January 6, 2026 • 28 mins
Thanks to Kevin Durant’s last-second dagger versus Phoenix, the Rockets (22-11) have now five of six games and are 11-1 in their last 12 home games at Toyota Center.
Featuring Ben DuBose and Dave Hardisty, Monday’s “ClutchFans Live” postgame show breaks down all the key takeaways from Houston’s third consecutive victory over the Suns (21-15).
Discussion topics include the healthy return of Steven Adams (11 rebounds); frustrating lapses pertaining to defense and turnovers; and how Durant (26 points, 10 rebounds) helped the Rockets overcome those when it mattered most.
Monday’s show also explores the implications of a week-plus absence (right ankle sprain) for Alperen Sengun — and most notably, which players need to step up in his absence.
Featuring Ben DuBose and Dave Hardisty, Monday’s “ClutchFans Live” postgame show breaks down all the key takeaways from Houston’s third consecutive victory over the Suns (21-15).
Discussion topics include the healthy return of Steven Adams (11 rebounds); frustrating lapses pertaining to defense and turnovers; and how Durant (26 points, 10 rebounds) helped the Rockets overcome those when it mattered most.
Monday’s show also explores the implications of a week-plus absence (right ankle sprain) for Alperen Sengun — and most notably, which players need to step up in his absence.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome in everybody to the postgame. Rockets hosting the Phoenix
Suns tonight and get a huge one hundred to ninety
seven win on a and incredibly clutched triple by Kevin
Durant with one point one seconds left. Tons of things
to discuss from this game, but what a thrilling back
(00:23):
and forth. I don't know if it was all wonderful,
but it was certainly interesting. Probably one of the games
this year that I've been the most invested in as
far as just the way it went back and forth
and how crazy it was. But Rockets escape one hundred
ninety seven over the Suns. I'm here with Ben Dubos.
You can read his stuff at Rockets Wire and on
Clutch Fans and follow him on Twitter at Bendubos. Ben,
(00:46):
you were at the game, correct, I mean your reaction
to this win tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
It's good to have Kevin Durant.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's that simple, and for once, it's so fulfilling to
be on this side because after last year, when it
felt like the Rockets got every last drop they could
out of that team, but there were just certain limitations
and this game was sort of the inverse of that,
in that It was very frustrating for a large portion
of those forty eight minutes. Yet when it mattered most
(01:15):
there was a gear they had with Kevin Durant and
to an extent with the men Thompson as well, who
had a really nice drive to tie the game with
a couple of minutes left. But it felt like a
game that was very much in contrast to a year
ago when they did all the little things right, but
when it came down to winning time, they just didn't
have that guy who you could trust to go out
and make a play. Now they do. He did tonight.
(01:36):
I mean, it's what a Hall of Famer does, so
tip your hat to him. But more than tonight, it's
one of those wins that gives you hope in the
grand scheme, because you're not going to play all that
well in every game throughout the season, and even in
every game through out a playoff rount. You've got to
have an ability to dig deep steal games that maybe
you didn't deserve to win. One of the frustrating things
(01:56):
about this team the first couple of months of the
year is that they had such a record and so
called clutch games. This feels like sort of getting a
break back. Those games you let slip away, the Pelicans,
the Kings, those games we've been so despondent about over
the first couple of months. Tonight it sort of feels
like you get one back because you're down thirteen in
the second half against a Sun's team. I know they're
(02:17):
on Night Tube back to back, but they're playing well
right now. They beat the Thunder last night. It's a
good team. Even if the roster it feels like they're
playing above their heads, they're playing well right now. The
Rockets were down thirteen, they found a way. I think
a lot of what happened down the stretch. They expended
so much energy in the comeback going from down thirteen
to up seven that they were on fumes by the end.
But in the final two minutes a men and then
(02:37):
most notably KD just found a way. And it's not
saying that this team is head and shoulders above last
year's team, but it does have a gear that last
year's team doesn't have, most notably Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, I mean he to me is the just the
guy you got to get at the ball to now
stretch as matter fick, you and I were talking in
real time at the moment when they had I think
five seconds left when they was game, and it's just like,
just get the ball to KD. It's either gonna be
he's gonna win it, or he's gonna go to We're
gonna go to overtime. And eMate actually said that something
similar in postgame said basically, it has nothing to do
(03:11):
with the defense. He's either gonna make it or he's
gonna miss it. He's gonna get that shot off, and
you know that's basically just had a lot of praise
for Kevin Durant and he's one for eleven from three
in this game.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Couldn't buy a triple. That's actually another story.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Rockets twenty four percent from three on a fairly high
volume in the Dallas game. Do the same again tonight.
But to me, I mean and Kevin Durant is the story.
No question, hitting that shot and just the you know,
the vibes and everything in that arena you were there,
just you know, an MVP chance and everything for KD.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
All deserved.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
But it's the second half defensive effort to me, that
was the difference, because the first half, the defensive effort
was absolutely awful. I mean, Phoenix was getting open looks,
pulling up from four to five feet behind three point line,
taking advantage of just about every switch or screen you know,
and and basically getting off three and nailing them. They
hit ten of their first eighteen triples into mid late
(04:05):
second quarter and then things turned. Rockets held them from
the rest of the game four of twenty three from
three and also been to that defensive effort, which you
can see it tests will show you. The defensive effort
in the second half was significantly better than the first.
But twenty three fast break points for the Phoenix Suns
in this game all in the first half, zero in
(04:28):
the second half, and that was big too. So they
shut down the transition play from Phoenix, and they shut
down the threes. And the Rockets offense was not good today.
I mean, obviously they're missing Shenggoun Shangun being out. The
offense wasn't good, but their defense was good enough to
set that shot up.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, the defense is what flipped the game from down
thirteen to up seven. It felt like midway through the
fourth quarter. It was a little ominous when e May
pulled three of the five at about the six minute mark,
when they were playing so well because I thought it
that was a pretty clear tell that these guys must
be running on fumes. So the morals story don't fall
(05:05):
down by thirteen points. I think early in the game,
especially the turnovers combined with Phoenix making an ungodly chunk
of their threes and the first half sort of put
the Rockets behind the eight ball, and so I think,
you know, I'm less bothered, you know, when we look
at it from a macro perspective, I'm less bothered by
the Rockets letting the seven point leads slip away in
(05:26):
the fourth quarter than I am them falling behind by
thirteen over the first thirty minutes of the game, because
I think the first thirty minutes of the game, that's
where they did a lot of just.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Very sloppy and uncharacteristic things.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
It felt like with no Shinoon, there were a lot
of the turnovers that were guys just being indecisive. Like
when Shinoon's out there, you know, he soaks up a
lot of the playmaking reps, and so when he's not
up there and the ball is not functioning through him
in the high post or in the low block, then
guys aren't as clear in their roles, and there were
a lot of just miscommunications where it felt like guys
(06:00):
weren't sure if they wanted to cut, if they were
supposed to create where Kevin wanted the ball.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
It just felt like a lot.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Of indecision, a lot of guys being tentative. And I
think that that comes down to Without Shinoon, the offense
isn't as simplified as it typically is. There's a lot
more unpredictability and the Suns I thought they overplayed the
passing lanes. They sort of made it a little more chaotic.
They sped the Rockets up, and that's where I think
the Rockets can adjust when they view it on film.
(06:27):
I suspect those guys are just gonna, you know, have
their head in their hands a lot looking at some
of those turnovers. To me, that's what the Rockets really
need to fix. I think what happened in the fourth
quarter was just a fatigue team that went on a
you know, a big run to flip the game by
twenty points in about a quarter, and then was just
on fumes getting to the finish line. I thought a
couple of other things I wanted to note from the
final minutes, since you know, really that's all people want
(06:49):
to talk about tonight, besides Kadi just being one of
those dudes. It didn't even matter that he was one
of eleven. You want Kevin Durant taking their shot, and
it feels so good to have one of those guys.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It doesn't even matter if he's hot or he's not.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
It's Kadie give him the ball, and I feel like
everybody into Yoda Center and that ball left his hands
felt like it was gonna go win. A couple of
interesting things from me ay Joka. I really liked that
they had Jabari Smith inbounding the ball to KD because
we've seen a couple of times this year it's been
either Shangoon or a Men and this is not a
shot at Shingoon or a Men. But when those are
the side endbounders and you get it to KD at
(07:25):
that spot just inside of half court, what's going to happen.
The side end bounder is gonna trap on KD because
they don't respect Shingoon or a Men's ability to hit
the three from the wing or the corner. Whereas Jabari
I forget who it was that was on him but
he went with Jabari just a little bit into the
corner because Javari did hit some big shots in the
(07:45):
second half during that comeback, they didn't want to leave
Jabari with a wide open corner three for the win,
and that moment of indecision was all KD needed to
have a one on one and it gets that look
and please don't take that as a shot at Shingun
or a men, who overall are better players than Jabari.
Of course they are, but in that specific situation, I
think it can help Jabari to be the inbounder. If
(08:05):
you're wanting KD to be the guy that gets the ball,
you know, closest to the inbounder on that side of
the court, then yeah, having a space or inbound the
ball can really help because when he goes to the corner,
he's going to take that defender with him, at least
to some extent. And so it gave the Sons a
little bit more to account for as opposed to those
earlier season possessions on the Shagoon or Men. It felt
(08:26):
like there was a very quick double when KT got
the ball and those teams just were not going to
let Kade beat them. The other thing I liked in
the final minute of that game. Just one more I
want to say to the stop they had on Devin Booker.
Did you notice who? It was one on one and
there was almost no help he Tarry Eason. It reminded
me of the OKC game a year ago when the
Rockets closed them out in Houston and it was Tari
(08:48):
making the one on one stops against SGA late in
the game. As good as a men, Thompson is defensively
First Team All Defense. They love the guy. I think
it's so noteworthy that Layden games against those types of guards, SGA,
Devin Booker. It's still Tari that that Emo Udoka wants
to be the primary and that's not a shot at
(09:08):
a men. It's more praise. Harry said that he's still
that level of guy, and he delivered. And you know,
Tari's a frustrating player. He had some decisions tonight that
were questionable, but defensively when it mattered most boy, did
he step up.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Yeah, no, all deserved for sure. Great defensive effort by
a Tari. I will take a couple of mild shots.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
One was a men in that situation.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
You're right, he maybe in a minute or two before
coming out of a timeout one point game, tried to
they were inbounding the ball to Kadi and he threw
it right to a double team immediate turnover, which I
was just my jaw was on the floor, and Tari
just before that defensive effort with just the craziest drive
and double pump shot that that even Emo Odoka in
(09:50):
the post game said, you know, we were able to
cut down some of the bad shots, and then he said,
you know we had the one with Tari. He actually
said that, and I was like, wow, yeah, I mean
it was bad. And so he came up and totally
redeemed himself with that defensive effort, setting setting up Katie.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
For the game winner.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
So yeah, Tari's you know, he's got the mits, he's
got the the energy and the effort he wants to
take on those challenges. He's a great defensive player, you know,
put into an on ball situation.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
So that was a I think, really impressive.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
There were just some plays in this game that drove
me nuts, and again Ben is well aware of some
of those things that you know happened. The inability to
get that rebound on Booker's free throw when you have
a it's a four point game, I believe, and Booker
misses the free throw, popped drive back out to Booker
hits the three. That that just drove me uh in
saying a man missing a lefty layup in the final
(10:40):
minute where he cleared, had the space and missed that layup.
I was just like, Wow, there were just some of
those plays in this game. We got to talk about
Reed Shepherd as well. I mean, I know I could
see the chat full of Reed Shepherd comments and I
and I totally get it. You're going to be either
he should be there or he shouldn't. I just know
how coaches like Imo Udoka think. I think you would
agree with this. Those turnovers in the first quarter, and
(11:02):
I think they were.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Into the second quarter as well.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
The live ball ones, I think just drove e May
just to the point where he's like, I don't know
if I can totally trust him in this game. He
played briefly in the third, then he got some run
in the fourth. I thought he played pretty well. Did
not close out. I think we saw more holiday Mark Kogi.
I don't know your thoughts on Reed Shepherd in this game.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Not great.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I think there's a reason he got a look early
in the first half. It was the earliest I've seen
Ema Judoka make a switch like that.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
It was the nine and a half minute mark of
the first quarter.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
So Imay is typically a guy even when games starts slowly,
he'll take a time out, but then he'll stick with
the same group because he wants them to learn from
their mistakes. To go read over a man that quick
felt telling, But yeah, it just it just comes down
to the fact that he's got to make more shots.
He did hit one big bucket that finally gave the
(11:57):
Rockets the lead in the fourth quarter, But you're just
asking for way too much of his model if he's
gonna even be an okay shooter. Like I'm not saying
he shot the ball terribly the last few games, but
I don't have the numbers in front of you, but
I feel like the last ten games he's been i'd
say in the thirties rather than the forties at least
(12:18):
at this point in his career. For him to play
super high leverage minutes, he's got to be in the
forties because there's just too many other warts to his game.
When I say thirties and forties. I'm talking from three
point range. He's got to be a marksman when he
gets those open looks, just because if it's not, it's
going to be so easy. It's fascinating for me actually
(12:39):
to see how much ima Udoka trust Aaron Holliday and
that Aaron cannot play an entire game, and it feels
like Emy has no hesitation to put him in with
like six minutes left in a tie game basically, So
with that as the insurance policy some way, someone that
he may trust in every circumstance, the bar is pretty high.
For Like, it's not to say that that everything is
(13:03):
Read's fault because he is a better pure point guard
than the men Thompson is. He's better at, you know,
controlling the pace. He's got a better handle, So it's
not to try and pile on him. But I guess
where I'm where I go back to the shooting is
that if he's not shooting at a super high level,
if you're just wanting Read out there to have another
ball handler and sort of raise the floor, well Aaron
(13:25):
Holliday can give you a lot of that while being
more trustworthy defensively. That's the thing. So it's not so
much that like Reid played a terrible game. It's more
he didn't do enough to distinguish himself relative to Aaron Holliday.
That's the bottom line for me, and so that's the
challenge going forward to Like, if he hits threes at
volume the way he has done and will do in
(13:46):
the future, at some point he's going to get hot again.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Then this is going to take care of itself.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
The defensive floor is low enough right now that if
he has these structurees like we've seen the last couple
of games, em is going to turn back to Aaron Holliday.
And by the way, Dave, weird night in the NBA.
I was a little distracted because I was checking the box. Yeah, ok,
then for sitting out everyone one at Philly firstly one
and Thunder got blown out by the Hornets. So just
(14:12):
a weird night in the n I.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Think that was in Okay. See yep, I don't understand
it at all. I was glancing at it or you know. Halftime,
I believe Shay was three for twelve from the field
and only two free throws. I don't know if the
league's listening and cracking down on Shade because I see
people talking about how over the last month he's not
getting double digit free throw games. But yeah, they lost,
So I assume there's six and six now in their
(14:35):
last twelve after starting twenty three and one or whatever
it was.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
I think they have seven losses and the Rockets have eleven.
I mean that's four games of separation, and they come
to Houston in a week. We'll see if all for
instanm Goon is back for that game, because that's right
in the middle of the ten to fourteen days that
he may said. But I'm just saying on paper the
thunder or not running away and hiding the way it
looked like they were a month or so ago.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
Yeah, and that Marfik.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
We didn't talk about that Shangun being out now and
they're going to reevaluate him in a week and they're
assessing their ballpark. Ten to fourteen days fourteen days from
today is eight games, including tonight's game.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Can they survive? Look, you know, they obviously they.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Need Shangoon to be their best form, but we've talked
about this before. They can kind of survive. Maybe not Katie,
but they can kind of survive any one guy. They
can't lose two. They're zero and two without Shangoon and Adams.
But if Adams is healthy and Shangun's out there, four
and oh. Now, now most of those have been at home,
but two of them against Phoenix, they beat Cleveland. In
that situation, there's still a good team if Adams is healthy,
(15:37):
but without Shangoon, you can tell when Katie.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Sits, there's still that.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Issue of who's really running the offense. And this is
where you need in these you know, Shanguon being out
these minutes, you need Amen Indoor Reed to really step
up as the ball handler, you know, to get back to.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
The read point.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
You know.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It reminds me some of Jeremy Lynn where he just
goes these little stretches where he just makes mistakes, rookie
mistakes that I'm not trying to say he's not going
to be great, because I think Reid is going to
be good. It's just he makes some of these mistakes
that a coach like he may and a team like
this Rockets team, I just they have to balance the
patients there and that's the hard part.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
And I went and looked it up. In his last
seven games going into tonight, he was shooting just over
thirty three percent from three, and tonight he was one
of four. Now the plus minus was favorable, but again
I think tonight was largely a game where the Rockets
just benefited for more organization, like so much of the
story the first thirty minutes of that game, when the
Rockets just turned them all over like crazy, was the
(16:37):
Rockets without Shinhoun, being very indecisive about what they should do,
and just any sort of organization and conventional structure benefited
them when they weren't throwing the ball away. So the
plus minus grades out favorably favorably, But in terms of
Reid's impact, he needs to hit threes at a higher clip,
at least for the year to twenty one year old version,
(16:58):
to have a ton of value confidence he will. But
tonight one of four, his last seven games a little
over thirty three percent, So I'm gonna guess he's fight
at about thirty one thirty two percent in his last
eight games.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
That's not dreadful, it's not terrible.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
He's still respected, so he provides value as a floor spacer,
but it's not such clear value that you're gonna play
him no matter what. And I think that's why in
the second half, even though the plus mis was favorable,
That's why you saw Aaron Holliday getting some of those
high leverage minutes, because hey, he gives you some of
that same organization ability without the downside defensively, and so
that's what That's what it's going to come down to. Like,
(17:31):
there's no doubt that even if he's not hitting threes
at volume, he's still he's still providing some value. But
Aaron Holliday can provide that as well in games where
you just need to scrape out a win, EMA is
going to go with the veteran and this season with
a thirty seven year old Kevin Durant still in the
form we saw tonight, it's hard to blame him. By
the way someone in the comments asking how was Adams
his game tonight? To me, the most important thing, Dave.
(17:52):
He was out there down the stretch. He played major
minutes in this game, and the Rockets needed him.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
With no Shoon at.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Steven missed a it seems like Shinogoon will be ten
to fourteen days, so I'm guessing Steven was a grade
one ankle sprain. Shangoon probably grade one and a half
somewhere between A one and the two. But to come
back and play twenty five plus minutes, I'm calling it
up date. Do you have the final box in front
of you?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I do.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
He played just between thirty one and thirty two more.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Oh wow, so yeah, I it was over twenty five. Yeah,
it was even more for him to have that much
in the tank. I'm not gonna say that it was
a perfect game. Eleven rebounds and thirty one minutes. It
would be great defensive, Yeah, it would be great if
he gets back to making free throws at the clip
that he did to start this season before he missed
early on.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We're sort of a tone setter.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
But other than that, in terms of how he looked,
I thought he was very effective. There was a reason
that ima Udoka played in that many minutes. Let him
finish the game. He was Steven Adams, and that's gonna
be big because without alp in Shangoon, I mean, hopefully,
the fact that you're going against lesser teams moving forward
the next three games, the Trailblazers and the Kings. These
are lesser teams than the Suns on paper. Hopefully the
(18:58):
Rockets can sort this out because they're gonna miss shouldn't
go more than anything as a playmaker, like he just
soaks up so many reps that there's just a trickle
down effect and it leads to everyone else being a
little you know, insecure in their roles and not knowing
exactly what they're supposed to do because they're all being
asked to freelance a little bit more, and some of
the super awkward possessions like toy at the end, like
it's someone trying to do too much because they don't
(19:20):
necessarily know where the structured offense is going to come
from and if they can trust it, especially in the night.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Now.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I know Katie made the last three, but if he's
one of eleven, it's only natural for some of his
teammates to say, hey, like maybe I should try to
do something.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Maybe he doesn't have the juice tonight.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
As far as Adams, I thought he played well. One
thing that bothered me was he missed four free throws
really early on in the game.
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Right kind of surprise.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Phoenix didn't start going with Hack Adams because of that.
But at the same time, Rockets weren't offense wasn't exactly
hitting on all cylinders, so at one hundred point game probably.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And one other thing, if you get read going, that
could make it a little bit easier to potentially do
the five out lineups with Jabari at the five and
experiment with O. I saw some talk during the game about, oh,
why are the Rockets force feeding Clint Capella?
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Why don't they go five out? Well, the issue is
that you got to have five players.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
So sometimes it's easier said than done in terms of
how does ima Udoka fill out two hundred and forty
minutes during a game. So if you get your other
guys going, then maybe you can tap into Javari at
the five and experiment with that a little bit. It's
not like, well, I don't know, the Trailblazers do have
some size and bulk, so we'll see if that's the matchup.
But I think certainly the Kings and the Bulls are
(20:28):
teams you could try that against. Before we close out,
I want to I want to throw some love to Javari.
I mentioned him a couple of times earlier packs and
the the threes he hit in the second half. It's
so big in today's NBA to have a short memory,
and there were Stretcheres in this game where he was
absolutely terrible. We talked about it a halftime. It looked ugly,
and yet he keeps shooting. He's the one guy that
(20:51):
it never seems like he gets timid. He always wants
the ball and key spots, and there's a lot of
value there. It's not to say this was a perfect game,
nowhere close, but he stuck with it, and in the
second half he provided a ton of utility on defense
and offensively, he hit a couple of big threes, he
had a big put back in traffic, made some free throws.
(21:11):
All in all, very up and down game, but one
that I think you'll live with if he's if he's
playing his best in the minutes that matter most.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Yeah, you know, I mean, I'm one of Jabari's biggest fans,
but I certainly since you know, pre draft and everything,
I really believe this is the kind of guy who
I think fits into a championship style team, you know,
a potential elite role player, that kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
We've talked about them before.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
But I'm saying that to set up the fact that
I was very frustrated at half because he didn't play
well against Dallas and yeah, you and you heard me
Ben reventing about it because he was, I thought, throwing
up some bricks. And when the other team's going ten
for eighteen from three and he's not hitting shots, you're right,
he's not providing a ton of value, specifically him. Granted,
he wasn't shooting a ton. I think he'd only taken
like five shots in the first half. But I really
(21:54):
think if you don't you know, there were a lot
of comments I saw on Twitter or a couple anyway,
saying he provides it's nothing for this team, and that
was at halftime. Go watch the second half. Just watch
his defensive effort. I know that you know Tari gets
the headline or a man or whatever, but this is
a six foot eleven player who can switch, can pick
up on Booker, can pick up on Brooks, takes on
(22:15):
Mark Williams when needed. It's a very valuable player type.
He still got to hit shots, which he did in
the second half tonight. It was definitely a contrast between
the first half and second half. But yeah, I mean, I,
like I said, I'm one of Jobari's biggest supporters, and
I was very, very frustrated with that first half, and
I'm glad to see him rebound in the second half.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Yeah, and the final box seventeen and seven, six of eleven,
shooting thirty eight percent from three. I mean, all in all,
it goes in the box score as a as a
good game, and they're going to need him to continue
to fight through it because one thing without all printchham Loon,
that's going to stand out. I mean, there's not a
lot of true creators when you look at the box.
The Rockets played ten guys tonight and off the bench,
(22:55):
four of them are Dry, Anthony Smith, Clint Capella, Aaron Holliday,
and Joshua Kocie. None of those guys are create offense
in any sense of the word. Maybe a little bit
from Aaron Holliday here and there, Reed Shepherd. I mean,
even with the subpar defense and the four turnovers, they
had to play him twenty three minutes because where is
the shot creation, where is the playmaking going to come from?
(23:17):
So you know, I sort of single out Read because
without Shangoon, he's the obvious guy to sort of ask
a little bit more from offensively. But then I also
think to a lesser extent, Jabari and Tari. They're the
two guys in that starting lineup who in a different situation.
The Rockets have talked about this, like I go back
to the Fredenvleet and Kevin Durant podcast where you know,
(23:38):
Fred said on a different team, Jabari could score twenty
plus points per game if he was getting you know,
requisite shot attempts, and it just doesn't make sense for
him to do that here. Well, in the short term
without Shangoon and especially against you know so so defenses
over the next week or so, this may be the time,
especially if Reid's slumping a little bit off the bench,
which he has in recent games. Then and other than KD,
(24:01):
where are the shots gonna come from? It felt like,
especially down the stretch of that game, and some of
it was fatigue, but there were possessions where there was
just nothing going offensively. There wasn't a lot of movement,
and KD just held the ball and put up a
late shot with two or three seconds left in the
shot clock because they just had nothing going offensively. There
weren't enough creators out there. We know the limitations a
men has not being able to shoot consistently beyond fifteen
(24:23):
sixteen feet, so This all leads to in the very
short term, Jabari and Tari having a window to do
a little bit more. Not gonna say it was perfect tonight,
the Tari last minute drive will certainly be clipped as
evidence in the other direction that maybe got a little
too ahead of themselves. You know, by and large, if
Reed Shepherd doesn't pick it up off the bench, then
(24:45):
I guess the next guys that I would ask to
do a little bit more heavy lifting offensively would be
Jabari and Tari, and at least in Jabari's case, he
delivered in the second half tonight.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
Yeah, absolutely, big big win. I mean, this could really
could have gone the other way.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
And I believe Palo ALVE's podcast partner as well had
tweeted out that the Rockets have not won a game
all year when they were down by thirteen points or more,
and they were down by thirteen tonight and came back
and won, So they finally broke that curse. So thank
you Paolo for bringing that up. And now you know,
by bringing it up, it actually came true.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
The Reckets came back.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
This is just such a fulfilling game because you know,
they finally came back from down thirteen plus when we
know they had at least two games that they blew
enormous leads in New Orleans and Sacramento. They had so
many games this year where it felt like they played
really well but the bounces late didn't go their way.
Here's when they fell behind by thirteen. They weren't playing
particularly well and they found a way.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Was it pretty No? Did they feel it? Maybe?
Speaker 3 (25:45):
But it sort of offsets the damage a little bit
from one of those earlier games that you probably deserve
to win but didn't.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
In that sense, it sort of.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Feels like getting a game back that you threw away
earlier in the season, especially without all for Inch and
Goon being able to find a way to get this
one and now being three to oh against you know,
say what you will, but the Suns are what twenty
one and fifteen like, they seem like they're going to
be a top seventeen in the West at least top eight.
That's a solid win and your three to h against
him shouldn't complain about it?
Speaker 4 (26:13):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
I'll just say Rockets played well on their defense, was
you know, the kind that you want to see in
the in the playoffs, certainly at.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Least the second half. The three point shootings just.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Got to get better. It has been good all year.
The last two games it's been really bad. They may
not win a few, you know, a better a slightly
better opponent. They probably lose this game, but the three
point shooting has just been fluky bad. I mean, KD
was one for eleven before that final one, two for
twelve to night. That's not Katie at all. Jabari has
been a little bit off tight. It was three for eight,
which is fine, Reid, you need to be to step
up a little bit better. Tari's you know, crashing back
(26:43):
down to earth a little bit. But he's still like
what the number one three point shooter in the entire league,
which is still amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
It was still two of six tonight. You can live
with that.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah, absolutely so, Yeah, Rockets go now for a back
to back.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
I don't know if it's back to back.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
I think Friday just home on home.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
I guess, you know, playing or you know, the Blazers
twice and anything you want to say about that matchup
before we close up. Anything you're expecting other than Donovan Klingon,
which we're talking about earlier, is now hitting threes he's
hitting like forty to fifty percent from three in his
last ten games.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
It's kind of crazy.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
No.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
I mean, I've made my points on Reid a few times,
so I won't go into it again only to say,
you know, Portland was the game earlier this year when
Tari went out with the oblique and if you're calling
the second half, Reid went off, that was when Katie
and Shangoon were hyping him up and Reid had that
dance that made for the gift that went viral everywhere.
It seemed to be a good matchup for Reed. To me,
(27:34):
that's that's the lowest hanging fruit if not read Jabari
and Tari. But I just think the bottom line and
the short term, there's a big scoring and playmaking void
without all per In, Shoinggoon. With Steven Adams, you're going
to be fine defensively. I mean, it felt like against
the MAVs they fell apart on both sides of the
ball with Steven, And it's true even with Shingoon, Stephen
is the guy that's really important to raising the defensive
floor of this team. Now, the question is offensively, you know,
(27:57):
without your second All Star, who's to step up? Fill
that void. Maybe it's Red and Amen, maybe it's Shabari
and Tari, but that's going to be the question. Who
outside of KD can they get going and producing at
a at a big level. If they can find at
least one more guy, then yeah, these are games coming
up that they should win.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Absolutely, Hey, appreciate everybody in the live chat, great comments.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
We bring them up as you know.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Ones that catch our eye will bring him up on
the show during the after this is up. Please, by
all means post comments. Let us know your thoughts you're
on the game, on the video on anything we can
do better. Certainly we're listen reading those and appreciate all
everybody who has subscribed as well. Rockets get a huge
win new Mister Clutch and Clutch City with Kevin Durant
hitting a game winning three with one point one seconds
(28:40):
left to give the Rockets a one and ninety seven
win at.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
Home against the Suns.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
We will be back as the Rockets hit the road
to take on the Blazers. Ben appreciate it, thank all
of you, and we will see you then.
Welcome in everybody to the postgame. Rockets hosting the Phoenix
Suns tonight and get a huge one hundred to ninety
seven win on a and incredibly clutched triple by Kevin
Durant with one point one seconds left. Tons of things
to discuss from this game, but what a thrilling back
(00:23):
and forth. I don't know if it was all wonderful,
but it was certainly interesting. Probably one of the games
this year that I've been the most invested in as
far as just the way it went back and forth
and how crazy it was. But Rockets escape one hundred
ninety seven over the Suns. I'm here with Ben Dubos.
You can read his stuff at Rockets Wire and on
Clutch Fans and follow him on Twitter at Bendubos. Ben,
(00:46):
you were at the game, correct, I mean your reaction
to this win tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
It's good to have Kevin Durant.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's that simple, and for once, it's so fulfilling to
be on this side because after last year, when it
felt like the Rockets got every last drop they could
out of that team, but there were just certain limitations
and this game was sort of the inverse of that,
in that It was very frustrating for a large portion
of those forty eight minutes. Yet when it mattered most
(01:15):
there was a gear they had with Kevin Durant and
to an extent with the men Thompson as well, who
had a really nice drive to tie the game with
a couple of minutes left. But it felt like a
game that was very much in contrast to a year
ago when they did all the little things right, but
when it came down to winning time, they just didn't
have that guy who you could trust to go out
and make a play. Now they do. He did tonight.
(01:36):
I mean, it's what a Hall of Famer does, so
tip your hat to him. But more than tonight, it's
one of those wins that gives you hope in the
grand scheme, because you're not going to play all that
well in every game throughout the season, and even in
every game through out a playoff rount. You've got to
have an ability to dig deep steal games that maybe
you didn't deserve to win. One of the frustrating things
(01:56):
about this team the first couple of months of the
year is that they had such a record and so
called clutch games. This feels like sort of getting a
break back. Those games you let slip away, the Pelicans,
the Kings, those games we've been so despondent about over
the first couple of months. Tonight it sort of feels
like you get one back because you're down thirteen in
the second half against a Sun's team. I know they're
(02:17):
on Night Tube back to back, but they're playing well
right now. They beat the Thunder last night. It's a
good team. Even if the roster it feels like they're
playing above their heads, they're playing well right now. The
Rockets were down thirteen, they found a way. I think
a lot of what happened down the stretch. They expended
so much energy in the comeback going from down thirteen
to up seven that they were on fumes by the end.
But in the final two minutes a men and then
(02:37):
most notably KD just found a way. And it's not
saying that this team is head and shoulders above last
year's team, but it does have a gear that last
year's team doesn't have, most notably Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, I mean he to me is the just the
guy you got to get at the ball to now
stretch as matter fick, you and I were talking in
real time at the moment when they had I think
five seconds left when they was game, and it's just like,
just get the ball to KD. It's either gonna be
he's gonna win it, or he's gonna go to We're
gonna go to overtime. And eMate actually said that something
similar in postgame said basically, it has nothing to do
(03:11):
with the defense. He's either gonna make it or he's
gonna miss it. He's gonna get that shot off, and
you know that's basically just had a lot of praise
for Kevin Durant and he's one for eleven from three
in this game.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Couldn't buy a triple. That's actually another story.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Rockets twenty four percent from three on a fairly high
volume in the Dallas game. Do the same again tonight.
But to me, I mean and Kevin Durant is the story.
No question, hitting that shot and just the you know,
the vibes and everything in that arena you were there,
just you know, an MVP chance and everything for KD.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
All deserved.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
But it's the second half defensive effort to me, that
was the difference, because the first half, the defensive effort
was absolutely awful. I mean, Phoenix was getting open looks,
pulling up from four to five feet behind three point line,
taking advantage of just about every switch or screen you know,
and and basically getting off three and nailing them. They
hit ten of their first eighteen triples into mid late
(04:05):
second quarter and then things turned. Rockets held them from
the rest of the game four of twenty three from
three and also been to that defensive effort, which you
can see it tests will show you. The defensive effort
in the second half was significantly better than the first.
But twenty three fast break points for the Phoenix Suns
in this game all in the first half, zero in
(04:28):
the second half, and that was big too. So they
shut down the transition play from Phoenix, and they shut
down the threes. And the Rockets offense was not good today.
I mean, obviously they're missing Shenggoun Shangun being out. The
offense wasn't good, but their defense was good enough to
set that shot up.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, the defense is what flipped the game from down
thirteen to up seven. It felt like midway through the
fourth quarter. It was a little ominous when e May
pulled three of the five at about the six minute mark,
when they were playing so well because I thought it
that was a pretty clear tell that these guys must
be running on fumes. So the morals story don't fall
(05:05):
down by thirteen points. I think early in the game,
especially the turnovers combined with Phoenix making an ungodly chunk
of their threes and the first half sort of put
the Rockets behind the eight ball, and so I think,
you know, I'm less bothered, you know, when we look
at it from a macro perspective, I'm less bothered by
the Rockets letting the seven point leads slip away in
(05:26):
the fourth quarter than I am them falling behind by
thirteen over the first thirty minutes of the game, because
I think the first thirty minutes of the game, that's
where they did a lot of just.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Very sloppy and uncharacteristic things.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
It felt like with no Shinoon, there were a lot
of the turnovers that were guys just being indecisive. Like
when Shinoon's out there, you know, he soaks up a
lot of the playmaking reps, and so when he's not
up there and the ball is not functioning through him
in the high post or in the low block, then
guys aren't as clear in their roles, and there were
a lot of just miscommunications where it felt like guys
(06:00):
weren't sure if they wanted to cut, if they were
supposed to create where Kevin wanted the ball.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
It just felt like a lot.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Of indecision, a lot of guys being tentative. And I
think that that comes down to Without Shinoon, the offense
isn't as simplified as it typically is. There's a lot
more unpredictability and the Suns I thought they overplayed the
passing lanes. They sort of made it a little more chaotic.
They sped the Rockets up, and that's where I think
the Rockets can adjust when they view it on film.
(06:27):
I suspect those guys are just gonna, you know, have
their head in their hands a lot looking at some
of those turnovers. To me, that's what the Rockets really
need to fix. I think what happened in the fourth
quarter was just a fatigue team that went on a
you know, a big run to flip the game by
twenty points in about a quarter, and then was just
on fumes getting to the finish line. I thought a
couple of other things I wanted to note from the
final minutes, since you know, really that's all people want
(06:49):
to talk about tonight, besides Kadi just being one of
those dudes. It didn't even matter that he was one
of eleven. You want Kevin Durant taking their shot, and
it feels so good to have one of those guys.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It doesn't even matter if he's hot or he's not.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
It's Kadie give him the ball, and I feel like
everybody into Yoda Center and that ball left his hands
felt like it was gonna go win. A couple of
interesting things from me ay Joka. I really liked that
they had Jabari Smith inbounding the ball to KD because
we've seen a couple of times this year it's been
either Shangoon or a Men and this is not a
shot at Shingoon or a Men. But when those are
the side endbounders and you get it to KD at
(07:25):
that spot just inside of half court, what's going to happen.
The side end bounder is gonna trap on KD because
they don't respect Shingoon or a Men's ability to hit
the three from the wing or the corner. Whereas Jabari
I forget who it was that was on him but
he went with Jabari just a little bit into the
corner because Javari did hit some big shots in the
(07:45):
second half during that comeback, they didn't want to leave
Jabari with a wide open corner three for the win,
and that moment of indecision was all KD needed to
have a one on one and it gets that look
and please don't take that as a shot at Shingun
or a men, who overall are better players than Jabari.
Of course they are, but in that specific situation, I
think it can help Jabari to be the inbounder. If
(08:05):
you're wanting KD to be the guy that gets the ball,
you know, closest to the inbounder on that side of
the court, then yeah, having a space or inbound the
ball can really help because when he goes to the corner,
he's going to take that defender with him, at least
to some extent. And so it gave the Sons a
little bit more to account for as opposed to those
earlier season possessions on the Shagoon or Men. It felt
(08:26):
like there was a very quick double when KT got
the ball and those teams just were not going to
let Kade beat them. The other thing I liked in
the final minute of that game. Just one more I
want to say to the stop they had on Devin Booker.
Did you notice who? It was one on one and
there was almost no help he Tarry Eason. It reminded
me of the OKC game a year ago when the
Rockets closed them out in Houston and it was Tari
(08:48):
making the one on one stops against SGA late in
the game. As good as a men, Thompson is defensively
First Team All Defense. They love the guy. I think
it's so noteworthy that Layden games against those types of guards, SGA,
Devin Booker. It's still Tari that that Emo Udoka wants
to be the primary and that's not a shot at
(09:08):
a men. It's more praise. Harry said that he's still
that level of guy, and he delivered. And you know,
Tari's a frustrating player. He had some decisions tonight that
were questionable, but defensively when it mattered most boy, did
he step up.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Yeah, no, all deserved for sure. Great defensive effort by
a Tari. I will take a couple of mild shots.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
One was a men in that situation.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
You're right, he maybe in a minute or two before
coming out of a timeout one point game, tried to
they were inbounding the ball to Kadi and he threw
it right to a double team immediate turnover, which I
was just my jaw was on the floor, and Tari
just before that defensive effort with just the craziest drive
and double pump shot that that even Emo Odoka in
(09:50):
the post game said, you know, we were able to
cut down some of the bad shots, and then he said,
you know we had the one with Tari. He actually
said that, and I was like, wow, yeah, I mean
it was bad. And so he came up and totally
redeemed himself with that defensive effort, setting setting up Katie.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
For the game winner.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
So yeah, Tari's you know, he's got the mits, he's
got the the energy and the effort he wants to
take on those challenges. He's a great defensive player, you know,
put into an on ball situation.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
So that was a I think, really impressive.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
There were just some plays in this game that drove
me nuts, and again Ben is well aware of some
of those things that you know happened. The inability to
get that rebound on Booker's free throw when you have
a it's a four point game, I believe, and Booker
misses the free throw, popped drive back out to Booker
hits the three. That that just drove me uh in
saying a man missing a lefty layup in the final
(10:40):
minute where he cleared, had the space and missed that layup.
I was just like, Wow, there were just some of
those plays in this game. We got to talk about
Reed Shepherd as well. I mean, I know I could
see the chat full of Reed Shepherd comments and I
and I totally get it. You're going to be either
he should be there or he shouldn't. I just know
how coaches like Imo Udoka think. I think you would
agree with this. Those turnovers in the first quarter, and
(11:02):
I think they were.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Into the second quarter as well.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
The live ball ones, I think just drove e May
just to the point where he's like, I don't know
if I can totally trust him in this game. He
played briefly in the third, then he got some run
in the fourth. I thought he played pretty well. Did
not close out. I think we saw more holiday Mark Kogi.
I don't know your thoughts on Reed Shepherd in this game.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Not great.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I think there's a reason he got a look early
in the first half. It was the earliest I've seen
Ema Judoka make a switch like that.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
It was the nine and a half minute mark of
the first quarter.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
So Imay is typically a guy even when games starts slowly,
he'll take a time out, but then he'll stick with
the same group because he wants them to learn from
their mistakes. To go read over a man that quick
felt telling, But yeah, it just it just comes down
to the fact that he's got to make more shots.
He did hit one big bucket that finally gave the
(11:57):
Rockets the lead in the fourth quarter, But you're just
asking for way too much of his model if he's
gonna even be an okay shooter. Like I'm not saying
he shot the ball terribly the last few games, but
I don't have the numbers in front of you, but
I feel like the last ten games he's been i'd
say in the thirties rather than the forties at least
(12:18):
at this point in his career. For him to play
super high leverage minutes, he's got to be in the
forties because there's just too many other warts to his game.
When I say thirties and forties. I'm talking from three
point range. He's got to be a marksman when he
gets those open looks, just because if it's not, it's
going to be so easy. It's fascinating for me actually
(12:39):
to see how much ima Udoka trust Aaron Holliday and
that Aaron cannot play an entire game, and it feels
like Emy has no hesitation to put him in with
like six minutes left in a tie game basically, So
with that as the insurance policy some way, someone that
he may trust in every circumstance, the bar is pretty high.
For Like, it's not to say that that everything is
(13:03):
Read's fault because he is a better pure point guard
than the men Thompson is. He's better at, you know,
controlling the pace. He's got a better handle, So it's
not to try and pile on him. But I guess
where I'm where I go back to the shooting is
that if he's not shooting at a super high level,
if you're just wanting Read out there to have another
ball handler and sort of raise the floor, well Aaron
(13:25):
Holliday can give you a lot of that while being
more trustworthy defensively. That's the thing. So it's not so
much that like Reid played a terrible game. It's more
he didn't do enough to distinguish himself relative to Aaron Holliday.
That's the bottom line for me, and so that's the
challenge going forward to Like, if he hits threes at
volume the way he has done and will do in
(13:46):
the future, at some point he's going to get hot again.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Then this is going to take care of itself.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
The defensive floor is low enough right now that if
he has these structurees like we've seen the last couple
of games, em is going to turn back to Aaron Holliday.
And by the way, Dave, weird night in the NBA.
I was a little distracted because I was checking the box. Yeah, ok,
then for sitting out everyone one at Philly firstly one
and Thunder got blown out by the Hornets. So just
(14:12):
a weird night in the n I.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Think that was in Okay. See yep, I don't understand
it at all. I was glancing at it or you know. Halftime,
I believe Shay was three for twelve from the field
and only two free throws. I don't know if the
league's listening and cracking down on Shade because I see
people talking about how over the last month he's not
getting double digit free throw games. But yeah, they lost,
So I assume there's six and six now in their
(14:35):
last twelve after starting twenty three and one or whatever
it was.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
I think they have seven losses and the Rockets have eleven.
I mean that's four games of separation, and they come
to Houston in a week. We'll see if all for
instanm Goon is back for that game, because that's right
in the middle of the ten to fourteen days that
he may said. But I'm just saying on paper the
thunder or not running away and hiding the way it
looked like they were a month or so ago.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
Yeah, and that Marfik.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
We didn't talk about that Shangun being out now and
they're going to reevaluate him in a week and they're
assessing their ballpark. Ten to fourteen days fourteen days from
today is eight games, including tonight's game.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Can they survive? Look, you know, they obviously they.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Need Shangoon to be their best form, but we've talked
about this before. They can kind of survive. Maybe not Katie,
but they can kind of survive any one guy. They
can't lose two. They're zero and two without Shangoon and Adams.
But if Adams is healthy and Shangun's out there, four
and oh. Now, now most of those have been at home,
but two of them against Phoenix, they beat Cleveland. In
that situation, there's still a good team if Adams is healthy,
(15:37):
but without Shangoon, you can tell when Katie.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Sits, there's still that.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Issue of who's really running the offense. And this is
where you need in these you know, Shanguon being out
these minutes, you need Amen Indoor Reed to really step
up as the ball handler, you know, to get back to.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
The read point.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
You know.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It reminds me some of Jeremy Lynn where he just
goes these little stretches where he just makes mistakes, rookie
mistakes that I'm not trying to say he's not going
to be great, because I think Reid is going to
be good. It's just he makes some of these mistakes
that a coach like he may and a team like
this Rockets team, I just they have to balance the
patients there and that's the hard part.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
And I went and looked it up. In his last
seven games going into tonight, he was shooting just over
thirty three percent from three, and tonight he was one
of four. Now the plus minus was favorable, but again
I think tonight was largely a game where the Rockets
just benefited for more organization, like so much of the
story the first thirty minutes of that game, when the
Rockets just turned them all over like crazy, was the
(16:37):
Rockets without Shinhoun, being very indecisive about what they should do,
and just any sort of organization and conventional structure benefited
them when they weren't throwing the ball away. So the
plus minus grades out favorably favorably, But in terms of
Reid's impact, he needs to hit threes at a higher clip,
at least for the year to twenty one year old version,
(16:58):
to have a ton of value confidence he will. But
tonight one of four, his last seven games a little
over thirty three percent, So I'm gonna guess he's fight
at about thirty one thirty two percent in his last
eight games.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
That's not dreadful, it's not terrible.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
He's still respected, so he provides value as a floor spacer,
but it's not such clear value that you're gonna play
him no matter what. And I think that's why in
the second half, even though the plus mis was favorable,
That's why you saw Aaron Holliday getting some of those
high leverage minutes, because hey, he gives you some of
that same organization ability without the downside defensively, and so
that's what That's what it's going to come down to. Like,
(17:31):
there's no doubt that even if he's not hitting threes
at volume, he's still he's still providing some value. But
Aaron Holliday can provide that as well in games where
you just need to scrape out a win, EMA is
going to go with the veteran and this season with
a thirty seven year old Kevin Durant still in the
form we saw tonight, it's hard to blame him. By
the way someone in the comments asking how was Adams
his game tonight? To me, the most important thing, Dave.
(17:52):
He was out there down the stretch. He played major
minutes in this game, and the Rockets needed him.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
With no Shoon at.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Steven missed a it seems like Shinogoon will be ten
to fourteen days, so I'm guessing Steven was a grade
one ankle sprain. Shangoon probably grade one and a half
somewhere between A one and the two. But to come
back and play twenty five plus minutes, I'm calling it
up date. Do you have the final box in front
of you?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I do.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
He played just between thirty one and thirty two more.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Oh wow, so yeah, I it was over twenty five. Yeah,
it was even more for him to have that much
in the tank. I'm not gonna say that it was
a perfect game. Eleven rebounds and thirty one minutes. It
would be great defensive, Yeah, it would be great if
he gets back to making free throws at the clip
that he did to start this season before he missed
early on.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We're sort of a tone setter.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
But other than that, in terms of how he looked,
I thought he was very effective. There was a reason
that ima Udoka played in that many minutes. Let him
finish the game. He was Steven Adams, and that's gonna
be big because without alp in Shangoon, I mean, hopefully,
the fact that you're going against lesser teams moving forward
the next three games, the Trailblazers and the Kings. These
are lesser teams than the Suns on paper. Hopefully the
(18:58):
Rockets can sort this out because they're gonna miss shouldn't
go more than anything as a playmaker, like he just
soaks up so many reps that there's just a trickle
down effect and it leads to everyone else being a
little you know, insecure in their roles and not knowing
exactly what they're supposed to do because they're all being
asked to freelance a little bit more, and some of
the super awkward possessions like toy at the end, like
it's someone trying to do too much because they don't
(19:20):
necessarily know where the structured offense is going to come
from and if they can trust it, especially in the night.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Now.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I know Katie made the last three, but if he's
one of eleven, it's only natural for some of his
teammates to say, hey, like maybe I should try to
do something.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Maybe he doesn't have the juice tonight.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
As far as Adams, I thought he played well. One
thing that bothered me was he missed four free throws
really early on in the game.
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Right kind of surprise.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Phoenix didn't start going with Hack Adams because of that.
But at the same time, Rockets weren't offense wasn't exactly
hitting on all cylinders, so at one hundred point game probably.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And one other thing, if you get read going, that
could make it a little bit easier to potentially do
the five out lineups with Jabari at the five and
experiment with O. I saw some talk during the game about, oh,
why are the Rockets force feeding Clint Capella?
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Why don't they go five out? Well, the issue is
that you got to have five players.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
So sometimes it's easier said than done in terms of
how does ima Udoka fill out two hundred and forty
minutes during a game. So if you get your other
guys going, then maybe you can tap into Javari at
the five and experiment with that a little bit. It's
not like, well, I don't know, the Trailblazers do have
some size and bulk, so we'll see if that's the matchup.
But I think certainly the Kings and the Bulls are
(20:28):
teams you could try that against. Before we close out,
I want to I want to throw some love to Javari.
I mentioned him a couple of times earlier packs and
the the threes he hit in the second half. It's
so big in today's NBA to have a short memory,
and there were Stretcheres in this game where he was
absolutely terrible. We talked about it a halftime. It looked ugly,
and yet he keeps shooting. He's the one guy that
(20:51):
it never seems like he gets timid. He always wants
the ball and key spots, and there's a lot of
value there. It's not to say this was a perfect game,
nowhere close, but he stuck with it, and in the
second half he provided a ton of utility on defense
and offensively, he hit a couple of big threes, he
had a big put back in traffic, made some free throws.
(21:11):
All in all, very up and down game, but one
that I think you'll live with if he's if he's
playing his best in the minutes that matter most.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Yeah, you know, I mean, I'm one of Jabari's biggest fans,
but I certainly since you know, pre draft and everything,
I really believe this is the kind of guy who
I think fits into a championship style team, you know,
a potential elite role player, that kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
We've talked about them before.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
But I'm saying that to set up the fact that
I was very frustrated at half because he didn't play
well against Dallas and yeah, you and you heard me
Ben reventing about it because he was, I thought, throwing
up some bricks. And when the other team's going ten
for eighteen from three and he's not hitting shots, you're right,
he's not providing a ton of value, specifically him. Granted,
he wasn't shooting a ton. I think he'd only taken
like five shots in the first half. But I really
(21:54):
think if you don't you know, there were a lot
of comments I saw on Twitter or a couple anyway,
saying he provides it's nothing for this team, and that
was at halftime. Go watch the second half. Just watch
his defensive effort. I know that you know Tari gets
the headline or a man or whatever, but this is
a six foot eleven player who can switch, can pick
up on Booker, can pick up on Brooks, takes on
(22:15):
Mark Williams when needed. It's a very valuable player type.
He still got to hit shots, which he did in
the second half tonight. It was definitely a contrast between
the first half and second half. But yeah, I mean, I,
like I said, I'm one of Jobari's biggest supporters, and
I was very, very frustrated with that first half, and
I'm glad to see him rebound in the second half.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Yeah, and the final box seventeen and seven, six of eleven,
shooting thirty eight percent from three. I mean, all in all,
it goes in the box score as a as a
good game, and they're going to need him to continue
to fight through it because one thing without all printchham Loon,
that's going to stand out. I mean, there's not a
lot of true creators when you look at the box.
The Rockets played ten guys tonight and off the bench,
(22:55):
four of them are Dry, Anthony Smith, Clint Capella, Aaron Holliday,
and Joshua Kocie. None of those guys are create offense
in any sense of the word. Maybe a little bit
from Aaron Holliday here and there, Reed Shepherd. I mean,
even with the subpar defense and the four turnovers, they
had to play him twenty three minutes because where is
the shot creation, where is the playmaking going to come from?
(23:17):
So you know, I sort of single out Read because
without Shangoon, he's the obvious guy to sort of ask
a little bit more from offensively. But then I also
think to a lesser extent, Jabari and Tari. They're the
two guys in that starting lineup who in a different situation.
The Rockets have talked about this, like I go back
to the Fredenvleet and Kevin Durant podcast where you know,
(23:38):
Fred said on a different team, Jabari could score twenty
plus points per game if he was getting you know,
requisite shot attempts, and it just doesn't make sense for
him to do that here. Well, in the short term
without Shangoon and especially against you know so so defenses
over the next week or so, this may be the time,
especially if Reid's slumping a little bit off the bench,
which he has in recent games. Then and other than KD,
(24:01):
where are the shots gonna come from? It felt like,
especially down the stretch of that game, and some of
it was fatigue, but there were possessions where there was
just nothing going offensively. There wasn't a lot of movement,
and KD just held the ball and put up a
late shot with two or three seconds left in the
shot clock because they just had nothing going offensively. There
weren't enough creators out there. We know the limitations a
men has not being able to shoot consistently beyond fifteen
(24:23):
sixteen feet, so This all leads to in the very
short term, Jabari and Tari having a window to do
a little bit more. Not gonna say it was perfect tonight,
the Tari last minute drive will certainly be clipped as
evidence in the other direction that maybe got a little
too ahead of themselves. You know, by and large, if
Reed Shepherd doesn't pick it up off the bench, then
(24:45):
I guess the next guys that I would ask to
do a little bit more heavy lifting offensively would be
Jabari and Tari, and at least in Jabari's case, he
delivered in the second half tonight.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
Yeah, absolutely, big big win. I mean, this could really
could have gone the other way.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
And I believe Palo ALVE's podcast partner as well had
tweeted out that the Rockets have not won a game
all year when they were down by thirteen points or more,
and they were down by thirteen tonight and came back
and won, So they finally broke that curse. So thank
you Paolo for bringing that up. And now you know,
by bringing it up, it actually came true.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
The Reckets came back.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
This is just such a fulfilling game because you know,
they finally came back from down thirteen plus when we
know they had at least two games that they blew
enormous leads in New Orleans and Sacramento. They had so
many games this year where it felt like they played
really well but the bounces late didn't go their way.
Here's when they fell behind by thirteen. They weren't playing
particularly well and they found a way.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Was it pretty No? Did they feel it? Maybe?
Speaker 3 (25:45):
But it sort of offsets the damage a little bit
from one of those earlier games that you probably deserve
to win but didn't.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
In that sense, it sort of.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Feels like getting a game back that you threw away
earlier in the season, especially without all for Inch and
Goon being able to find a way to get this
one and now being three to oh against you know,
say what you will, but the Suns are what twenty
one and fifteen like, they seem like they're going to
be a top seventeen in the West at least top eight.
That's a solid win and your three to h against
him shouldn't complain about it?
Speaker 4 (26:13):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
I'll just say Rockets played well on their defense, was
you know, the kind that you want to see in
the in the playoffs, certainly at.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Least the second half. The three point shootings just.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Got to get better. It has been good all year.
The last two games it's been really bad. They may
not win a few, you know, a better a slightly
better opponent. They probably lose this game, but the three
point shooting has just been fluky bad. I mean, KD
was one for eleven before that final one, two for
twelve to night. That's not Katie at all. Jabari has
been a little bit off tight. It was three for eight,
which is fine, Reid, you need to be to step
up a little bit better. Tari's you know, crashing back
(26:43):
down to earth a little bit. But he's still like
what the number one three point shooter in the entire league,
which is still amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
It was still two of six tonight. You can live
with that.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah, absolutely so, Yeah, Rockets go now for a back
to back.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
I don't know if it's back to back.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
I think Friday just home on home.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
I guess, you know, playing or you know, the Blazers
twice and anything you want to say about that matchup
before we close up. Anything you're expecting other than Donovan Klingon,
which we're talking about earlier, is now hitting threes he's
hitting like forty to fifty percent from three in his
last ten games.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
It's kind of crazy.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
No.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
I mean, I've made my points on Reid a few times,
so I won't go into it again only to say,
you know, Portland was the game earlier this year when
Tari went out with the oblique and if you're calling
the second half, Reid went off, that was when Katie
and Shangoon were hyping him up and Reid had that
dance that made for the gift that went viral everywhere.
It seemed to be a good matchup for Reed. To me,
(27:34):
that's that's the lowest hanging fruit if not read Jabari
and Tari. But I just think the bottom line and
the short term, there's a big scoring and playmaking void
without all per In, Shoinggoon. With Steven Adams, you're going
to be fine defensively. I mean, it felt like against
the MAVs they fell apart on both sides of the
ball with Steven, And it's true even with Shingoon, Stephen
is the guy that's really important to raising the defensive
floor of this team. Now, the question is offensively, you know,
(27:57):
without your second All Star, who's to step up? Fill
that void. Maybe it's Red and Amen, maybe it's Shabari
and Tari, but that's going to be the question. Who
outside of KD can they get going and producing at
a at a big level. If they can find at
least one more guy, then yeah, these are games coming
up that they should win.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Absolutely, Hey, appreciate everybody in the live chat, great comments.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
We bring them up as you know.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Ones that catch our eye will bring him up on
the show during the after this is up. Please, by
all means post comments. Let us know your thoughts you're
on the game, on the video on anything we can
do better. Certainly we're listen reading those and appreciate all
everybody who has subscribed as well. Rockets get a huge
win new Mister Clutch and Clutch City with Kevin Durant
hitting a game winning three with one point one seconds
(28:40):
left to give the Rockets a one and ninety seven
win at.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
Home against the Suns.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
We will be back as the Rockets hit the road
to take on the Blazers. Ben appreciate it, thank all
of you, and we will see you then.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.