sportsman understand where I'm coming from with regards
to the Dodgers. Hey, look, as far as this game,
I come out of this when feeling better than any
(01:02):
of the four to this point. Because the Raptors shot
twenty one of forty from three, and yet they lost
by eighteen at home. And this is not a Raptor
team that doesn't have talent. Both Scottie Barnes and Brandon
Ingram can fill it up, and they did tonight. And
yet the Rockets were just so big. This was a
game where they leaned into their rebounding muscle and size.
They out rebounded them fifty three to twenty two for
(01:24):
the game. And when you can do that, even when
the other team can't miss a three, it's just almost
impossible to lose, especially when you have the firepower that
the Rockets do. They put up nearly one forty and
this is a team that through four games is in
the top three of the NBA in offensive ratings. So, Dave,
you talked in the preseason about the identity shifting to
(01:45):
a little bit more offense than defense this year, a
lot of it personnel. Well, I think through the first
week of the season we've definitely seen that, and we'll
get into Kevin Durant was great as the closer.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Jabari was great overall, but off.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
The top, I want to throw a shout out to
Steven Adams, who I thought was the MVP of this
game twelve points, twelve rebounds plus fourteen and twenty minutes
off the bench. And I think defensively the way he
was able to contest. You know, one of the things
you worry about with the double big is are you
gonna give up too many threes? Actually thought Steven Adams
were one of the best guys on the floor when
it came to contesting three point looks tonight, and he
(02:18):
got a couple of them. I think, so kudos to
seven for playing his butt off. And I actually think
if you want to be optimistic about this Rockets team,
I think one area that people sort of slept on
nationally going into this season. Everybody was looking at, look,
you brought in Kevin Durant, Jory Anthony Smith when he plays,
Josha Koge, guys like that. But you lost Fred, you
(02:39):
lost Dylan, you lost Sjalen, and trying to sort of
see how it all shakes out relative to the fifty
two to thirty formula number two in the West last season.
The thing is Steven Adams is a really good player,
and the Rockets basically didn't have him at anywhere near
peak strength until the last month of the season because
he was coming off of knee surgery and he didn't
even play for a lot of last season. He was
(03:01):
for the first half, maybe even two thirds, occasionally getting
bumped from the backup slot by Jock Landale. That's how
much he was still struggling. And you look at what
we saw tonight, him closing out on threes, diving into
the first row of the seats to keep possessions alive.
The version of Steven Adams the Rockets have this season
is night and day different than the fifty two and
(03:23):
thirty team of a year ago, and I think that's
something that flew under the radar nationally. The Rockets with
Steven you should basically consider him an addition relative to
the fifty two and thirty version a year ago. So
I just want to say that off the top, that's
something I think going into the year was slept on.
It shouldn't be anymore. Steven Adams is a really impactful player.
And then beyond Steven, look, Kevin durant Is. Kevin Durant
(03:45):
I thought what really stood out tonight with Jabari Smith
Junior and Pallo.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
I'll tee you up for this because you've.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Been talking over on Rockets Launch Spot, our podcast now
presented by Clutch Fans. By the way, Jabari is someone
that the fan base might have been a little too
low on going into this year.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
He's just twenty two years old.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
There's a lot of untapped potential there, and I think
the NBA is increasingly becoming a league where you're only
as strong as your weakest link, and so defensively that
can at times be problematic. You know, Read Shepherd when
he plays is clearly liability. The teams will attack defensively
when the Rockets go double big and they play zone,
they'll try and beat you from the three point arc. Offensively,
(04:24):
we know the attention that the Big three, K D.
Shangoon and the men will draw. So oftentimes it comes
down to can you get enough scoring and playmaking from
those other two slots? And what I saw tonight, not
only did Jabari make shots when he was open, but
he also attacked closeouts, He made plays for others. He
had five assists, and I just thought this was a
really really well balanced game from him. Defensively, we'll get
(04:46):
into some of the concerns because you know that same
adage you're only as strong as your weakest link right now,
at least without georgy Anfonty, Smith might be holding you
back defensively but offensively. If Jabari Smith Junior is one
of your weaker links, and at least from a scouting
report perspective, he is, then you're.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
In a really good spot.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
And that's why the Rockets put up nearly one hundred
and forty points and have a top three net rating
in the NBA on the offensive side of the ball, Yeah,
one hundred percent.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
And I think we're at a point in which a
lot of people thought about Japari since the beginning, since
he didn't hit the ground running as someone who's limited
to being you know, switchable three and the guy, and
I think we're seeing more and more of him become,
perhaps not at that level yet, but more of an
Error Gordon type in which, well, you're so good at
your role and you have you know, a lot of
(05:33):
those of those connective skills as well, which he didn't
have coming in in which you have two guys, obviously
with Rockets, not a garden a center, but a center
and a forward who are drawing a lot of attention
and you have a lot of space in between everything
that's going on to get your shots off, and there's
if there's something that somebody was always protected to be,
(05:54):
was a shot maker, right, and he's he's in a
situation now which in which, because everybody's playing so much
attention to KD, to Shane Gun, in which he doesn't
really need to generate the advantage himself. He just needs
to be in a position to take the shot because
there's always going to be there's always going to be
space for him to take that shot, and he's not
gonna have to even dribble into it or or bulldoze
(06:16):
his way into it, even though he tries to sometimes
it's just got to just got to pick up the
ball where you get it and shoot it. And that's
what Jabari is really good at. And he's improved basically
on all levels of his game. And you're at a
point in which you can't really put a ceiling on
what Hivari can become because he's now put in a
position in which he can take those shots. Those can
(06:37):
be confidence builders. And at the same time, in practice,
he's he's working with Kad every day, who's going to
help him hone in those skills as well. And so
I just think that a lot of people look at
the rockets and they look at the upside for shang Gun,
who which I think he's basically already hit it. He's already,
to me, a superstar. A man still has a lot
of long ways to go. Some people talk about Torisan
(06:58):
as someone who perhaps has some co high level offensive
upside or something close, and everybody forgets about Jabari, who
just from a skill set standpoint, he doesn't need that
many seconds on the ball to get a shot off.
And I think he's shown it this game in the specific.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I thought, you know, to
talk about Jabari, I wanted to mention Shangun.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
First.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I thought Shangun had an incredibly efficient game tonight. Was
it was almost like a quiet night for Shanngun. He
wasn't like offensively aggressive, but was very very efficient. Hit
the three early on, looked very comfortable doing it, but
he was creating and and I think kind of like
you guys were saying, Paulo, you specifically is like the
attension was placed on you know, Katie and Shangun. And
(07:41):
right out of the gate, Jabari scored the first seven
points of the game. You know, basically just had a
really good aggressive night. And what really stuck out to
me for Jabari was that one stretch I believe it
was the third quarter where he put the ball on
the floor, drove left. This was after they shut down,
not shut down, but they stopped Shangoon off off the
(08:02):
baseline from being able to drive swung it to Kdi.
They closed on Kadi and they threw it to Jabari
with the shot clock running down, and he drove left
and kind of hit that that jump shot maybe you know,
eight feet out. And then the next play, very next
position on a fast break, he dribbled it down and
you know, scored and got the end one. But these
(08:22):
are kind of basic things that where you know you're
talking about if you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
A three, that's a creating three. This these are going
to be rudimentary type of place. But for Jabari, this
is like real progress.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
You guys remember the first year, you know, where he
was really struggling to be able to put the ball
on the floor. Every time he did it was either
a turnover or it was a mess. And he has
gotten so much better with that handle. If the shots falling,
I just I'm really happy with where he is. And
this is a guy who's the fourth player as far
as you know, the who opponents are focusing on. So
(08:53):
and I think he's capable of a lot more so,
it's really nice to see Jabari have that big night.
You know, I don't know if you get I have
something more you want to add on Jabari specifically, but
we've got to talk about Kadi in particular, because you
know what he did in the fourth. He's he's really
like a quiet assassin. You kind of overlook what he does.
(09:13):
I don't know why, but you know, just every time
the Raptors were making a little run get that thing
to eight or something like that, Kad was closed on
the door in the fourth. And I think if there's
a game that we've seen up to this point where
Katie's the closer what he was brought in to do
over Jalen Green in.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
The past, this would be the best illustration of it
this game.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Yeah, and I thought, you know, there was an interview
that dropped yesterday that Kevin did with the Pivot podcast
and it was in the aftermath of the OKC game,
and the hosts were trying to egg him on to
say something about not getting the ball enough, and I
thought he had some really revealing quotes about I never
liked dictators, and he went on to make the case.
(09:54):
I wrote an article about it for Rockets Wire, basically
saying he wants these young guys to learn by doing,
and I think we've seen that through the first week
of the season, they're already getting a little bit better
at getting him the ball earlier in shot clocks, at.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Pushing the pace. I know we'll talk about a man.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
It's not perfect, but one benefit a man is able
to push the pace, and so when you do that,
you're able to get the ball to Kevin, sometimes in
transition before the defense can get set. I think that's important.
It also helps, of course that most teams do not
have lou Dort to prevent Katie from getting the ball
in the first place. But I think, going back to
his quotes from that Pivot podcast interview, it's very rare
(10:33):
in today's NBA to have a star who is at
that level offensively but yet does have some patience, and
so I think that's.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
What we've seen early this year.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Like there's probably going to come a time and place,
especially by the playoffs, where he wants the ball, and
he's making it clear that if he hasn't given on
a possession he may not be happy. But right now
he's letting the game come to him. It's just been
remarkable how even a night's when he has it going
and it feels like, man, why isn't Katie getting the
ball to put them way? He never seems out of control,
(11:03):
he never seems rattled. He just waits and bides his time,
and before you know what, the ball comes to him.
Maybe it's a second chance opportunity that happened a couple
of times off of kickouts, but regardless, the patience that
he plays with, despite being that brilliant offensively, I think
it's just going to be so valuable to this Rockets team,
which has all those developing young pieces that you also
(11:23):
want to get better at the same time, while you
have Kevin Durant.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Yeah, And it really feels like, as the comment that
they've just brought up on the screen, it felt like
at points where last season we were giving up a
run and we will let it textend endlessly because offensively
we didn't have any reliable goal to guy other than
saying he was getting triple team. It really felt like
he kept the Raptors at arm's length, and it really
(11:49):
feels like he understands that this team is And I
think this is something that that will talk about going forward,
which is this team knows it's a playoff team. We're
no longer in that mentality in which they have to
grip and claw at every single point in every single
possession just to prove that they belong like they know
they're good. And now they're trying some stuff out to
(12:10):
make sure that once postseason comes along and stuff like that,
they are in a position in which they have every
weapon in the back kind of hone them. Right, And
and Katy understands that if they wanted to win every
game by the maximum marginal points right now, I guarantee
you read probably wouldn't be playing as much. The ball
would be going through KD and Sing a lot more
than it actually is, even though they're putting up stats,
(12:32):
and it'd be hard forcing stuff a lot more. And defensively,
they wouldn't try as many different lineups and as then
many different detective teams, right, And so I think he
d understands that, and he understands that in order for
this team to eventually have a ceiling of a championship team,
it needs to maximize every single club that it steps
in the back right, and that means giving the Barris possession.
That means giving lead shepherds some possession. That means living
(12:55):
with some momentums and turnovers. That means sometimes even wedding
tariesan revel dribble the hair out of the ball. But
you know that's part of the process. And Kitty's been
in the least so long that he knows like this sacrifice.
Like they're two and two, perhaps if they I don't
think they happened in the Okay See game, but perhaps
in the Pistons game, if they maximize it a little
(13:15):
bit more, perhaps they could have got on the win.
But it's three and one with leaving some pieces and
developed better than two and two knowing that you're pulling
and went the playoffs anyway, while giving these guys some
reps to make sure that eventually, if an injury comes along,
or if you know someone doesn't have it going a
certain night, they can go to different guys. Because Kad
(13:36):
doesn't want to be in a situation like last year
where hey, sometimes you're just the only down when Devin
Booker's out there, and the only down before they didn't
get a shot off and he got all the attention
on you. He knows that's not a recipe for success.
And you know, when KD came along, I think that's
one of the things that we always highlighted that he
was a perfect fit on the court and from a
(13:56):
basketball knowledge standpoint as well. He understood the Rockets are
perfect team for what he needs at this point in
his career. And he understands that it's still a process,
like they are in win now mode, but they are
trying to, you know, make sure that everyone that's already
there can be the best versions of themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
You know, Carlos had mentioned in a live stream chatter
asked and he said, I didn't watch the game, how
did a men look? And it's interesting I thought that
question because we were talking about this before went live.
You know, men finished seven to thirteen eighteen points, nine boards,
seven assists.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Three turnovers. Like the box score line looks pretty good.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
He was plus seventeen in the game, you know, and
a man always brings the defensive energy and effort. I
just thought there were stretches in the game where I'm like, man,
a man is struggling or just you know, with his
finishing ability, as driving ability offensively, just in general, I thought.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
He was struggling a little bit at times.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
But like I said, the box score and you look
at the end of the day looked pretty good. I
want to talk overall just about this team. This this
really I mentioned this at halftime. That was like a
clash of styles. It was like all tall versus small
ball almost.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
In a way.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
You know, no pertol in this game. So the Rockets were,
you know, much bigger than the Raptors. At the same time,
you know, the Rockets dominated the glass.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I mean it was sixty.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Four to was it thirty sixty four to twenty nine?
It was thirty four to thirteen at half, which is
just insane, And at halftime it was eleven to zero
on offensive rebounding edge seventeen to four at the end
of the game. So Rockets just crushed them on the glass.
That's a recipe for just a blowout. But what happened
(15:31):
today was the Raptors went twenty one, yeah, twenty one
of forty from three point range. We saw Brooklyn get
hot in that first half, from three point range.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I mean, we know now that that rebounding.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Edge is still there defense, and you know, is that
still there? To your point you were talking about Ben,
because we've talked about this as we went along in
the preseason. Have the Rockets shifted now to being a
much more efficient offensive team with you know, jayl Out
and Kevin Durantz stepping in and that is a huge
difference in efficiency that looks to be there. But have
(16:07):
they taken a step back defensively?
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (16:10):
I think that's a fair question, and I think sometimes
people are looking at it the wrong way, Like I've
seen some folks asking why isn't a men or Jabbari
making more plays these guys that were drafted to be
top shelf defensive players. Well, a lot of the way
the minor deba works, it comes down to teams hunting
your weakest link. To go back to what I said
(16:32):
leading off this show, and in this case, when the
Rockets are running double big, then other teams know they
can typically Now, Steven Adams did a pretty good job
tonight all things considered, but typically they can get off
a lot of threes. And when the Rockets have Reed
Shepherd out there they can attack red. Now when the
Rockets play as the fifth guy Tarry Easton or Josha Kogi,
(16:53):
they're more well balanced. But the question becomes, if Tari
or a Kogi isn't shooting that well, are you capping
your ceiling on offense a little bit relative to having
Steven Adams or Reeve Shepherd out there. So, at least
until you get Dori Anthony smith Beck, no matter what
you do, there's a weak link a lot of the time.
Unless it's a really good night for Tari or a Kogi.
(17:14):
And even if it is, well, guys are gonna need breaks.
I mean, you don't want any of these guys over
the eighty two game grind to play more than thirty
five thirty six minutes a night. So the Rockets do
have some weaknesses that other teams will attack, and that's
one thing relative to last year. Look, im Ujoka did
a good job getting every last drop out of that team.
And for all the flaws that we nitpicked with that
(17:36):
starting five of Fred, Jalen, Dylan, Shabari and Shangoon or
well then Amen and Shingoon with Jabari coming off the bench,
there were no clear negatives defensively, even Jalen got to
a point where he was really competing his butt off
nine in night out. Right now, especially with the Rockets
being shorthanded, there are some weaker spots in the rotation,
(17:58):
particularly with them being hell bent on getting read minutes
for developmental purposes, which, as Polo said, it's about the
bigger picture, but to me, it's not so much about now.
The last couple of games a men did get into
early foul trouble, thankfully he did not deny.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
He needs to cut that out.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
The four fouls in the first half against the Pistons,
the two thousand in the first quarter against the Nets. Yeah,
that's sloppy and he needs to be better because when
the men's not on the floor, the Rockets are worse defensively.
But in terms of why aren't your defensive playmakers doing
things well, it's really hard when you have a week
link because teams are just going to attack the weak link.
And so in time, I think you know with Joey
Anfinnys Fith coming back and or upgrades you can make
(18:36):
as you get closer to the trade deadline. The good
news the way I would frame it and Dave and Polow.
I've talked to you both about this offline.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
I don't think the Rockets necessarily have a point guard problem.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
I think they have a fifth starter problem, and so
you can potentially bring in a point guard. I'm not
saying that you can't, but I think you can also
bring in a good player at another position and still
get similar bang for your buck. Because offensively, look, I
Man isn't perfect. He's having some turnovers that they're frustrating,
but this is a top three offense that put up
nearly one hundred and forty points on the road. Like,
(19:06):
let's not act like that that they have no idea
what they're doing. No, they have a lot of firepower.
They're still very good in the macro. The issues for
this team are defensively, so you need more steadiness on
that side. Hopefully Read and Tari continue to progress and
get better. Hopefully Dorian Phinney Smith is back sooner rather
than later. If not, you can bring in guys at
the trade deadline. But to me, it just comes down
(19:27):
to personnel. There's weaker links in the chain than there
were a year ago. And Pallo, the other thing I
wanted to get your insight on. I also think that psychologically,
that team last year had to be dialed in every
single possession because it was the only way they could
win games. Like they just did not have enough offensive
gifts to where they could overcome it if they had
(19:48):
a bad night defensively. So I think they were always
you know, playing at like a top five level, whereas
this year they were so good offensively. I saw several
possessions tonight, especially in the third quarter, where you know,
the Rockets came not strong, and the third did what
good teams do, which is, you know, you absorbed the
punch in the first half, Raptors shot the lights out,
You made some adjustments, and the Rockets came out before
you do it. You know, a five point game becomes
(20:09):
a fifteen to twenty point game. But as they were
scoring at ease, there were possessions where the Rockets just
didn't get back defensively, And I think some of that
is just, you know, a mentality change, like it's become
so easy for them and they're not used to it
that they think they can always overcome it by scoring
more on offense. Like the postgame interview that Jabari did
with Vanessa Richardson, he said we knew we'd be fine offensively,
(20:30):
and so I'm wondering if some of what's happening on
defense i've met personnel is a part, but it also
might come down to the fact that from a mentality perspective,
offense is coming so easy to these guys that that
they're not playing with quite the same intensity as they
did on a possession in possession out basis last year.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
How does that make sense to you?
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Yeah, I'm one hundred presentably too, as far as I
think it's a combination of two things. I think, first
of all, yes, they're taking possessions off and they're giving up,
you know, just pull up threes. They're not even picking
up the ball and giving it. Points that way as well.
But I think besides that, you know, it's also a
case that even last year we some like there were
plenty of possessions that we played perfect defense knowing that
(21:12):
there's a certain guy on the other team that we're
more comfortable letting him to shoot. Everybody remembers that Dorian
Phoinis Smith came from with the nets from last season.
We played really good defense, but we also took really
good pets as far as who we let shoot those
threes and sometimes who have tome open to be able
to play suchwell down defense. Yeah, and so I think
what's happening now is that there's a little bit of
(21:34):
variance as well, like Brooklyn and Toronto. Yes, we do
play a little bit into it by leaving some hutters open,
but they're not going to shoot over fifty percent on
three lightly did against So I think some of its
small sample size. Some of it is sometimes that it's
not as well as well as a machine net as
it was last years, and sometimes we lead the wrong
guy open. I remember with Canar making it a bot
(21:55):
shot and like that's the one guy you don't leave open.
So sometimes that happens. So some times teams are just
catching fire, and I don't think that's sustainable long term.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Like Scottie Barnes had four threes in fourteen minutes tonight
and he was a twenty seven percent guy a year ago.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
Yeah, exactly, So you're probably comfortable whenning him shooting. He's
probably not going to make four or five in the
first half any other game this season. And I think
in Cinelart part what you said as well, like last
season they were so bad at scoring that they had
to give one hundred and twenty percent every single possession.
This year, they don't need to do that as much.
And it's personnel as well, Like, let's be honest, Kadi
(22:34):
is putting an effort, not questioning that at all, but
Killen Green was also putting it up like one hundred
and twenty percent ever do on defense as well, And
that's a little bit of a gap as well, combined
with every other starter going from one twenty to like
eighty percent effort because they know they're really good on
offense right now. But I do think that while it's
something I do think that's also something that they're playing
(22:56):
around with schemes. But at the same time, I think
if I can it's really tight against the CAC for example,
that they are able to lock in and and I
think as the season goes on that the quality of
that locking in later in games will get better as
they get more and more used to playing with each other.
But yeah, that's that. It has a lot to do
(23:16):
with just not needing to give up, not needing to
give up that level of the defensive intensity as well.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Yeah, you know it's tonight I was watching the game
and then we saw this in some of the other
games as well, but there's there was I thought, especially
the OKC game, there's been a lot of wide open
threes by opponents. I know tonight there was the one
that was in transition that stuck out to me. I
think it was Mamu Killish Philly coming back. It was
Katie not getting back in time. I think he might
have been on offense and just got back late into
the play wide open, knocked top of the key, three down.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
There were a few other.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Few others, but some of them tonight as well, Like
you know, Shangun had a hand in the in the
guy's face or on the shot, or Jabari did and
they still knocked him down.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
They were definitely hot tonight.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
But you know, as far as the defense, to me,
know when they traded for Katie, and obviously that's going
to be, you know, a solid move and all that stuff,
but it's losing Dylan was the kind of the concern.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
He was your leading three point hier last year.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
He is a guy who just is key to that identity,
the physical defensive play. I think they knew they needed
to replace that and that's why they got Dorian Finney
Smith so even though we've never seen Dorian Finney Smith
play here, and I hope people realize this guy like
kind of turned around the Lakers defense almost by himself,
like he was a significant loss for the play.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Absolutely, And I mean I don't know if he's going
to have the same impact here, but he's going to
fit like a glove, I would think, based on what
Udoka wants to do. So I know it's weird to
think that to say that you're missing him because you're
you know, you're definitely missing Dylan Brooks, but you brought
in a replacement.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
We just haven't seen him yet. So I don't want
to judge the defense.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And we've said this a lot until he gets back,
and I think Odoka will figure it out.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Defense is his calling card. It's so key to to the.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Success that he wants to have. I think that they'll
figure that out, but it should. It does concern me
a little bit. The offense is better. Defense has taken
a step back. I mean, coming to this game, I
believe they were middle of the pack around fifteen or sixteen.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
That may have changed.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
And on the subject of picking it up and locking
in when it mattered, I know we're talking about defense.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
But when we.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Mentioned to men earlier, one thing I wanted to highlight.
He did have a couple of really big buckets in
the fourth quarter when the Rockets or when the Raptors,
excuse me, we're making that run, trying to make one
last push at home, and it reminded me of those
buckets he had late in the fourth quarter before the
calf cramps against the thunder that almost put okc away.
And I thought was really encouraging because for a lot
(25:42):
of the night, you know, I thought a men's defense
was better tonight because he wasn't in foul trouble, but
he seemed a little bit careless at times, and offensively,
for whatever reason, the touch wasn't quite there in the
first three quarters. But when the game mattered, he was
able to find that and to make the plays that
needed to be made for the Rockets to put Toronto away.
And so I thought that was a really good sign.
(26:02):
You know, defensively is where you often think about it,
just picking up the effort when it matters most. But
I thought offensively, for him then there was a there
was a clear bump and focus when it really mattered
in winning time, in the fourth quarter, and I want
to make sure that we noted that as well.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Yeah, just Pallo if you want to have anything else
you want to say before we close, but read Shepherd.
I have to just ask any thoughts on Reid tonight.
He goes two for seven from the field, and he
up you know, improvements, downgrades, anything jumping out off the page.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Yeah, I'll go quick and then I'll turn things over
to Pallo. But with Reid, he's just got to make
more open shots. Like there was a sequence in the
first half where he had two wide open threes from
the same spot in like a five second span, and
he missed them both. And it's like he does so
many things well, he's high IQ, he's instinctive. Clearly he's
(26:48):
working his butt off, but he has certain limitations, like
when he's on the floor, teams are going to attack him.
That is a big part of why Houston's defense is struggling.
In a game they won by eighteen. I think he
was plus zero in the plus minus. Like, he is
a liability defensively, and at least at this stage in
his career, he's got to make shots to offset that.
And to this point in his NBA career, he hasn't
(27:10):
done that enough. Now, small sample, we have a ton
of evidence that suggests he's a great shooting prospect, so
it should be fine. And unlike last year, they're going
to keep putting him out there. The sample size is
going to grow and hopefully this is all just small
sample sized theater and it evens out right now. I mean,
so much of it just comes down to we're talking
about his night entirely differently. If he makes a couple
(27:30):
more threes, especially just like one of those two that
came right to him wide open twice in a row
and he just can't make them, and you know, the
other stuff is frustrating. It's gonna take a lot more
time to fully resolve that. I think in the short term,
he needs to make more shots. For me, It's that simple, yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:46):
And I think one other things that we were looking,
you know, to get from Retemper was more confident, more
confident shooting, and more confidence handling the ball and you know,
driving the lanes. And I do think that that's there.
He's just not making this up. But I do think
for the first four games of the season, I'm not
saying he's playing well but I do think he's one
of those bets in which you're giving him time now
(28:07):
and you hope that that turns into a rotation piece
later on when you get to the offseason, right, and
so having that in mind, at this point, I'm happy
that he's still playing conference and he's still taking the
shots and the next step is actually making them. But
four games in, I'm okay giving it a giving it
a little bit more lelia. As I said, if the
Rockets wanted to maximize their winning percentage, they would likely
(28:27):
play Aaron Holiday right now, that's a fact. But at
the same time, it's a bet that they're making and
I think hopefully long time it plays off. If it doesn't,
well you still have our Aaron Holiday thead, and you
still have the moves to make in December if you
feel like you need to go get a car.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah, I could see the vision with Reid. It's still early.
I'm giving him obviously more runway. He had that play
to night. It was kind of Chris Paul ask where
he kind of wiggled his way to between the free
throw line top of the key and knock down that jumper.
But yeah, two for seven from the field, not particularly
great night. I think he was over four. Yeah, from
three point.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
I do think, I do think think maybe you can
help it by not running as many lineups with both
read and the double big, or at least not a
double big that includes Clint Capella. Capella was minus nine tonight.
A big part of that. You know, the Raptors were
on fire from three, especially in the first half, and
when Steven was out there, he was just a menace
closing out on threes. The other two not as much,
(29:20):
and so when it was Shingoon and Capella, then Capella
didn't have quite the mobility closing out on the perimeter,
and that's part of what happened when the Raptors, you know,
just blitz Houston from beyond the art. But I think
when you play both read and the double big, then
that's two different ways that defenses can't attack you, and
so I think it's very easy for things to spiral.
So in the short term, I think one other thing
(29:42):
that Emodoka might consider doing not running both read in
the double big, or at least if it is a
double big, make sure that it's both Shinoon and Steven
Adams were clear top two because I thought the minutes
when was reading Capella together and again Capella minus nine
in the in the plus minus, I thought those were
especially rough, and it sort of just compounds what is
already a weakness when Reed is on the floor and
(30:04):
that's the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
Yeah. Absolutely, I'll just say this, guys.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
We have the chance to go over five hundred on Saturday,
November first, Rockets play in Boston. Sneaky game here, because
we already kind of were lulled into sleep thinking I
think that I believe the Celtics started oh to three.
They're now two and three, but I believe they started
oh and three, and we thought, well, they're tanking. They're
you know, Horford's gone, Tatum's out, you know, they're kind
(30:29):
of jerus gone.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
They just beat the Calves.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Tonight by twenty, so it's you know, the Rockets better
bring it. I don't want them to fall asleep on
Boston and they have a chance to go over five hundred.
Anything you guys want to say before we close up.
Speaker 4 (30:46):
One hilarious comment from the chat. Maybe we can kidnap
pressure It and swap him with Reid and Boston won't notice.
And secondly, go Blue Jays absolutely.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Ben Powell appreciate both of you guys doing this. Tonight,
we'll be back. I hope everyone has a great Halloween.
We'll be back Saturday after the game to talk Rocket Celtics.
That will be a great one. Thank you guys, appreciate it,
and we will see all then
Welcome into the post game.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Rockets get a one thirty nine to one twenty one
road win in Toronto to even up their their record
at two and two, go back to five hundred this year.
I am here with Palo Elves NBA or Palo Elves
at Palo L's NBA and Ben Debos at Ben Debos.
Appreciate both of you guys being here this first time
(00:25):
we've done this show with three, So we're gonna give
this a shot and see how this goes.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
And guys, you know, this is a big win.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I wouldn't say Toronto.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Is the biggest test, but it's a bigger test than
Brooklyn certainly, and the Rockets passed a lot of challenges tonight.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Yeah, and first things first, let's make it clear the
Rockets had to win this game so that the Raptors
could be sacrificed in order for the Blue Jays to win.
That's the most That's the most important thing here. I
think Houston Sportsman understand where I'm coming from with regards
to the Dodgers. Hey, look, as far as this game,
I come out of this when feeling better than any
(01:02):
of the four to this point. Because the Raptors shot
twenty one of forty from three, and yet they lost
by eighteen at home. And this is not a Raptor
team that doesn't have talent. Both Scottie Barnes and Brandon
Ingram can fill it up, and they did tonight. And
yet the Rockets were just so big. This was a
game where they leaned into their rebounding muscle and size.
They out rebounded them fifty three to twenty two for
(01:24):
the game. And when you can do that, even when
the other team can't miss a three, it's just almost
impossible to lose, especially when you have the firepower that
the Rockets do. They put up nearly one forty and
this is a team that through four games is in
the top three of the NBA in offensive ratings. So, Dave,
you talked in the preseason about the identity shifting to
(01:45):
a little bit more offense than defense this year, a
lot of it personnel. Well, I think through the first
week of the season we've definitely seen that, and we'll
get into Kevin Durant was great as the closer.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Jabari was great overall, but off.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
The top, I want to throw a shout out to
Steven Adams, who I thought was the MVP of this
game twelve points, twelve rebounds plus fourteen and twenty minutes
off the bench. And I think defensively the way he
was able to contest. You know, one of the things
you worry about with the double big is are you
gonna give up too many threes? Actually thought Steven Adams
were one of the best guys on the floor when
it came to contesting three point looks tonight, and he
(02:18):
got a couple of them. I think, so kudos to
seven for playing his butt off. And I actually think
if you want to be optimistic about this Rockets team,
I think one area that people sort of slept on
nationally going into this season. Everybody was looking at, look,
you brought in Kevin Durant, Jory Anthony Smith when he plays,
Josha Koge, guys like that. But you lost Fred, you
(02:39):
lost Dylan, you lost Sjalen, and trying to sort of
see how it all shakes out relative to the fifty
two to thirty formula number two in the West last season.
The thing is Steven Adams is a really good player,
and the Rockets basically didn't have him at anywhere near
peak strength until the last month of the season because
he was coming off of knee surgery and he didn't
even play for a lot of last season. He was
(03:01):
for the first half, maybe even two thirds, occasionally getting
bumped from the backup slot by Jock Landale. That's how
much he was still struggling. And you look at what
we saw tonight, him closing out on threes, diving into
the first row of the seats to keep possessions alive.
The version of Steven Adams the Rockets have this season
is night and day different than the fifty two and
(03:23):
thirty team of a year ago, and I think that's
something that flew under the radar nationally. The Rockets with
Steven you should basically consider him an addition relative to
the fifty two and thirty version a year ago. So
I just want to say that off the top, that's
something I think going into the year was slept on.
It shouldn't be anymore. Steven Adams is a really impactful player.
And then beyond Steven, look, Kevin durant Is. Kevin Durant
(03:45):
I thought what really stood out tonight with Jabari Smith
Junior and Pallo.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
I'll tee you up for this because you've.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Been talking over on Rockets Launch Spot, our podcast now
presented by Clutch Fans. By the way, Jabari is someone
that the fan base might have been a little too
low on going into this year.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
He's just twenty two years old.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
There's a lot of untapped potential there, and I think
the NBA is increasingly becoming a league where you're only
as strong as your weakest link, and so defensively that
can at times be problematic. You know, Read Shepherd when
he plays is clearly liability. The teams will attack defensively
when the Rockets go double big and they play zone,
they'll try and beat you from the three point arc. Offensively,
(04:24):
we know the attention that the Big three, K D.
Shangoon and the men will draw. So oftentimes it comes
down to can you get enough scoring and playmaking from
those other two slots? And what I saw tonight, not
only did Jabari make shots when he was open, but
he also attacked closeouts, He made plays for others. He
had five assists, and I just thought this was a
really really well balanced game from him. Defensively, we'll get
(04:46):
into some of the concerns because you know that same
adage you're only as strong as your weakest link right now,
at least without georgy Anfonty, Smith might be holding you
back defensively but offensively. If Jabari Smith Junior is one
of your weaker links, and at least from a scouting
report perspective, he is, then you're.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
In a really good spot.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
And that's why the Rockets put up nearly one hundred
and forty points and have a top three net rating
in the NBA on the offensive side of the ball, Yeah,
one hundred percent.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
And I think we're at a point in which a
lot of people thought about Japari since the beginning, since
he didn't hit the ground running as someone who's limited
to being you know, switchable three and the guy, and
I think we're seeing more and more of him become,
perhaps not at that level yet, but more of an
Error Gordon type in which, well, you're so good at
your role and you have you know, a lot of
(05:33):
those of those connective skills as well, which he didn't
have coming in in which you have two guys, obviously
with Rockets, not a garden a center, but a center
and a forward who are drawing a lot of attention
and you have a lot of space in between everything
that's going on to get your shots off, and there's
if there's something that somebody was always protected to be,
(05:54):
was a shot maker, right, and he's he's in a
situation now which in which, because everybody's playing so much
attention to KD, to Shane Gun, in which he doesn't
really need to generate the advantage himself. He just needs
to be in a position to take the shot because
there's always going to be there's always going to be
space for him to take that shot, and he's not
gonna have to even dribble into it or or bulldoze
(06:16):
his way into it, even though he tries to sometimes
it's just got to just got to pick up the
ball where you get it and shoot it. And that's
what Jabari is really good at. And he's improved basically
on all levels of his game. And you're at a
point in which you can't really put a ceiling on
what Hivari can become because he's now put in a
position in which he can take those shots. Those can
(06:37):
be confidence builders. And at the same time, in practice,
he's he's working with Kad every day, who's going to
help him hone in those skills as well. And so
I just think that a lot of people look at
the rockets and they look at the upside for shang Gun,
who which I think he's basically already hit it. He's already,
to me, a superstar. A man still has a lot
of long ways to go. Some people talk about Torisan
(06:58):
as someone who perhaps has some co high level offensive
upside or something close, and everybody forgets about Jabari, who
just from a skill set standpoint, he doesn't need that
many seconds on the ball to get a shot off.
And I think he's shown it this game in the specific.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I thought, you know, to
talk about Jabari, I wanted to mention Shangun.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
First.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I thought Shangun had an incredibly efficient game tonight. Was
it was almost like a quiet night for Shanngun. He
wasn't like offensively aggressive, but was very very efficient. Hit
the three early on, looked very comfortable doing it, but
he was creating and and I think kind of like
you guys were saying, Paulo, you specifically is like the
attension was placed on you know, Katie and Shangun. And
(07:41):
right out of the gate, Jabari scored the first seven
points of the game. You know, basically just had a
really good aggressive night. And what really stuck out to
me for Jabari was that one stretch I believe it
was the third quarter where he put the ball on
the floor, drove left. This was after they shut down,
not shut down, but they stopped Shangoon off off the
(08:02):
baseline from being able to drive swung it to Kdi.
They closed on Kadi and they threw it to Jabari
with the shot clock running down, and he drove left
and kind of hit that that jump shot maybe you know,
eight feet out. And then the next play, very next
position on a fast break, he dribbled it down and
you know, scored and got the end one. But these
(08:22):
are kind of basic things that where you know you're
talking about if you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
A three, that's a creating three. This these are going
to be rudimentary type of place. But for Jabari, this
is like real progress.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
You guys remember the first year, you know, where he
was really struggling to be able to put the ball
on the floor. Every time he did it was either
a turnover or it was a mess. And he has
gotten so much better with that handle. If the shots falling,
I just I'm really happy with where he is. And
this is a guy who's the fourth player as far
as you know, the who opponents are focusing on. So
(08:53):
and I think he's capable of a lot more so,
it's really nice to see Jabari have that big night.
You know, I don't know if you get I have
something more you want to add on Jabari specifically, but
we've got to talk about Kadi in particular, because you
know what he did in the fourth. He's he's really
like a quiet assassin. You kind of overlook what he does.
(09:13):
I don't know why, but you know, just every time
the Raptors were making a little run get that thing
to eight or something like that, Kad was closed on
the door in the fourth. And I think if there's
a game that we've seen up to this point where
Katie's the closer what he was brought in to do
over Jalen Green in.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
The past, this would be the best illustration of it
this game.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Yeah, and I thought, you know, there was an interview
that dropped yesterday that Kevin did with the Pivot podcast
and it was in the aftermath of the OKC game,
and the hosts were trying to egg him on to
say something about not getting the ball enough, and I
thought he had some really revealing quotes about I never
liked dictators, and he went on to make the case.
(09:54):
I wrote an article about it for Rockets Wire, basically
saying he wants these young guys to learn by doing,
and I think we've seen that through the first week
of the season, they're already getting a little bit better
at getting him the ball earlier in shot clocks, at.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Pushing the pace. I know we'll talk about a man.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
It's not perfect, but one benefit a man is able
to push the pace, and so when you do that,
you're able to get the ball to Kevin, sometimes in
transition before the defense can get set. I think that's important.
It also helps, of course that most teams do not
have lou Dort to prevent Katie from getting the ball
in the first place. But I think, going back to
his quotes from that Pivot podcast interview, it's very rare
(10:33):
in today's NBA to have a star who is at
that level offensively but yet does have some patience, and
so I think that's.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
What we've seen early this year.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Like there's probably going to come a time and place,
especially by the playoffs, where he wants the ball, and
he's making it clear that if he hasn't given on
a possession he may not be happy. But right now
he's letting the game come to him. It's just been
remarkable how even a night's when he has it going
and it feels like, man, why isn't Katie getting the
ball to put them way? He never seems out of control,
(11:03):
he never seems rattled. He just waits and bides his time,
and before you know what, the ball comes to him.
Maybe it's a second chance opportunity that happened a couple
of times off of kickouts, but regardless, the patience that
he plays with, despite being that brilliant offensively, I think
it's just going to be so valuable to this Rockets team,
which has all those developing young pieces that you also
(11:23):
want to get better at the same time, while you
have Kevin Durant.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Yeah, And it really feels like, as the comment that
they've just brought up on the screen, it felt like
at points where last season we were giving up a
run and we will let it textend endlessly because offensively
we didn't have any reliable goal to guy other than
saying he was getting triple team. It really felt like
he kept the Raptors at arm's length, and it really
(11:49):
feels like he understands that this team is And I
think this is something that that will talk about going forward,
which is this team knows it's a playoff team. We're
no longer in that mentality in which they have to
grip and claw at every single point in every single
possession just to prove that they belong like they know
they're good. And now they're trying some stuff out to
(12:10):
make sure that once postseason comes along and stuff like that,
they are in a position in which they have every
weapon in the back kind of hone them. Right, And
and Katy understands that if they wanted to win every
game by the maximum marginal points right now, I guarantee
you read probably wouldn't be playing as much. The ball
would be going through KD and Sing a lot more
than it actually is, even though they're putting up stats,
(12:32):
and it'd be hard forcing stuff a lot more. And defensively,
they wouldn't try as many different lineups and as then
many different detective teams, right, And so I think he
d understands that, and he understands that in order for
this team to eventually have a ceiling of a championship team,
it needs to maximize every single club that it steps
in the back right, and that means giving the Barris possession.
That means giving lead shepherds some possession. That means living
(12:55):
with some momentums and turnovers. That means sometimes even wedding
tariesan revel dribble the hair out of the ball. But
you know that's part of the process. And Kitty's been
in the least so long that he knows like this sacrifice.
Like they're two and two, perhaps if they I don't
think they happened in the Okay See game, but perhaps
in the Pistons game, if they maximize it a little
(13:15):
bit more, perhaps they could have got on the win.
But it's three and one with leaving some pieces and
developed better than two and two knowing that you're pulling
and went the playoffs anyway, while giving these guys some
reps to make sure that eventually, if an injury comes along,
or if you know someone doesn't have it going a
certain night, they can go to different guys. Because Kad
(13:36):
doesn't want to be in a situation like last year
where hey, sometimes you're just the only down when Devin
Booker's out there, and the only down before they didn't
get a shot off and he got all the attention
on you. He knows that's not a recipe for success.
And you know, when KD came along, I think that's
one of the things that we always highlighted that he
was a perfect fit on the court and from a
(13:56):
basketball knowledge standpoint as well. He understood the Rockets are
perfect team for what he needs at this point in
his career. And he understands that it's still a process,
like they are in win now mode, but they are
trying to, you know, make sure that everyone that's already
there can be the best versions of themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
You know, Carlos had mentioned in a live stream chatter
asked and he said, I didn't watch the game, how
did a men look? And it's interesting I thought that
question because we were talking about this before went live.
You know, men finished seven to thirteen eighteen points, nine boards,
seven assists.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Three turnovers. Like the box score line looks pretty good.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
He was plus seventeen in the game, you know, and
a man always brings the defensive energy and effort. I
just thought there were stretches in the game where I'm like, man,
a man is struggling or just you know, with his
finishing ability, as driving ability offensively, just in general, I thought.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
He was struggling a little bit at times.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
But like I said, the box score and you look
at the end of the day looked pretty good. I
want to talk overall just about this team. This this
really I mentioned this at halftime. That was like a
clash of styles. It was like all tall versus small
ball almost.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
In a way.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
You know, no pertol in this game. So the Rockets were,
you know, much bigger than the Raptors. At the same time,
you know, the Rockets dominated the glass.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I mean it was sixty.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Four to was it thirty sixty four to twenty nine?
It was thirty four to thirteen at half, which is
just insane, And at halftime it was eleven to zero
on offensive rebounding edge seventeen to four at the end
of the game. So Rockets just crushed them on the glass.
That's a recipe for just a blowout. But what happened
(15:31):
today was the Raptors went twenty one, yeah, twenty one
of forty from three point range. We saw Brooklyn get
hot in that first half, from three point range.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I mean, we know now that that rebounding.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Edge is still there defense, and you know, is that
still there? To your point you were talking about Ben,
because we've talked about this as we went along in
the preseason. Have the Rockets shifted now to being a
much more efficient offensive team with you know, jayl Out
and Kevin Durantz stepping in and that is a huge
difference in efficiency that looks to be there. But have
(16:07):
they taken a step back defensively?
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (16:10):
I think that's a fair question, and I think sometimes
people are looking at it the wrong way, Like I've
seen some folks asking why isn't a men or Jabbari
making more plays these guys that were drafted to be
top shelf defensive players. Well, a lot of the way
the minor deba works, it comes down to teams hunting
your weakest link. To go back to what I said
(16:32):
leading off this show, and in this case, when the
Rockets are running double big, then other teams know they
can typically Now, Steven Adams did a pretty good job
tonight all things considered, but typically they can get off
a lot of threes. And when the Rockets have Reed
Shepherd out there they can attack red. Now when the
Rockets play as the fifth guy Tarry Easton or Josha Kogi,
(16:53):
they're more well balanced. But the question becomes, if Tari
or a Kogi isn't shooting that well, are you capping
your ceiling on offense a little bit relative to having
Steven Adams or Reeve Shepherd out there. So, at least
until you get Dori Anthony smith Beck, no matter what
you do, there's a weak link a lot of the time.
Unless it's a really good night for Tari or a Kogi.
(17:14):
And even if it is, well, guys are gonna need breaks.
I mean, you don't want any of these guys over
the eighty two game grind to play more than thirty
five thirty six minutes a night. So the Rockets do
have some weaknesses that other teams will attack, and that's
one thing relative to last year. Look, im Ujoka did
a good job getting every last drop out of that team.
And for all the flaws that we nitpicked with that
(17:36):
starting five of Fred, Jalen, Dylan, Shabari and Shangoon or
well then Amen and Shingoon with Jabari coming off the bench,
there were no clear negatives defensively, even Jalen got to
a point where he was really competing his butt off
nine in night out. Right now, especially with the Rockets
being shorthanded, there are some weaker spots in the rotation,
(17:58):
particularly with them being hell bent on getting read minutes
for developmental purposes, which, as Polo said, it's about the
bigger picture, but to me, it's not so much about now.
The last couple of games a men did get into
early foul trouble, thankfully he did not deny.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
He needs to cut that out.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
The four fouls in the first half against the Pistons,
the two thousand in the first quarter against the Nets. Yeah,
that's sloppy and he needs to be better because when
the men's not on the floor, the Rockets are worse defensively.
But in terms of why aren't your defensive playmakers doing
things well, it's really hard when you have a week
link because teams are just going to attack the weak link.
And so in time, I think you know with Joey
Anfinnys Fith coming back and or upgrades you can make
(18:36):
as you get closer to the trade deadline. The good
news the way I would frame it and Dave and Polow.
I've talked to you both about this offline.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
I don't think the Rockets necessarily have a point guard problem.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
I think they have a fifth starter problem, and so
you can potentially bring in a point guard. I'm not
saying that you can't, but I think you can also
bring in a good player at another position and still
get similar bang for your buck. Because offensively, look, I
Man isn't perfect. He's having some turnovers that they're frustrating,
but this is a top three offense that put up
nearly one hundred and forty points on the road. Like,
(19:06):
let's not act like that that they have no idea
what they're doing. No, they have a lot of firepower.
They're still very good in the macro. The issues for
this team are defensively, so you need more steadiness on
that side. Hopefully Read and Tari continue to progress and
get better. Hopefully Dorian Phinney Smith is back sooner rather
than later. If not, you can bring in guys at
the trade deadline. But to me, it just comes down
(19:27):
to personnel. There's weaker links in the chain than there
were a year ago. And Pallo, the other thing I
wanted to get your insight on. I also think that psychologically,
that team last year had to be dialed in every
single possession because it was the only way they could
win games. Like they just did not have enough offensive
gifts to where they could overcome it if they had
(19:48):
a bad night defensively. So I think they were always
you know, playing at like a top five level, whereas
this year they were so good offensively. I saw several
possessions tonight, especially in the third quarter, where you know,
the Rockets came not strong, and the third did what
good teams do, which is, you know, you absorbed the
punch in the first half, Raptors shot the lights out,
You made some adjustments, and the Rockets came out before
you do it. You know, a five point game becomes
(20:09):
a fifteen to twenty point game. But as they were
scoring at ease, there were possessions where the Rockets just
didn't get back defensively, And I think some of that
is just, you know, a mentality change, like it's become
so easy for them and they're not used to it
that they think they can always overcome it by scoring
more on offense. Like the postgame interview that Jabari did
with Vanessa Richardson, he said we knew we'd be fine offensively,
(20:30):
and so I'm wondering if some of what's happening on
defense i've met personnel is a part, but it also
might come down to the fact that from a mentality perspective,
offense is coming so easy to these guys that that
they're not playing with quite the same intensity as they
did on a possession in possession out basis last year.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
How does that make sense to you?
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Yeah, I'm one hundred presentably too, as far as I
think it's a combination of two things. I think, first
of all, yes, they're taking possessions off and they're giving up,
you know, just pull up threes. They're not even picking
up the ball and giving it. Points that way as well.
But I think besides that, you know, it's also a
case that even last year we some like there were
plenty of possessions that we played perfect defense knowing that
(21:12):
there's a certain guy on the other team that we're
more comfortable letting him to shoot. Everybody remembers that Dorian
Phoinis Smith came from with the nets from last season.
We played really good defense, but we also took really
good pets as far as who we let shoot those
threes and sometimes who have tome open to be able
to play suchwell down defense. Yeah, and so I think
what's happening now is that there's a little bit of
(21:34):
variance as well, like Brooklyn and Toronto. Yes, we do
play a little bit into it by leaving some hutters open,
but they're not going to shoot over fifty percent on
three lightly did against So I think some of its
small sample size. Some of it is sometimes that it's
not as well as well as a machine net as
it was last years, and sometimes we lead the wrong
guy open. I remember with Canar making it a bot
(21:55):
shot and like that's the one guy you don't leave open.
So sometimes that happens. So some times teams are just
catching fire, and I don't think that's sustainable long term.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Like Scottie Barnes had four threes in fourteen minutes tonight
and he was a twenty seven percent guy a year ago.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
Yeah, exactly, So you're probably comfortable whenning him shooting. He's
probably not going to make four or five in the
first half any other game this season. And I think
in Cinelart part what you said as well, like last
season they were so bad at scoring that they had
to give one hundred and twenty percent every single possession.
This year, they don't need to do that as much.
And it's personnel as well, Like, let's be honest, Kadi
(22:34):
is putting an effort, not questioning that at all, but
Killen Green was also putting it up like one hundred
and twenty percent ever do on defense as well, And
that's a little bit of a gap as well, combined
with every other starter going from one twenty to like
eighty percent effort because they know they're really good on
offense right now. But I do think that while it's
something I do think that's also something that they're playing
(22:56):
around with schemes. But at the same time, I think
if I can it's really tight against the CAC for example,
that they are able to lock in and and I
think as the season goes on that the quality of
that locking in later in games will get better as
they get more and more used to playing with each other.
But yeah, that's that. It has a lot to do
(23:16):
with just not needing to give up, not needing to
give up that level of the defensive intensity as well.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Yeah, you know it's tonight I was watching the game
and then we saw this in some of the other
games as well, but there's there was I thought, especially
the OKC game, there's been a lot of wide open
threes by opponents. I know tonight there was the one
that was in transition that stuck out to me. I
think it was Mamu Killish Philly coming back. It was
Katie not getting back in time. I think he might
have been on offense and just got back late into
the play wide open, knocked top of the key, three down.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
There were a few other.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Few others, but some of them tonight as well, Like
you know, Shangun had a hand in the in the
guy's face or on the shot, or Jabari did and
they still knocked him down.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
They were definitely hot tonight.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
But you know, as far as the defense, to me,
know when they traded for Katie, and obviously that's going
to be, you know, a solid move and all that stuff,
but it's losing Dylan was the kind of the concern.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
He was your leading three point hier last year.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
He is a guy who just is key to that identity,
the physical defensive play. I think they knew they needed
to replace that and that's why they got Dorian Finney
Smith so even though we've never seen Dorian Finney Smith
play here, and I hope people realize this guy like
kind of turned around the Lakers defense almost by himself,
like he was a significant loss for the play.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Absolutely, And I mean I don't know if he's going
to have the same impact here, but he's going to
fit like a glove, I would think, based on what
Udoka wants to do. So I know it's weird to
think that to say that you're missing him because you're
you know, you're definitely missing Dylan Brooks, but you brought
in a replacement.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
We just haven't seen him yet. So I don't want
to judge the defense.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And we've said this a lot until he gets back,
and I think Odoka will figure it out.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Defense is his calling card. It's so key to to the.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Success that he wants to have. I think that they'll
figure that out, but it should. It does concern me
a little bit. The offense is better. Defense has taken
a step back. I mean, coming to this game, I
believe they were middle of the pack around fifteen or sixteen.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
That may have changed.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
And on the subject of picking it up and locking
in when it mattered, I know we're talking about defense.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
But when we.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Mentioned to men earlier, one thing I wanted to highlight.
He did have a couple of really big buckets in
the fourth quarter when the Rockets or when the Raptors,
excuse me, we're making that run, trying to make one
last push at home, and it reminded me of those
buckets he had late in the fourth quarter before the
calf cramps against the thunder that almost put okc away.
And I thought was really encouraging because for a lot
(25:42):
of the night, you know, I thought a men's defense
was better tonight because he wasn't in foul trouble, but
he seemed a little bit careless at times, and offensively,
for whatever reason, the touch wasn't quite there in the
first three quarters. But when the game mattered, he was
able to find that and to make the plays that
needed to be made for the Rockets to put Toronto away.
And so I thought that was a really good sign.
(26:02):
You know, defensively is where you often think about it,
just picking up the effort when it matters most. But
I thought offensively, for him then there was a there
was a clear bump and focus when it really mattered
in winning time, in the fourth quarter, and I want
to make sure that we noted that as well.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Yeah, just Pallo if you want to have anything else
you want to say before we close, but read Shepherd.
I have to just ask any thoughts on Reid tonight.
He goes two for seven from the field, and he
up you know, improvements, downgrades, anything jumping out off the page.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Yeah, I'll go quick and then I'll turn things over
to Pallo. But with Reid, he's just got to make
more open shots. Like there was a sequence in the
first half where he had two wide open threes from
the same spot in like a five second span, and
he missed them both. And it's like he does so
many things well, he's high IQ, he's instinctive. Clearly he's
(26:48):
working his butt off, but he has certain limitations, like
when he's on the floor, teams are going to attack him.
That is a big part of why Houston's defense is struggling.
In a game they won by eighteen. I think he
was plus zero in the plus minus. Like, he is
a liability defensively, and at least at this stage in
his career, he's got to make shots to offset that.
And to this point in his NBA career, he hasn't
(27:10):
done that enough. Now, small sample, we have a ton
of evidence that suggests he's a great shooting prospect, so
it should be fine. And unlike last year, they're going
to keep putting him out there. The sample size is
going to grow and hopefully this is all just small
sample sized theater and it evens out right now. I mean,
so much of it just comes down to we're talking
about his night entirely differently. If he makes a couple
(27:30):
more threes, especially just like one of those two that
came right to him wide open twice in a row
and he just can't make them, and you know, the
other stuff is frustrating. It's gonna take a lot more
time to fully resolve that. I think in the short term,
he needs to make more shots. For me, It's that simple, yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:46):
And I think one other things that we were looking,
you know, to get from Retemper was more confident, more
confident shooting, and more confidence handling the ball and you know,
driving the lanes. And I do think that that's there.
He's just not making this up. But I do think
for the first four games of the season, I'm not
saying he's playing well but I do think he's one
of those bets in which you're giving him time now
(28:07):
and you hope that that turns into a rotation piece
later on when you get to the offseason, right, and
so having that in mind, at this point, I'm happy
that he's still playing conference and he's still taking the
shots and the next step is actually making them. But
four games in, I'm okay giving it a giving it
a little bit more lelia. As I said, if the
Rockets wanted to maximize their winning percentage, they would likely
(28:27):
play Aaron Holiday right now, that's a fact. But at
the same time, it's a bet that they're making and
I think hopefully long time it plays off. If it doesn't,
well you still have our Aaron Holiday thead, and you
still have the moves to make in December if you
feel like you need to go get a car.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah, I could see the vision with Reid. It's still early.
I'm giving him obviously more runway. He had that play
to night. It was kind of Chris Paul ask where
he kind of wiggled his way to between the free
throw line top of the key and knock down that jumper.
But yeah, two for seven from the field, not particularly
great night. I think he was over four. Yeah, from
three point.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
I do think, I do think think maybe you can
help it by not running as many lineups with both
read and the double big, or at least not a
double big that includes Clint Capella. Capella was minus nine tonight.
A big part of that. You know, the Raptors were
on fire from three, especially in the first half, and
when Steven was out there, he was just a menace
closing out on threes. The other two not as much,
(29:20):
and so when it was Shingoon and Capella, then Capella
didn't have quite the mobility closing out on the perimeter,
and that's part of what happened when the Raptors, you know,
just blitz Houston from beyond the art. But I think
when you play both read and the double big, then
that's two different ways that defenses can't attack you, and
so I think it's very easy for things to spiral.
So in the short term, I think one other thing
(29:42):
that Emodoka might consider doing not running both read in
the double big, or at least if it is a
double big, make sure that it's both Shinoon and Steven
Adams were clear top two because I thought the minutes
when was reading Capella together and again Capella minus nine
in the in the plus minus, I thought those were
especially rough, and it sort of just compounds what is
already a weakness when Reed is on the floor and
(30:04):
that's the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
Yeah. Absolutely, I'll just say this, guys.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
We have the chance to go over five hundred on Saturday,
November first, Rockets play in Boston. Sneaky game here, because
we already kind of were lulled into sleep thinking I
think that I believe the Celtics started oh to three.
They're now two and three, but I believe they started
oh and three, and we thought, well, they're tanking. They're
you know, Horford's gone, Tatum's out, you know, they're kind
(30:29):
of jerus gone.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
They just beat the Calves.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Tonight by twenty, so it's you know, the Rockets better
bring it. I don't want them to fall asleep on
Boston and they have a chance to go over five hundred.
Anything you guys want to say before we close up.
Speaker 4 (30:46):
One hilarious comment from the chat. Maybe we can kidnap
pressure It and swap him with Reid and Boston won't notice.
And secondly, go Blue Jays absolutely.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Ben Powell appreciate both of you guys doing this. Tonight,
we'll be back. I hope everyone has a great Halloween.
We'll be back Saturday after the game to talk Rocket Celtics.
That will be a great one. Thank you guys, appreciate it,
and we will see all then
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