January 21, 2026 • 32 mins
Featuring Ben DuBose, Dave Hardisty (ClutchFans), and Adam Clanton (SportsTalk 790), Wednesday’s Rockets-Spurs game recap breaks down Houston’s 111-106 victory over its in-state divisional rival.
With the win, Houston (26-15, No. 4 in Western Conference) is only a game back in the loss column of second-seeded San Antonio (30-14).
Discussion topics include efficient and clutch showings from Reed Sheppard (21 points) and Jabari Smith Jr. (17 points); what Ime Udoka is likely to do in the absence of Steven Adams (severe ankle sprain); and how the Rockets kept Spurs star Victor Wembanyama (5-of-21 shooting) in check.
This episode can also be viewed in video form here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3iXsYBEj0k
With the win, Houston (26-15, No. 4 in Western Conference) is only a game back in the loss column of second-seeded San Antonio (30-14).
Discussion topics include efficient and clutch showings from Reed Sheppard (21 points) and Jabari Smith Jr. (17 points); what Ime Udoka is likely to do in the absence of Steven Adams (severe ankle sprain); and how the Rockets kept Spurs star Victor Wembanyama (5-of-21 shooting) in check.
This episode can also be viewed in video form here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3iXsYBEj0k
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome into the postgame show. Rockets get a huge win
one eleven to one TOHO six over the San Antonio Spurs,
a game that the Rockets were getting run over for
much of the game, down by as many as sixteen points.
Looks like looked like they were dead in the water
in this game. There were certainly several heroes in this game,
but there's none bigger than Reed Shepherd, who really in
(00:23):
late third quarter early fourth quarter stepped up big. The
Spurs went from incredibly hot and in the first half
from three point range to ice cold in the second half,
and the Rockets escape with a huge win against a
team that is ahead of them in the West standings.
I'm here with the great Bendubo's He's here with me
on most nights, but we have a very special guest
(00:44):
with us as well. You know Adam Clanton on Sports
Talk seven to ninety The eight Team with Adam Wexler
and Adam Clanton. They go from two to six on
Sports Talk seven to ninety and they're also simulcast on
Space City Home Network from three to six. Definitely check
out Adam Adams been, you know, a fixture in Houston
sports for years now and a huge friend of the show.
Great to have you here, Adam, but I'll kick it
(01:06):
to you Ben first, and then Adam chime in as well.
This was a huge win when it looked like for
sure this was an l by mid third quarter.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, this was a massive win. And full disclosure, I
am not in Houston. If my backdrop looks different, it's
because I'm in Las Vegas for a few days. Where
by the way, I did place a bet on the
Rockets at plus sixteen hundred to win the NBA title today. No,
I'm not necessarily expecting it to cash, but I do
think plus sixteen hundred is a little bit of an
(01:35):
overcorrection for a team that started the year at plus
nine hundred, So mostly for fun, but we'll see where
it goes. And I am going to take it as
a positive omen that the game after I placed that bet,
the Rockets go out and take care of business against
this first team that entered at at number two in
the Western Conference. And one of many reasons I wanted
to bring Adam in today. Adam, You've had some legendary
(01:58):
rants against Victor in recent weeks. So before we get
into the heroes for the Rockets, most notably Reached Shepherd
to a lesser extent Jabari Smith Junior, which some huge
plays in that fourth quarter to help the Rockets probably
back from sixteen down. How fun was it, Adam to
see the Rockets in Houston storm back against a Wimby
led Spurs team and make the plays when it mattered late.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Well, you owed them one from earlier in the year obviously,
And yeah, all of my anti Victor wimbin Yama rhetoric aside.
I remember way back in the first quarter, you know,
when Champenny was hitting every single one of those threes
and Reid was not hitting a lot of shots, and
I thought to myself, Man, what's it like to have
(02:42):
a guy consistently hit three point shots. Now, I'm not
saying Reach Shepherd is going to turn into that, but
he and Jabari Smith Junior what they've done in the
last couple of days, you know, bounce back game from
Jabbari against the Pelicans, and then of course this effort
here by Reed Shepherd in the fourth quarter tonight. It's
always good to eat the Spurs. It's always good to
kind of get the latest laugh over Victor Winbinyama. Like
(03:05):
it's the fist pump her round the world. When when
he found out the Rockets got the number four pick,
it's fine, the Spurs get blessed with another, you know,
number one overall pick. I can deal with that. I
don't like that fist pump man. You didn't have to
make it personal. Now it is for life. So in
nights like this happen, I'm absolutely gonna be beating my chest,
and I think Rockets fans should too. And it's it's
(03:27):
not necessarily because of all that kind of stuff so
much as it is you battle back in this game.
You didn't roll over. You were down sixteen, nothing was
really going your way, and you did two things that
I think were really your identity last season that you
haven't seen as much this year, and they have nothing
to do with the offense. You were physical with Victor
winbin Yama, and you played the type of defense in
(03:49):
the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, that gives
you opportunities even when the shots aren't consistently falling. It
was just it was refreshing to see last year's team,
or at least aspects of last year's team, kind of
rear their head again here tonight. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I you know, you guys talk about winby five for
twenty one from the field, zero for seven from three
point range. I think he was a game worse, not
just team worse minus fourteen very shocking. I mean, obviously
the guys you know, skilled and all that stuff, but rockets.
Really he had nothing going to and I thought he
took some bad shots and really got taken out of
a game. Kind of amazing to see that. You know,
(04:28):
we got to talk about for sure, Reed Shepherd because
there's been a lot of controversy. Excuse me, fans want
to see him play, and you know, they've been very
critical of e May for having sort of a short
leash because he, you know, maybe makes mistakes. The funny
thing is Reid actually was missing a bunch of shots tonight,
was kind of struggling for a while. Then he caught fire,
and I really didn't think he made very many mistakes,
(04:50):
Like I think he would have had a short leash
if he was, you know, blowing some coverages here or there.
I didn't see much of that tonight, and I think
that's why he May kind of stuck with him and
then and it paid off in a big way in
that fourth quarter when he stepped up big. Finish tonight
with twenty one points was a team high game high
plus fifteen. This is another one of those games We've
seen three or so of them this year, maybe four,
(05:12):
where Reed Shepherd kind of gives you that star like vision,
like he is capable of more than he's shown this year.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, and I think it's particularly noteworthy that Reid has
looked really good against the Spurs and the Nuggets. And
in contrast to that first game against the Spurs back
in the NBA Cup in San Antonio, win he made
some tough shots, but he got exposed defensively. He held
up much better defensively in this game. And by the way,
I'll try and kick this to Adam more quickly, because
(05:39):
again I'm not with my usual setup, So if my
mic or my connection isn't as solid as it normally is,
my apologies. But to hit home the highlights for Reed Shepherd,
I think the fact that he's able to deliver against
the better teams in the West. Look, the thunder are
their own tier. The Rockets haven't beaten them yet, and
until they do, it's fair to have concerns. Are the
(06:00):
gold standard not just for the Rockets, but the entire NBA.
So we can put that aside for now. We can
worry about that in April, May and June. Hopefully Fred
Benfleet comes back at some point, or maybe your Fellstone
as a deal that he makes by the trade deadline.
I don't know. We can worry about that for another day.
What I do think is worth celebrating right now is
that against the Spurs and the Nuggets, the two teams
that have been most frequently linked to the two and
(06:22):
three seeds in the West the last couple of months,
Reed Shepherd has played really well against those teams. So
it's not just like Reed Shepherd's taking advantage of the
bottom feeders. The fact that he's able to get you
these wins against upper rachel on teams not the thunder,
not just yet, but the fact that he's doing it
against maybe the second and third best teams in the NBA.
You can certainly make the argument based on the standings
(06:42):
to date and the strength of the Western Conference, there's
something to celebrate there. I think it's safe to say
that Reed Shepherd and to a lesser extent, Jabari Smith Junior,
those are your ceiling guys. You know, losing Steven Adams
really hurts because we've talked about and Stephen, we knew
the other night that was not going to be a
grade one ankles frame like we had seen recently with
Tarry Easton all for in shongoons seven to ten days. No,
(07:04):
when he couldn't put weight on it, it was pretty
clearly going to be more severe as he may acknowledge.
And so you're talking weeks to months or talking about
a grade three and Steven Adams, the data shows you
he's your floor guy defensively, but really across the board.
He gives you, in his twenty five minutes or so
per night, a very high floor for as a team
what you're able to do. There's more volatility with the
(07:25):
guys like Reid and Jabari, but when they hit, Jabari
always brings the defense and the connectivity. But when he's
able to score fifteen plus points, their record is elite
because he's already providing value in other areas. And then
when he hits big shots the way he did tonight,
when he makes threes and spaces the floor, he's a
really valuable player. And read there's so much volatility. You know,
(07:46):
if it's a tough night for him, and he's not
playing well enough defensively to stay on the floor, then
obviously there's not a ton of value. But nights like
tonight he looks like next gen Steph Curry and without
your floor guy and Steven Adams, to me, the Rockets
have no trap to lean more into your upside guys,
your ceiling guys. To me, the ceiling guys are Reed
Shepherd and Jabari Smith Junior. I don't think it's a
(08:07):
coincidence that when the Rockets have been at their best
this season in November and October, when they went thirteen
and four, that was when Reid was phenomenal. He dipped
the last month and so did the Rockets as a team.
Now rebounces back and what do you know, so do
the Rockets. To me, you know reads just twenty one
years old, he's just hear two, but he is the
variable for this team. That's my take.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Yeah, and I'll touch on Steven Adams briefly before I
get to read. I think, you know it's obviously with
the grade three you mentioned Ben as just such a
tough loss. You know, the double bigs lineup what he
provides just from a strictly offensive rebounding standpoint, if you
want to have a positive in the first game, y're
without him. I don't know of a lot of teams
(08:49):
you're gonna have to deal with that they're going to
provide more size. I mean, nobody has a Wimby, But
I just mean from the sheer standpoint of if you
want a blueprint on how to win a game without,
you know, minus the fourth quarter comeback, without having Steven
Adams out there, just point to the first game you
had to deal without him being out.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
There for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
If you ever have any doubts about being able to
do it, it's not gonna always go this way. And
you had to have, as been mentioned, several heroes tonight.
But at least you've beaten this Spurs team without him,
and I think that's an accomplishment in and of itself.
But going back to Reid, I know the offense is
going to get all love. How many insanely timely defensive
plays did he make during that run? And it seemed
(09:30):
to me and maybe this is just you know, me
misremembering or kind of looking back on this game that
just ended a few minutes ago, a little bit too fondly,
but it felt like a lot of those plays would
come after he would miss on the other end offensively,
he would come right back down and he would create
a steal.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
He got a block shot.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
At one point on Chimpenney is just insane plays. I
said this on the air, I've said it a couple
of times on the actual broadcast, and I've said it
on our show. And I feel as dirty as you
might imagine, not in any way, shape or form, saying
he's in the echelon of a guy like this, but
he does things that remind me of John Stockton. And
(10:08):
it's not because he's short, and it's not because he's white.
It's because he gets his nose in there and makes
these heady plays that hate him as much as we
all did and do still to this day. John Stockton did.
Those are important, you know, gain winning and just winning
in general, plays that I think Reid does at times
even when his shot isn't falling, and that's what can
(10:29):
make him redeemable. But I know we're also in the
same breath talking about a guy who I have heard
tens of people say, yeah, he gets hunted on the
defensive end. So He's kind of Jekyll and Hide to me.
I'm just glad we got the good version tonight on
both ends.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah. Absolutely, And you know it's funny you look at
this tonight the Spurs go eleven of twenty five from
three in the first half, three of twenty five from
three in the second half. I don't want to say
they got lucky in the second half, because they got
very unlucky in the first half. There's the truth is
somewhere in the middle of the Spurs not shot well
from three lately. So I'm not gonna say they got
lucky there. But you know, on what Adam was talking
(11:06):
about with Steven Adams, I am very concerned about this
being you know, I think this could be months and
tonight you look at it. But you know the Rockets,
you know where they beat you is they just kill
you on the boards. They get so many more shot attempts. Tonight,
the Spurs took one hundred and five shots to the
Rockets eighty three. The Rockets had a had a maybe
ten twelve free throw advantage, but that doesn't make up
(11:28):
for that kind of gap. They lost the rebounding battle
fifty seven to fifty five. They lost the turnover battle
fourteen to nine. That the difference in three point shots
was was massive.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
But you know, their.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Defense was hung in there and they were solid consistently
tonight as far as making shots, and they just it
was just like the tortoise in the hair. They just
kept plugging along and once the spurs started to go
cold from three, that was the difference. But loved we
saw from Reed as far as Jabari, you know Read
and Jabari, the guys who have been the most criticized lately.
Jabari hit two clutch shots down the stretch that were huge,
(12:01):
a corner free and then I think he pulled up
from about seventeen feet just beyond the free throw line
for a big shot. Shanngoon hit a really big shot
driving on Cornett. The replay looked a little suspect with
the offensive foul, but still that you know, we'll take it.
And this is just a huge win. I mean, they
really needed this because I think there's going to be
some games here where Adams' presence or lack of presence
(12:23):
is going to be felt.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, I think specifically against the Sixers and the Pistons
later this week. I mean those are physical front lines
where you wish you had Steven Adams. And this is
not meant to be a shot at Clint Cappella, who
I think played pretty well tonight in his twelve minutes.
But I think you know, some of the immediate reaction
to the Steven Adams injury news missed the mark. You
(12:46):
don't sign Clint Capella for this purpose. You signed Clint Capella,
who's now in his second decade in the NBA, for
purposes of load managing Steven Adams throughout the year if
he needs, you know, half of a back to back off,
if he needs to take a week off here or there,
like when he had the minor ankle spray in a
couple of weeks ago. You don't sign Clint Cappella expecting
(13:07):
him to be great value Steven Adams for two or
three months. Now. That's not to say that Clint isn't valuable.
Any minutes you can soak up over you know, two
hundred and forty per game over the five positions each place,
forty eight minutes, that's all valuable. But Capella is not,
especially in the high leverage minutes. The solution I think
(13:28):
to match the upside of what Steven Adams gives you
and that high floor, that high degree of competence, you
have to air on the side of variance like I
don't think you can. You can that frequently, especially against
good teams up for what's basically a lesser version of
Steven Adams and think that this team is going to
have enough to win. Like this team is good, it's
(13:49):
not that good. It's not like a transcendent team from
a talent perspective. So I think, what's the ultimate end
outcome for ima Udoka With this team. You're going to
have to shoot more threes, and maybe it's a blessing
in disguise. You know, we talked in the Thunder game
about them getting out math and and part of that
was because, well, when you have Shingoon, Steven Adams and
the men Thompson, you're inherently not gonna shoot a lot
(14:09):
of threes. Well, now if you have to play read
Shepherd more and you have to play Jabari at the five,
and when you played Jabari at the five, then Tari
and DFS toy came back tonight from his ankle's brain
and looked pretty good. In my opinion, I'll be in
limited minutes, you have to play them more on the wing,
and then inherently you have to trust Read more at
the point, and so all of these guys shoot more
threes and so to me in the grand scheme, that's
(14:30):
how the Rockets are going to have to try and
overcome this. And there's gonna be some gays where it
looks bad because if the threes aren't going and you
don't have the presence of Steven Adams, it's gonna hurt.
But on the flip side, when the threes go in
as they did in the second half tonight, you can
be really, really good. Is it going to be enough
for you to be the two seed in the West?
I don't know. I'm skeptical. I do think that the
(14:51):
absence of Steven will be felt, but I think that's
the way you should be looking at this clip. Cappella
is still a valuable piece, but he's a valuable piece
to soak up minutes. In terms of actually replacing the
upside of Steven Adams. It's about Jabari, it's about Read,
it's about your shooters. Tonight it paid off. I don't
know how frequently it's going to but I guess coming
(15:12):
off two weeks where they were like the worst shooting
team in NBA history. They were due for one of these, right, Yeah,
there's some sort.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Of happy medium in between what they were doing at
the beginning of the year, which was really weird. They
were leading or they are up near the top of
the league in three point accuracy, and they were taking
like five a game. Not really, but it just wasn't
a lot. So it was the ultimate efficiency, I guess,
to where they were during that stretch you just mentioned
in the last two weeks, and Jabario was a big
part of that, kind of like a struggle within a struggle.
(15:42):
This is going to be where things get fascinating for me,
especially if you're afel Stone, because you mentioned, you know,
maybe he we've seen, you know, rumblings that they've they're
trying to talk to half the league, and you're in
a weird spot because you don't want to make it.
You didn't want to make a trade before Steven Adams
went down just for the sake of making a trade.
And I was never I always felt and this is
(16:05):
not any sort of inside knowledge whatsoever. I have next
to zero relationship from that standpoint with rafel Stone. It's
like a hello when I see him in the hallway.
It's nothing, but it's not at all like Daryl Morey.
But I never I kind of always got the impression
that maybe their way of thinking was, you know, we're
not punting on year one of Kevin Durant, but we're
(16:26):
not gonna move Fred van Vliet, who is really the
only contract that can get you a big name back
for money purposes. We're not gonna do that just because
he got hurt. So it's almost like they feel like, Okay,
we're gonna go with what we've got and hope for
the best case scenario, which is that maybe Fred can
come back like he's talked about, which is like late March,
(16:48):
early April, and just hope for the best. Does it
sound sexy, But that's kind of the card they were
dealt or the hand they were dealt, and so I've
always kind of thought that might be their way of thinking.
I'm just curious to see if with Steven Adams going down,
because again, this is a major rotational player, you're gonna
be with that with for months, maybe if that changes
(17:10):
their way of thinking or you know, what the future
holds from that standpoint, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I mean they only had six offensive rebounds tonight, Shangun
had thirteen rebounds, which is great, one hundred percent of
those defensive and and what Adams does is he comes
in and just creates those extra possessions. I think, you know,
this is a slightly different topic, but we thought this
before even the game tonight, and in some sort of
way that doesn't really make sense. I think this is
(17:34):
going to open up time for Read not having Adams,
because I think you've kind of lose that superpower and
now you're like, well, we gotta we gotta live with
some of those read mistakes. And because, like you said, Ben,
the chance of him going off and having some you know,
big games is there. So I think that's what we'll
see as sort of a counter to that. We hope
we see some more switching lineups in some matchups, you know,
(17:56):
maybe Jabari at the five, certainly Capella playing, but you're
gonna it's just a I thought it was a really
bad news when it came down, you know, the grade
three strain the spring, because I mean, hopefully he's back
this year, but that's not even that's not even certain
that he's you know, back even for the playoffs. I
think two months takes you. I think it was put
it out there today. That'll be eight games left in
(18:17):
the regular season if he comes back, like sixty days
from now. So hopefully he's back, But I think that's
what they're going to try to do to keep this
thing together while he's out. Is hope that Reid gives
you that sort of potential for huge games and then
you know, patch it up with Capella some and some
with the small ball five lineups.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Although maybe and this is admittedly me searching for a
silver lining, you have no choice, at least with the
way the team is currently constructed. Now maybe something changes
by the trade ub line, but the way they're currently constructed,
I don't think you have much choice but to give
more wraps, more shot attempts to the younger guys, the
developmental guys like you have no choice in a game
like tonight, but to let Reid and Jabbari sink or swim,
(18:59):
and tonight, boy did they ever swim? And so over
the next couple of months, I do think that the
odds are better than fifty to fifty unless he unless
he has surgery, and this is more than even a
typical grade three. You're looking at three months from when
Stevens suffered the injury in mid January to when the
(19:19):
playoffs started mid April. So I would say, well, not
a gibbet. I think it's better than fifty to fifty
that he's able to return this season, especially with medical
technology the way that it is, and so there's a
case to be made. I'm not saying for sure will
work out this way, but maybe, you know, in the
short term, you get a bump in your confidence from
your young guys who have you have no choice but
(19:40):
to play and to trust now that you lose the
stabilizing veteran force of Steven Adams, And so maybe the
second half of the year. You know, we talked in
the first half of the year. Clearly aman Thompson, the
last twenty games was better than the first twenty, and
he was very good tonight as well. Maybe Reid and
Jabbari take bumps. With Reid, it's sort of mixed because
he was very good the first twenty nine so much
the second twenty. But maybe in the aggregate the last
(20:03):
half of the season is better for Reid and Jabbari
than it was the first half, and then by the
time Stephen comes back, and Steven's a guy, he's gonna
do what he does at thirty two years old with
his experience, Steven's not going to change his style of play.
He is what he is. It's more the players around him.
And so maybe if you get Stephen back, you get
the benefits of Stephen Adams when he plays, which are immense,
(20:25):
but you have a more confident version of the young
guys around him. Not saying for sure that's gonna happen,
and even if it does happen, like there's definitely gonna
be some games that you lose along the way when
you look and say, wow, we probably would have won
this game with Steven Adams. Okay, that's fair. But as
we've said plenty of times, David, I'm curious your thoughts
on this, Adam. To me, this is a team where
with a thirty seven year old Kevin Durant, this isn't
(20:46):
like last season where you're just trying to get to
the playoffs and or I should say last season, you know,
get the best seeds you can and maximize every win
over the regular season where they got that two seed
last year, locked it up with more than a week
left to play. To me, this year's Rockets team, and
by the way, they're not that far off. They're only
a game back in the lost column of the Spurs
(21:07):
and the Nuggets, who right now are basically tied to
the two seeds, so it's all on the table. But
for me, Adam, this is a Rockets team where even
if they win fifty games instead of say fifty six
or fifty seven, and you look at the regular season
and say, wow, there's a lot of stuff they left
on the table, a lot of games they lost because
guys were hurt, YadA, YadA. If they get to mid
April and they're healthy and they have a thirty seven
year old Kevin Durant, the games are most faced out.
(21:29):
You get Steven Adams back, you have Fred ben Fleet
maybe back in the limited capacity. To me, this is
the kind of team that where all that matters is
the playoffs, as long as you get there, as long
as you have a chance. Then health and being in
your peak form in April, that's what matters now as
opposed to last year. Last year was a team where
because you were limited, you needed to maximize every last margin.
(21:52):
This year, maybe it's not that way. Maybe you just
get to the playoffs, and maybe this is all for
the best in at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
You know, Wex and I talk about that a lot,
and we keep comparing last year to this year, because
you know, it was the first time they participated in
the postseason again, and it just the Western Conference mirrors
last season so much this year in that speaking to
your way of thinking, you didn't go get Kevin Durant
to be the two seed on January twentieth, You got
(22:20):
Kevin Durant to combat wherever you're at on April fifteenth.
Because I don't think the Rockets honestly care about their seeding,
and nor should they, And I don't think any team
not named Oklahoma City and they certainly don't care because
they're going to be the one seed in all likelihood.
I think every Western Conference would be playoff team should
(22:42):
approach it that way, because it's so you're talking about
a two seed and a three seed being separated by
a game, probably more so this year than even last year,
and so it's ultimately going to come down to, all, right, well,
what team do you match up against the best? And
that's always the case in the postseason, but it just
feels like there's usually been a little bit more separation
between the Seeds on any given season. I really think
(23:05):
we're like on a collision course to a carbon copy
of last year, where you're talking about five different teams
being separated by like a half game or something like that,
and tiebreakers and all that kind of stuff is factored in.
Just like Ben said, be the healthiest version of yourself
when April comes around, and be playing your best basketball
regardless of who's available when April comes around, and then
(23:27):
let the chips fall, knowing that in all likelihood you're
probably going to be starting next year even more healthy
than whatever. You go into this postseason looking like, yeah,
I just want.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
To make sure we mentioned the stars or we're going
to get some stands jumping down our throats. Kevin Durant
tonight seven or twelve, eighteen points, seven assists, four boards,
was basically relentlessly doubled and all kinds of pressure placed
on Kevin Durant tonight. Shanngoon won assist shy of a
triple double, twenty points, thirteen boards, not assists, and as
mentioned earlier, did have that big shot late. I don't know,
(23:59):
maybe thirty four forty seconds left put the Rockets up
by four, and the men Thompson, as you mentioned, Ben
sixteen points, ten boards, six assists. I thought he had
that one. A drive that he had down the middle,
the driving kick, which is what we've been wanting to
see from a man. He kicked it to read in
the corner, hit that huge three. I thought that was great,
not just for Reid hitting the three, but the men,
(24:19):
you know, driving that as well. We can close with
just sort of this. Rockets have a now they go
on the road. They finished the four game homestand I
believe three and one going off a memory here, and
they now play the Sixers and the Pistons in back
to back. That's a that's a tough combo, I think
for the Rockets, especially the Pistons, as physical as they are.
Without you're not gonna have Steven Adams. They can throw
(24:41):
a lot of good defenders Jalen Duran and Isaiah Stewart
or physical defenders. I should say at Shangun, what are
you guys expecting as week as the Rockets head to
this road trip.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
By the way, one other quick thing to close on
the stand WITHYTS tonight, the Timberwolves lost in Utah, so
the Rockets are up to the fourth seed and the
Lakers are down double digits in Denver. So the Rockets
are getting some separation from from the Timberwolves and the Lakers.
And they're only a game back in the lost column
of the Spurs and the Nuggets. So this thing is
(25:14):
getting this ship is getting righted.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
The schedule is about to get more difficult, to your point,
and the Spurs are coming back in about a week
for a rematch in Toyota Sitter, So you certainly shouldn't
victory laugh, especially without Steven Adams. But the schedule is
getting much more friendly. So relative to a week or
so ago, this is a pretty fun time to be
a Rocket span when you say, Adam.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Yeah, And I'll tell you, even though the schedule is
getting tougher, you put in your time on the road.
I know they're going back on the road, but a
lot of these games they are going to be against
some of these teams that are contenders or you know,
some of the other strong teams in the West, or
just in the NBA overall, a lot of are going
to be in Toyota Center as opposed to going there.
So even if you are shorthanded, I don't think that
(25:56):
is overrated at all. I think that's something that especially
if you're This has been like the weirdest start to
the year I've ever seen for the Rockets. They've lived
on the road and then they'll come home for some
random one game one off, and then they're back out
on the road again. Dead grinds on you. I know,
they're in you know, five and six star hotels and
(26:17):
Matt Thomas is racking up the points and all that
kind of stuff, and they're on chartered flights. But that's
it's just something about being at home and being in
your own bed and all that kind of stuff that
I really do think home cooking is real, especially in
the NBA. And if you're gonna start talking about, you know,
players being missing from your rotation, well you need all
the advantages that you can get on your side of things.
So let's see what they do. And like you mentioned, Ben,
(26:41):
let's see how ema Udoka adjusts on the fly with
his rotations now that he's been dealt this latest hand.
That's another fascinating aspect of the rest of this season
that I want to keep an eye on.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
And one other thing I meant to mention with the standings,
the Warriors are getting blasted right now by the Raptors
eighty six to fifty nine midway through the third, so
that's gonna drop them to twenty five and twenty. They
lost Jimmy Butler last night to a torn acl To me,
the Warriors are the one team that aren't in the
top six that before the Butler injury, I could say
(27:14):
there's a world where they could track down someone in
that top six. Now I feel like barring like a
catastrophic injury. The top six in the West is pretty set.
Like I'm sorry, the Suns are a feel good story.
I do not see any world where the Phoenix Suns
catch one of the top six teams in the West.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
I just what about the Clippers, though, do you? I
mean they're starting to commustions all.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
They have twenty four losses, though the most losses in
the top six are the Timberwolves at the Timberwolves and
the Lakers with sixteen blazel not too Lasers are the
team that I like.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Man, you talk about a free throw merchant, if he's
gonna get that whistle, They're gonna be a problem.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah, no, absolutely, And then that's and it's a team
that's playing really, really well. Obviously they're not lost to
them twice, but it's you know, a great point by
Adam as well. I want to see this team does
do on the road. They lost to the Kings twice.
They obviously got lost to the Blazers twice, Pelicans Clippers.
Like I said, although the Clippers and Blazers are definitely
hot lately, it's been on the road where they've had
(28:12):
some games that have looked ugly. So especially when to
see Jabari perform well there, it's great to see Jabari
break out of this slump and start to play better.
I thought he was really good tonight. But I want
to see this on the road. And these are two
big matchups as far as East teams, they're strong teams,
especially the Pistons. The Pistons have given the Rockets issues
for a little while now, so I'll be curious to
(28:33):
see how they match up against each other. Anything you
guys want to say before we close up. Huge win
by the Rockets tonight.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, yeah, go ahead, Adam, I'll tee you up for
one more wimby rant because I know that's what you're
known for, and I just I can't help but reflect, Like,
after all that's been talked about the first half of
this year, the split between half, the Spurs already passed
the Rockets, YadA, YadA. The Spurs now are thirty and
fourteen and the Rockets are twenty six and fifteen. There's
(29:00):
a one game gap in the lost column. And Wemby,
as you mentioned, Dave, he was what five of twenty
one tonight, is that right?
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah? Five of twenty one.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
You know what's rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
So Wemby obviously, you know, got in. You know, he
threw his shade at the Rockets on Draft lottery night,
and he's had his you know, ethical hoops statements of
late being a statesman for the league despite the fact
that not only as you know, he not won championship yet,
he hasn't even been in the playoffs yet. I mean,
we're talking about them being the two seed halfway through
(29:30):
a season. You know, he's talking about the ethical hoops
comments and somewhat the contacts of Oaklham City Thunder because
that's who they were playing at the time. I mean,
the Thunder just won the championship and shaves the b MVP.
And that's the frustration with Wemby. It's like, you can
say all that stuff and that's fine, but until you've
actually won at the highest level, it's going to rub
some people the wrong way. And in the case of
(29:51):
the Rockets, when you factor in the backstory of the
twenty three draft lottery, of course people in Houston are better.
I guess that's that's what frustrates me about the whole
Wemby narrative, and especially with the first fans. They'll say, oh,
you know, why did Houston fans care so much? Why
are they so bitter? Yeah, we're better. Like the victory
laps have been NonStop since he was drafted. He's you know,
(30:11):
thumbed his nose at the Rockets multiple times, and that's
certainly his right, but it's like, if you're gonna be
the heel, then when the Rockets beat the Spurs and
Wimby in a big game, then hell yeah, we're gonna
have fun with it and we're gonna rub his nose
at it. That's how it works. That's how fandom works,
and so that's my frustration. You know, Wemby can be
whatever he wants to be. I had no problem with that.
(30:33):
I love, you know, heels and sports. I love what
Carlos Korey has been this decade for the Astros, except
for the three years that he was gone. But you know, Wemby,
I have no problem with him speaking his mind. But
it's like, especially if he's gonna do that before he's
won a title and then the Rockets won a big
game like this, I mean, the fan base has every
every right to be a little bitter and.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Rub it in his space right well, and don't forget
they he did not play well in this game. And
I think if you listen to you know, Sir Richardson
asked alprinshung Gun directly after the game, how are you
guys able to kind of contain him? And he said,
point blank, we were physical with him. And I do
wonder if I were there tonight and I was in
(31:12):
the Spurs locked room and I was able to ask
Wemby some questions. The first thing I would ask him
is if he thinks he played down to his competition tonight,
because that's another thing I don't want to hear Kai
saying I'm guessing he didn't have that quote tonight.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I'm just guessing, but it is true. That's how you
slow him down. I mean, I've felt like Dylan Brooks
was the Wemby stopper if anyone's gonna be. He was
so good at giving just getting up under Wembying and
causing so much problems for him. They threw they started
out with a kogie tonight, moved a bunch of different
defenders on him and really shut him down.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
One more thing that to Dave, But no, no, you
gotta imagine a Rocket Spurs game where they don't turn
the ball over fifteen plus times. And they actually they
were shooting well tonight, but they couldn't hit anything in
that first game. It felt like Spurs were hitting everything
in the first half and the Rockets kept turning.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
The ball over.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
And they were even doing that as they were trying
to make their comeback. They couldn't quite get over of
the hump, and I was like, this's gonna be one
of those games where they run out of gas just
making the comeback. The credit to them for making the
plays down the stretch. I'd like to see both teams
play a clean game next week on Wednesday, and then
let's see what happens then.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Yeah, this rivalry is all the way back. Man, I
love it. That's great. So good to have you, Adam. Honestly,
I love it, man, I just like it's just honestly,
just it's great. Everybody knows Adam Clanton for sure, but
the A team with Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler. You
can watch listen to it from two to six on
Sports Talk seven ninety and also sim willcast on Space
(32:38):
City Home Network from three to six. Great to have
you Adam Ben as always as well, and we will
be back Thursday when it's Rockets sixers. So appreciate everybody
for tuning in and we will see you guys then.
Thanks everybody, Thanks guys,
Welcome into the postgame show. Rockets get a huge win
one eleven to one TOHO six over the San Antonio Spurs,
a game that the Rockets were getting run over for
much of the game, down by as many as sixteen points.
Looks like looked like they were dead in the water
in this game. There were certainly several heroes in this game,
but there's none bigger than Reed Shepherd, who really in
(00:23):
late third quarter early fourth quarter stepped up big. The
Spurs went from incredibly hot and in the first half
from three point range to ice cold in the second half,
and the Rockets escape with a huge win against a
team that is ahead of them in the West standings.
I'm here with the great Bendubo's He's here with me
on most nights, but we have a very special guest
(00:44):
with us as well. You know Adam Clanton on Sports
Talk seven to ninety The eight Team with Adam Wexler
and Adam Clanton. They go from two to six on
Sports Talk seven to ninety and they're also simulcast on
Space City Home Network from three to six. Definitely check
out Adam Adams been, you know, a fixture in Houston
sports for years now and a huge friend of the show.
Great to have you here, Adam, but I'll kick it
(01:06):
to you Ben first, and then Adam chime in as well.
This was a huge win when it looked like for
sure this was an l by mid third quarter.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, this was a massive win. And full disclosure, I
am not in Houston. If my backdrop looks different, it's
because I'm in Las Vegas for a few days. Where
by the way, I did place a bet on the
Rockets at plus sixteen hundred to win the NBA title today. No,
I'm not necessarily expecting it to cash, but I do
think plus sixteen hundred is a little bit of an
(01:35):
overcorrection for a team that started the year at plus
nine hundred, So mostly for fun, but we'll see where
it goes. And I am going to take it as
a positive omen that the game after I placed that bet,
the Rockets go out and take care of business against
this first team that entered at at number two in
the Western Conference. And one of many reasons I wanted
to bring Adam in today. Adam, You've had some legendary
(01:58):
rants against Victor in recent weeks. So before we get
into the heroes for the Rockets, most notably Reached Shepherd
to a lesser extent Jabari Smith Junior, which some huge
plays in that fourth quarter to help the Rockets probably
back from sixteen down. How fun was it, Adam to
see the Rockets in Houston storm back against a Wimby
led Spurs team and make the plays when it mattered late.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Well, you owed them one from earlier in the year obviously,
And yeah, all of my anti Victor wimbin Yama rhetoric aside.
I remember way back in the first quarter, you know,
when Champenny was hitting every single one of those threes
and Reid was not hitting a lot of shots, and
I thought to myself, Man, what's it like to have
(02:42):
a guy consistently hit three point shots. Now, I'm not
saying Reach Shepherd is going to turn into that, but
he and Jabari Smith Junior what they've done in the
last couple of days, you know, bounce back game from
Jabbari against the Pelicans, and then of course this effort
here by Reed Shepherd in the fourth quarter tonight. It's
always good to eat the Spurs. It's always good to
kind of get the latest laugh over Victor Winbinyama. Like
(03:05):
it's the fist pump her round the world. When when
he found out the Rockets got the number four pick,
it's fine, the Spurs get blessed with another, you know,
number one overall pick. I can deal with that. I
don't like that fist pump man. You didn't have to
make it personal. Now it is for life. So in
nights like this happen, I'm absolutely gonna be beating my chest,
and I think Rockets fans should too. And it's it's
(03:27):
not necessarily because of all that kind of stuff so
much as it is you battle back in this game.
You didn't roll over. You were down sixteen, nothing was
really going your way, and you did two things that
I think were really your identity last season that you
haven't seen as much this year, and they have nothing
to do with the offense. You were physical with Victor
winbin Yama, and you played the type of defense in
(03:49):
the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, that gives
you opportunities even when the shots aren't consistently falling. It
was just it was refreshing to see last year's team,
or at least aspects of last year's team, kind of
rear their head again here tonight. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I you know, you guys talk about winby five for
twenty one from the field, zero for seven from three
point range. I think he was a game worse, not
just team worse minus fourteen very shocking. I mean, obviously
the guys you know, skilled and all that stuff, but rockets.
Really he had nothing going to and I thought he
took some bad shots and really got taken out of
a game. Kind of amazing to see that. You know,
(04:28):
we got to talk about for sure, Reed Shepherd because
there's been a lot of controversy. Excuse me, fans want
to see him play, and you know, they've been very
critical of e May for having sort of a short
leash because he, you know, maybe makes mistakes. The funny
thing is Reid actually was missing a bunch of shots tonight,
was kind of struggling for a while. Then he caught fire,
and I really didn't think he made very many mistakes,
(04:50):
Like I think he would have had a short leash
if he was, you know, blowing some coverages here or there.
I didn't see much of that tonight, and I think
that's why he May kind of stuck with him and
then and it paid off in a big way in
that fourth quarter when he stepped up big. Finish tonight
with twenty one points was a team high game high
plus fifteen. This is another one of those games We've
seen three or so of them this year, maybe four,
(05:12):
where Reed Shepherd kind of gives you that star like vision,
like he is capable of more than he's shown this year.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, and I think it's particularly noteworthy that Reid has
looked really good against the Spurs and the Nuggets. And
in contrast to that first game against the Spurs back
in the NBA Cup in San Antonio, win he made
some tough shots, but he got exposed defensively. He held
up much better defensively in this game. And by the way,
I'll try and kick this to Adam more quickly, because
(05:39):
again I'm not with my usual setup, So if my
mic or my connection isn't as solid as it normally is,
my apologies. But to hit home the highlights for Reed Shepherd,
I think the fact that he's able to deliver against
the better teams in the West. Look, the thunder are
their own tier. The Rockets haven't beaten them yet, and
until they do, it's fair to have concerns. Are the
(06:00):
gold standard not just for the Rockets, but the entire NBA.
So we can put that aside for now. We can
worry about that in April, May and June. Hopefully Fred
Benfleet comes back at some point, or maybe your Fellstone
as a deal that he makes by the trade deadline.
I don't know. We can worry about that for another day.
What I do think is worth celebrating right now is
that against the Spurs and the Nuggets, the two teams
that have been most frequently linked to the two and
(06:22):
three seeds in the West the last couple of months,
Reed Shepherd has played really well against those teams. So
it's not just like Reed Shepherd's taking advantage of the
bottom feeders. The fact that he's able to get you
these wins against upper rachel on teams not the thunder,
not just yet, but the fact that he's doing it
against maybe the second and third best teams in the NBA.
You can certainly make the argument based on the standings
(06:42):
to date and the strength of the Western Conference, there's
something to celebrate there. I think it's safe to say
that Reed Shepherd and to a lesser extent, Jabari Smith Junior,
those are your ceiling guys. You know, losing Steven Adams
really hurts because we've talked about and Stephen, we knew
the other night that was not going to be a
grade one ankles frame like we had seen recently with
Tarry Easton all for in shongoons seven to ten days. No,
(07:04):
when he couldn't put weight on it, it was pretty
clearly going to be more severe as he may acknowledge.
And so you're talking weeks to months or talking about
a grade three and Steven Adams, the data shows you
he's your floor guy defensively, but really across the board.
He gives you, in his twenty five minutes or so
per night, a very high floor for as a team
what you're able to do. There's more volatility with the
(07:25):
guys like Reid and Jabari, but when they hit, Jabari
always brings the defense and the connectivity. But when he's
able to score fifteen plus points, their record is elite
because he's already providing value in other areas. And then
when he hits big shots the way he did tonight,
when he makes threes and spaces the floor, he's a
really valuable player. And read there's so much volatility. You know,
(07:46):
if it's a tough night for him, and he's not
playing well enough defensively to stay on the floor, then
obviously there's not a ton of value. But nights like
tonight he looks like next gen Steph Curry and without
your floor guy and Steven Adams, to me, the Rockets
have no trap to lean more into your upside guys,
your ceiling guys. To me, the ceiling guys are Reed
Shepherd and Jabari Smith Junior. I don't think it's a
(08:07):
coincidence that when the Rockets have been at their best
this season in November and October, when they went thirteen
and four, that was when Reid was phenomenal. He dipped
the last month and so did the Rockets as a team.
Now rebounces back and what do you know, so do
the Rockets. To me, you know reads just twenty one
years old, he's just hear two, but he is the
variable for this team. That's my take.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Yeah, and I'll touch on Steven Adams briefly before I
get to read. I think, you know it's obviously with
the grade three you mentioned Ben as just such a
tough loss. You know, the double bigs lineup what he
provides just from a strictly offensive rebounding standpoint, if you
want to have a positive in the first game, y're
without him. I don't know of a lot of teams
(08:49):
you're gonna have to deal with that they're going to
provide more size. I mean, nobody has a Wimby, But
I just mean from the sheer standpoint of if you
want a blueprint on how to win a game without,
you know, minus the fourth quarter comeback, without having Steven
Adams out there, just point to the first game you
had to deal without him being out.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
There for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
If you ever have any doubts about being able to
do it, it's not gonna always go this way. And
you had to have, as been mentioned, several heroes tonight.
But at least you've beaten this Spurs team without him,
and I think that's an accomplishment in and of itself.
But going back to Reid, I know the offense is
going to get all love. How many insanely timely defensive
plays did he make during that run? And it seemed
(09:30):
to me and maybe this is just you know, me
misremembering or kind of looking back on this game that
just ended a few minutes ago, a little bit too fondly,
but it felt like a lot of those plays would
come after he would miss on the other end offensively,
he would come right back down and he would create
a steal.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
He got a block shot.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
At one point on Chimpenney is just insane plays. I
said this on the air, I've said it a couple
of times on the actual broadcast, and I've said it
on our show. And I feel as dirty as you
might imagine, not in any way, shape or form, saying
he's in the echelon of a guy like this, but
he does things that remind me of John Stockton. And
(10:08):
it's not because he's short, and it's not because he's white.
It's because he gets his nose in there and makes
these heady plays that hate him as much as we
all did and do still to this day. John Stockton did.
Those are important, you know, gain winning and just winning
in general, plays that I think Reid does at times
even when his shot isn't falling, and that's what can
(10:29):
make him redeemable. But I know we're also in the
same breath talking about a guy who I have heard
tens of people say, yeah, he gets hunted on the
defensive end. So He's kind of Jekyll and Hide to me.
I'm just glad we got the good version tonight on
both ends.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah. Absolutely, And you know it's funny you look at
this tonight the Spurs go eleven of twenty five from
three in the first half, three of twenty five from
three in the second half. I don't want to say
they got lucky in the second half, because they got
very unlucky in the first half. There's the truth is
somewhere in the middle of the Spurs not shot well
from three lately. So I'm not gonna say they got
lucky there. But you know, on what Adam was talking
(11:06):
about with Steven Adams, I am very concerned about this
being you know, I think this could be months and
tonight you look at it. But you know the Rockets,
you know where they beat you is they just kill
you on the boards. They get so many more shot attempts. Tonight,
the Spurs took one hundred and five shots to the
Rockets eighty three. The Rockets had a had a maybe
ten twelve free throw advantage, but that doesn't make up
(11:28):
for that kind of gap. They lost the rebounding battle
fifty seven to fifty five. They lost the turnover battle
fourteen to nine. That the difference in three point shots
was was massive.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
But you know, their.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Defense was hung in there and they were solid consistently
tonight as far as making shots, and they just it
was just like the tortoise in the hair. They just
kept plugging along and once the spurs started to go
cold from three, that was the difference. But loved we
saw from Reed as far as Jabari, you know Read
and Jabari, the guys who have been the most criticized lately.
Jabari hit two clutch shots down the stretch that were huge,
(12:01):
a corner free and then I think he pulled up
from about seventeen feet just beyond the free throw line
for a big shot. Shanngoon hit a really big shot
driving on Cornett. The replay looked a little suspect with
the offensive foul, but still that you know, we'll take it.
And this is just a huge win. I mean, they
really needed this because I think there's going to be
some games here where Adams' presence or lack of presence
(12:23):
is going to be felt.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, I think specifically against the Sixers and the Pistons
later this week. I mean those are physical front lines
where you wish you had Steven Adams. And this is
not meant to be a shot at Clint Cappella, who
I think played pretty well tonight in his twelve minutes.
But I think you know, some of the immediate reaction
to the Steven Adams injury news missed the mark. You
(12:46):
don't sign Clint Capella for this purpose. You signed Clint Capella,
who's now in his second decade in the NBA, for
purposes of load managing Steven Adams throughout the year if
he needs, you know, half of a back to back off,
if he needs to take a week off here or there,
like when he had the minor ankle spray in a
couple of weeks ago. You don't sign Clint Cappella expecting
(13:07):
him to be great value Steven Adams for two or
three months. Now. That's not to say that Clint isn't valuable.
Any minutes you can soak up over you know, two
hundred and forty per game over the five positions each place,
forty eight minutes, that's all valuable. But Capella is not,
especially in the high leverage minutes. The solution I think
(13:28):
to match the upside of what Steven Adams gives you
and that high floor, that high degree of competence, you
have to air on the side of variance like I
don't think you can. You can that frequently, especially against
good teams up for what's basically a lesser version of
Steven Adams and think that this team is going to
have enough to win. Like this team is good, it's
(13:49):
not that good. It's not like a transcendent team from
a talent perspective. So I think, what's the ultimate end
outcome for ima Udoka With this team. You're going to
have to shoot more threes, and maybe it's a blessing
in disguise. You know, we talked in the Thunder game
about them getting out math and and part of that
was because, well, when you have Shingoon, Steven Adams and
the men Thompson, you're inherently not gonna shoot a lot
(14:09):
of threes. Well, now if you have to play read
Shepherd more and you have to play Jabari at the five,
and when you played Jabari at the five, then Tari
and DFS toy came back tonight from his ankle's brain
and looked pretty good. In my opinion, I'll be in
limited minutes, you have to play them more on the wing,
and then inherently you have to trust Read more at
the point, and so all of these guys shoot more
threes and so to me in the grand scheme, that's
(14:30):
how the Rockets are going to have to try and
overcome this. And there's gonna be some gays where it
looks bad because if the threes aren't going and you
don't have the presence of Steven Adams, it's gonna hurt.
But on the flip side, when the threes go in
as they did in the second half tonight, you can
be really, really good. Is it going to be enough
for you to be the two seed in the West?
I don't know. I'm skeptical. I do think that the
(14:51):
absence of Steven will be felt, but I think that's
the way you should be looking at this clip. Cappella
is still a valuable piece, but he's a valuable piece
to soak up minutes. In terms of actually replacing the
upside of Steven Adams. It's about Jabari, it's about Read,
it's about your shooters. Tonight it paid off. I don't
know how frequently it's going to but I guess coming
(15:12):
off two weeks where they were like the worst shooting
team in NBA history. They were due for one of these, right, Yeah,
there's some sort.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Of happy medium in between what they were doing at
the beginning of the year, which was really weird. They
were leading or they are up near the top of
the league in three point accuracy, and they were taking
like five a game. Not really, but it just wasn't
a lot. So it was the ultimate efficiency, I guess,
to where they were during that stretch you just mentioned
in the last two weeks, and Jabario was a big
part of that, kind of like a struggle within a struggle.
(15:42):
This is going to be where things get fascinating for me,
especially if you're afel Stone, because you mentioned, you know,
maybe he we've seen, you know, rumblings that they've they're
trying to talk to half the league, and you're in
a weird spot because you don't want to make it.
You didn't want to make a trade before Steven Adams
went down just for the sake of making a trade.
And I was never I always felt and this is
(16:05):
not any sort of inside knowledge whatsoever. I have next
to zero relationship from that standpoint with rafel Stone. It's
like a hello when I see him in the hallway.
It's nothing, but it's not at all like Daryl Morey.
But I never I kind of always got the impression
that maybe their way of thinking was, you know, we're
not punting on year one of Kevin Durant, but we're
(16:26):
not gonna move Fred van Vliet, who is really the
only contract that can get you a big name back
for money purposes. We're not gonna do that just because
he got hurt. So it's almost like they feel like, Okay,
we're gonna go with what we've got and hope for
the best case scenario, which is that maybe Fred can
come back like he's talked about, which is like late March,
(16:48):
early April, and just hope for the best. Does it
sound sexy, But that's kind of the card they were
dealt or the hand they were dealt, and so I've
always kind of thought that might be their way of thinking.
I'm just curious to see if with Steven Adams going down,
because again, this is a major rotational player, you're gonna
be with that with for months, maybe if that changes
(17:10):
their way of thinking or you know, what the future
holds from that standpoint, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I mean they only had six offensive rebounds tonight, Shangun
had thirteen rebounds, which is great, one hundred percent of
those defensive and and what Adams does is he comes
in and just creates those extra possessions. I think, you know,
this is a slightly different topic, but we thought this
before even the game tonight, and in some sort of
way that doesn't really make sense. I think this is
(17:34):
going to open up time for Read not having Adams,
because I think you've kind of lose that superpower and
now you're like, well, we gotta we gotta live with
some of those read mistakes. And because, like you said, Ben,
the chance of him going off and having some you know,
big games is there. So I think that's what we'll
see as sort of a counter to that. We hope
we see some more switching lineups in some matchups, you know,
(17:56):
maybe Jabari at the five, certainly Capella playing, but you're
gonna it's just a I thought it was a really
bad news when it came down, you know, the grade
three strain the spring, because I mean, hopefully he's back
this year, but that's not even that's not even certain
that he's you know, back even for the playoffs. I
think two months takes you. I think it was put
it out there today. That'll be eight games left in
(18:17):
the regular season if he comes back, like sixty days
from now. So hopefully he's back, But I think that's
what they're going to try to do to keep this
thing together while he's out. Is hope that Reid gives
you that sort of potential for huge games and then
you know, patch it up with Capella some and some
with the small ball five lineups.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Although maybe and this is admittedly me searching for a
silver lining, you have no choice, at least with the
way the team is currently constructed. Now maybe something changes
by the trade ub line, but the way they're currently constructed,
I don't think you have much choice but to give
more wraps, more shot attempts to the younger guys, the
developmental guys like you have no choice in a game
like tonight, but to let Reid and Jabbari sink or swim,
(18:59):
and tonight, boy did they ever swim? And so over
the next couple of months, I do think that the
odds are better than fifty to fifty unless he unless
he has surgery, and this is more than even a
typical grade three. You're looking at three months from when
Stevens suffered the injury in mid January to when the
(19:19):
playoffs started mid April. So I would say, well, not
a gibbet. I think it's better than fifty to fifty
that he's able to return this season, especially with medical
technology the way that it is, and so there's a
case to be made. I'm not saying for sure will
work out this way, but maybe, you know, in the
short term, you get a bump in your confidence from
your young guys who have you have no choice but
(19:40):
to play and to trust now that you lose the
stabilizing veteran force of Steven Adams, And so maybe the
second half of the year. You know, we talked in
the first half of the year. Clearly aman Thompson, the
last twenty games was better than the first twenty, and
he was very good tonight as well. Maybe Reid and
Jabbari take bumps. With Reid, it's sort of mixed because
he was very good the first twenty nine so much
the second twenty. But maybe in the aggregate the last
(20:03):
half of the season is better for Reid and Jabbari
than it was the first half, and then by the
time Stephen comes back, and Steven's a guy, he's gonna
do what he does at thirty two years old with
his experience, Steven's not going to change his style of play.
He is what he is. It's more the players around him.
And so maybe if you get Stephen back, you get
the benefits of Stephen Adams when he plays, which are immense,
(20:25):
but you have a more confident version of the young
guys around him. Not saying for sure that's gonna happen,
and even if it does happen, like there's definitely gonna
be some games that you lose along the way when
you look and say, wow, we probably would have won
this game with Steven Adams. Okay, that's fair. But as
we've said plenty of times, David, I'm curious your thoughts
on this, Adam. To me, this is a team where
with a thirty seven year old Kevin Durant, this isn't
(20:46):
like last season where you're just trying to get to
the playoffs and or I should say last season, you know,
get the best seeds you can and maximize every win
over the regular season where they got that two seed
last year, locked it up with more than a week
left to play. To me, this year's Rockets team, and
by the way, they're not that far off. They're only
a game back in the lost column of the Spurs
(21:07):
and the Nuggets, who right now are basically tied to
the two seeds, so it's all on the table. But
for me, Adam, this is a Rockets team where even
if they win fifty games instead of say fifty six
or fifty seven, and you look at the regular season
and say, wow, there's a lot of stuff they left
on the table, a lot of games they lost because
guys were hurt, YadA, YadA. If they get to mid
April and they're healthy and they have a thirty seven
year old Kevin Durant, the games are most faced out.
(21:29):
You get Steven Adams back, you have Fred ben Fleet
maybe back in the limited capacity. To me, this is
the kind of team that where all that matters is
the playoffs, as long as you get there, as long
as you have a chance. Then health and being in
your peak form in April, that's what matters now as
opposed to last year. Last year was a team where
because you were limited, you needed to maximize every last margin.
(21:52):
This year, maybe it's not that way. Maybe you just
get to the playoffs, and maybe this is all for
the best in at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
You know, Wex and I talk about that a lot,
and we keep comparing last year to this year, because
you know, it was the first time they participated in
the postseason again, and it just the Western Conference mirrors
last season so much this year in that speaking to
your way of thinking, you didn't go get Kevin Durant
to be the two seed on January twentieth, You got
(22:20):
Kevin Durant to combat wherever you're at on April fifteenth.
Because I don't think the Rockets honestly care about their seeding,
and nor should they, And I don't think any team
not named Oklahoma City and they certainly don't care because
they're going to be the one seed in all likelihood.
I think every Western Conference would be playoff team should
(22:42):
approach it that way, because it's so you're talking about
a two seed and a three seed being separated by
a game, probably more so this year than even last year,
and so it's ultimately going to come down to, all, right, well,
what team do you match up against the best? And
that's always the case in the postseason, but it just
feels like there's usually been a little bit more separation
between the Seeds on any given season. I really think
(23:05):
we're like on a collision course to a carbon copy
of last year, where you're talking about five different teams
being separated by like a half game or something like that,
and tiebreakers and all that kind of stuff is factored in.
Just like Ben said, be the healthiest version of yourself
when April comes around, and be playing your best basketball
regardless of who's available when April comes around, and then
(23:27):
let the chips fall, knowing that in all likelihood you're
probably going to be starting next year even more healthy
than whatever. You go into this postseason looking like, yeah,
I just want.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
To make sure we mentioned the stars or we're going
to get some stands jumping down our throats. Kevin Durant
tonight seven or twelve, eighteen points, seven assists, four boards,
was basically relentlessly doubled and all kinds of pressure placed
on Kevin Durant tonight. Shanngoon won assist shy of a
triple double, twenty points, thirteen boards, not assists, and as
mentioned earlier, did have that big shot late. I don't know,
(23:59):
maybe thirty four forty seconds left put the Rockets up
by four, and the men Thompson, as you mentioned, Ben
sixteen points, ten boards, six assists. I thought he had
that one. A drive that he had down the middle,
the driving kick, which is what we've been wanting to
see from a man. He kicked it to read in
the corner, hit that huge three. I thought that was great,
not just for Reid hitting the three, but the men,
(24:19):
you know, driving that as well. We can close with
just sort of this. Rockets have a now they go
on the road. They finished the four game homestand I
believe three and one going off a memory here, and
they now play the Sixers and the Pistons in back
to back. That's a that's a tough combo, I think
for the Rockets, especially the Pistons, as physical as they are.
Without you're not gonna have Steven Adams. They can throw
(24:41):
a lot of good defenders Jalen Duran and Isaiah Stewart
or physical defenders. I should say at Shangun, what are
you guys expecting as week as the Rockets head to
this road trip.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
By the way, one other quick thing to close on
the stand WITHYTS tonight, the Timberwolves lost in Utah, so
the Rockets are up to the fourth seed and the
Lakers are down double digits in Denver. So the Rockets
are getting some separation from from the Timberwolves and the Lakers.
And they're only a game back in the lost column
of the Spurs and the Nuggets. So this thing is
(25:14):
getting this ship is getting righted.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
The schedule is about to get more difficult, to your point,
and the Spurs are coming back in about a week
for a rematch in Toyota Sitter, So you certainly shouldn't
victory laugh, especially without Steven Adams. But the schedule is
getting much more friendly. So relative to a week or
so ago, this is a pretty fun time to be
a Rocket span when you say, Adam.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Yeah, And I'll tell you, even though the schedule is
getting tougher, you put in your time on the road.
I know they're going back on the road, but a
lot of these games they are going to be against
some of these teams that are contenders or you know,
some of the other strong teams in the West, or
just in the NBA overall, a lot of are going
to be in Toyota Center as opposed to going there.
So even if you are shorthanded, I don't think that
(25:56):
is overrated at all. I think that's something that especially
if you're This has been like the weirdest start to
the year I've ever seen for the Rockets. They've lived
on the road and then they'll come home for some
random one game one off, and then they're back out
on the road again. Dead grinds on you. I know,
they're in you know, five and six star hotels and
(26:17):
Matt Thomas is racking up the points and all that
kind of stuff, and they're on chartered flights. But that's
it's just something about being at home and being in
your own bed and all that kind of stuff that
I really do think home cooking is real, especially in
the NBA. And if you're gonna start talking about, you know,
players being missing from your rotation, well you need all
the advantages that you can get on your side of things.
So let's see what they do. And like you mentioned, Ben,
(26:41):
let's see how ema Udoka adjusts on the fly with
his rotations now that he's been dealt this latest hand.
That's another fascinating aspect of the rest of this season
that I want to keep an eye on.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
And one other thing I meant to mention with the standings,
the Warriors are getting blasted right now by the Raptors
eighty six to fifty nine midway through the third, so
that's gonna drop them to twenty five and twenty. They
lost Jimmy Butler last night to a torn acl To me,
the Warriors are the one team that aren't in the
top six that before the Butler injury, I could say
(27:14):
there's a world where they could track down someone in
that top six. Now I feel like barring like a
catastrophic injury. The top six in the West is pretty set.
Like I'm sorry, the Suns are a feel good story.
I do not see any world where the Phoenix Suns
catch one of the top six teams in the West.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
I just what about the Clippers, though, do you? I
mean they're starting to commustions all.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
They have twenty four losses, though the most losses in
the top six are the Timberwolves at the Timberwolves and
the Lakers with sixteen blazel not too Lasers are the
team that I like.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Man, you talk about a free throw merchant, if he's
gonna get that whistle, They're gonna be a problem.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah, no, absolutely, And then that's and it's a team
that's playing really, really well. Obviously they're not lost to
them twice, but it's you know, a great point by
Adam as well. I want to see this team does
do on the road. They lost to the Kings twice.
They obviously got lost to the Blazers twice, Pelicans Clippers.
Like I said, although the Clippers and Blazers are definitely
hot lately, it's been on the road where they've had
(28:12):
some games that have looked ugly. So especially when to
see Jabari perform well there, it's great to see Jabari
break out of this slump and start to play better.
I thought he was really good tonight. But I want
to see this on the road. And these are two
big matchups as far as East teams, they're strong teams,
especially the Pistons. The Pistons have given the Rockets issues
for a little while now, so I'll be curious to
(28:33):
see how they match up against each other. Anything you
guys want to say before we close up. Huge win
by the Rockets tonight.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, yeah, go ahead, Adam, I'll tee you up for
one more wimby rant because I know that's what you're
known for, and I just I can't help but reflect, Like,
after all that's been talked about the first half of
this year, the split between half, the Spurs already passed
the Rockets, YadA, YadA. The Spurs now are thirty and
fourteen and the Rockets are twenty six and fifteen. There's
(29:00):
a one game gap in the lost column. And Wemby,
as you mentioned, Dave, he was what five of twenty
one tonight, is that right?
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah? Five of twenty one.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
You know what's rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
So Wemby obviously, you know, got in. You know, he
threw his shade at the Rockets on Draft lottery night,
and he's had his you know, ethical hoops statements of
late being a statesman for the league despite the fact
that not only as you know, he not won championship yet,
he hasn't even been in the playoffs yet. I mean,
we're talking about them being the two seed halfway through
(29:30):
a season. You know, he's talking about the ethical hoops
comments and somewhat the contacts of Oaklham City Thunder because
that's who they were playing at the time. I mean,
the Thunder just won the championship and shaves the b MVP.
And that's the frustration with Wemby. It's like, you can
say all that stuff and that's fine, but until you've
actually won at the highest level, it's going to rub
some people the wrong way. And in the case of
(29:51):
the Rockets, when you factor in the backstory of the
twenty three draft lottery, of course people in Houston are better.
I guess that's that's what frustrates me about the whole
Wemby narrative, and especially with the first fans. They'll say, oh,
you know, why did Houston fans care so much? Why
are they so bitter? Yeah, we're better. Like the victory
laps have been NonStop since he was drafted. He's you know,
(30:11):
thumbed his nose at the Rockets multiple times, and that's
certainly his right, but it's like, if you're gonna be
the heel, then when the Rockets beat the Spurs and
Wimby in a big game, then hell yeah, we're gonna
have fun with it and we're gonna rub his nose
at it. That's how it works. That's how fandom works,
and so that's my frustration. You know, Wemby can be
whatever he wants to be. I had no problem with that.
(30:33):
I love, you know, heels and sports. I love what
Carlos Korey has been this decade for the Astros, except
for the three years that he was gone. But you know, Wemby,
I have no problem with him speaking his mind. But
it's like, especially if he's gonna do that before he's
won a title and then the Rockets won a big
game like this, I mean, the fan base has every
every right to be a little bitter and.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Rub it in his space right well, and don't forget
they he did not play well in this game. And
I think if you listen to you know, Sir Richardson
asked alprinshung Gun directly after the game, how are you
guys able to kind of contain him? And he said,
point blank, we were physical with him. And I do
wonder if I were there tonight and I was in
(31:12):
the Spurs locked room and I was able to ask
Wemby some questions. The first thing I would ask him
is if he thinks he played down to his competition tonight,
because that's another thing I don't want to hear Kai
saying I'm guessing he didn't have that quote tonight.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I'm just guessing, but it is true. That's how you
slow him down. I mean, I've felt like Dylan Brooks
was the Wemby stopper if anyone's gonna be. He was
so good at giving just getting up under Wembying and
causing so much problems for him. They threw they started
out with a kogie tonight, moved a bunch of different
defenders on him and really shut him down.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
One more thing that to Dave, But no, no, you
gotta imagine a Rocket Spurs game where they don't turn
the ball over fifteen plus times. And they actually they
were shooting well tonight, but they couldn't hit anything in
that first game. It felt like Spurs were hitting everything
in the first half and the Rockets kept turning.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
The ball over.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
And they were even doing that as they were trying
to make their comeback. They couldn't quite get over of
the hump, and I was like, this's gonna be one
of those games where they run out of gas just
making the comeback. The credit to them for making the
plays down the stretch. I'd like to see both teams
play a clean game next week on Wednesday, and then
let's see what happens then.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Yeah, this rivalry is all the way back. Man, I
love it. That's great. So good to have you, Adam. Honestly,
I love it, man, I just like it's just honestly,
just it's great. Everybody knows Adam Clanton for sure, but
the A team with Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler. You
can watch listen to it from two to six on
Sports Talk seven ninety and also sim willcast on Space
(32:38):
City Home Network from three to six. Great to have
you Adam Ben as always as well, and we will
be back Thursday when it's Rockets sixers. So appreciate everybody
for tuning in and we will see you guys then.
Thanks everybody, Thanks guys,
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