Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Your Houston Rockets win last night, double digit victory over
the Memphis Grizzlies. And for more on that, let's go
out of the phone line to talk to our friend
from cron dot com, Michael Shapiro.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Michael, let's just get this out of the way. It
was a ten point win.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
A win's a win after what happened against Minnesota, after
being down by plus twenty against Chicago and finding a
way to come on back and still losing in that
one because Colin' scept Sexton Drought's twenty five off the bench.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
You'll take a win. But it was a sloppy win.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I mean, if you were giving this a grede, it's
like probably a sea performance. And it doesn't change my
opinion on where the Rockets stand going into the month
of April.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Right No, I don't think beating Memphis in the spring
really means much of anything right now. I will say
for the Rockets, I think it's a mood stabilizer if anything,
and I think the next couple of weeks will be
a nice palette cleanser. The Rockets have a pretty easy
schedule down the stretch. They might end with maybe the
rockiest fifty win season in franchise history. But when you
(00:55):
look to what this is going to be in the postseason,
especially with no Fred Vanvliet, with no Stevid Adams, it's
still a pretty flawed group. And the Rockets he had
such high expectations. It's still looking like round one and
out or maybe round two and out. And the Minnesota
game really kind of crystallized that.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
For a lot of people to the Minnesota game, let
me ask you what went wrong there? Because if you're
up by thirteen, and I've talked to some people around
and they've said that it felt like that very early
on they were just playing locks of days ago, and
that's when Dalta VII Vincenzo started to get a little
bit of a rhythm going. And then by the time
they got their act together, too little, too late, and
that led to the biggest comeback in overtime history. But
(01:33):
in myce hand, this has been the norm of the
Rockets on multiple occasions where you feel like all you
have to do is just hit the nail in the
coffin and end.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
It right there.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
But it's like a toddler playing with its food, like
eventually they're gonna get the job done, but it's gonna
take forty five minutes when it should take three.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
We've seen this kind of persistent late game issue for
the Rockets over and over this season. It's anytime Kevin
Durant sees pressure, he's double teamed near mid core late
in the game, the Rockets are really a turnover machine.
I think part of that is on Kevin Durant for
not being, you know, the excellent playmaker. He is one
of the greatest scorers of all time, but he is
not a true point guard. I think a lot of
(02:12):
that is on Alpa and shng Gun and the men
Thompson not making perfect plays in the pocket and space.
But again, I hate to keep coming back to this,
think so much of the Rockets struggles come down to
not having Fred van Vlee on the floor. He was
their point guard. He is a stabilizer. If the Rockets
had him right now, Kevin Durant would get doubled, get
it to Fred van Zlee, and the machine would start
(02:32):
for easy bucket after easy bucket. Instead, right now, they're freezing.
They're mentally melting down whenever Durant, you know, is doubled.
And that's the persistent problem that is not going to
be fixed, I think.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I mean, the turnovers have been an issue, and even
last night, you know you have fourteen turnovers where three
of them two of which were inside the paint by KD.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It feels inexcusable.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
It's not the only reason why you're struggling, but it
feels inexcusable, and in my opinion, the thing that worries
me the most for any playoffs series getting out of
the first round. Doesn't matter who you face off against
the ill advised turnovers because the players are playing out
of position.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Right Let's kind of talk about what we expect that
playoff matchup to be right now. The Rockets, they're not
firmly entrenched in the number six seed, but that is
very likely. The Los Angeles Lakers are the very likely
three seed. I mean, is that something you are excited
about as a Rockets fan? I think you would rather
probably play them obviously Oklahoma City, obviously San Antonio. It's
(03:28):
not a terrible draw, but I think after seeing those
two games where the Lakers really whoop the Rockets at
Toyota Center, it's not even a matchup Houston fans really
want right now, and I think that's pretty fair.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
He's Michael Shapirero to get to check out his work
at cron dot com. Okay, let's go to the game
that we saw on Thursday night at Toyota Center when
the Rockets weren't here, but the other team in Houston
was really bad offensive performance in the first half by
both sides. Kingston Fleming gets the shot off and surprisingly,
you know, you're only down by two to an Aliani.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Team that wins be size into physicality.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
They also win by having methodical, long standing drives. They
missed some shots, and you think that, okay, only down
by two, Kingston Fleming is starting to get in a
little bit of a rhythm. We come out in the
second half strong. Houston has a chance to move on
and play against Iowa for a trip to Indianapolis.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
And then the same things.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
That we saw against top ten teams like Arizona, top
ten teams like Iowa State and Kansas were on display,
long standing droughts of offensive inconsistencies. The other team starts
to gain a rhythm. Calvin Sampson calls a timeout six
minutes to out a point and it starts feels like
the beginning of the end. What wrong in your opinion,
to start things off against Illinois in the round of
sixteam for Houston.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
It feels like it was the same problem that the
Kops would run into a lot this year is they
had one real creator in Kingston Flemings. I think Bulos
Susan and Emmanuel Sharp are more shooter than there's not
true playmakers. Kingston I think is a fantastic college player.
I think will be a very good pro, but he
just had so much pressure on him from the Illinois defense.
(04:59):
Houston and have the prop spacers, the proper playmakers. In
previous years they could kind of dump the ball down
to easy buckets. They couldn't do that this year. There
was just no real easy offense in Kingston Plumbings, I
thought played a valiant game. Again, I think he's gonna
be a good, good pro, but it just was too
much on his shoulders against the team that also in
Illinois was starting to heat up with multiple scorers and playmakers,
(05:20):
and they just kind of smuther Houston from there.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Let me get your opinion on this, because I was
very adamant going into the week that after what Houston
did and how great they looked offensively against Idaho, and
Texas A and M. I get it, Tigheadaho in Texas
A and M. But the fact that we saw that version,
you know, if this is the one that we get
against Illinois, they're going to be in a first place
standing spot towards the final four, and I think so
much that they can go play in the National Championship.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I also dumped down and said that Illinois.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I think is the one team that will present the
most problems for any team left in the in the bracket,
and they're gonna be in the National Championship if they win.
When when you look at that Illinois team and what
they have but basically a the Olympic roster field of
under eighteen players on the squadron Champagne for Eastern europea
for the Eastern European side, do you walk away and say, Okay,
(06:09):
we just witnessed what should be a team that's playing
in the National Championship.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I think Illinois very well might be a National Championship
representative that might be a throwback to two thousand and five.
Shout out Luther Head, shout out Dee Brown and Darren Williams. Right,
it's a pretty cool roster right now, with Illinois, they
got Mirkovich, Souayakovich, and of course Keaton Wagler who hit
a few big shots. They face Iowa later this evening
afternoon at Toyota Center. I think they're going to handle
(06:35):
Iowa pretty well, just personally, by the way, bennett'stur is
the hell of a player, but kind of like Houston,
he's kind of a one man band. Seeing that up close,
and I think we're going to have the same situation
happens tonight. So yeah, I pencil Illinois into the final four,
and if they played Duker Yukon, they will only be
a very slight underdog, and I would say they would
be a trendy upset pick. So shout out to any
(06:56):
Alaini fans here in Houston. I think they might have
some fun tonight.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
I think they're going to beat the brace of of Iowa.
I mean not listen and by the way, to two
drastically different games. I mean, you got two guys from
the Midwest, all shooting threes, and you got eighty four
points in the first half combined, and then you have
forty four points for Houston and Illinois, where one team
had forty six points going into the half. He's microsophere
from crowd dot com. All right, let me get your
thoughts on this Houston going into this offseason. You can't
(07:21):
ever rule them out because, let's just call it as is.
You still have Calvin Samson, but you are losing Milo Susan,
You're losing Emanuel Sharp. Kingston Flemings is going to end
up being a lottery pick. So the veteranship is gone
and the one key playmaker is gone. The transfer portal
(07:42):
was a beauty because of you're going to be able
to bring in talent. But do you feel like that
the window of the Calvin Samson era where it was
expected to be national title contenders at Fortea Center, that's
slightly closing war going into NEX going into the twenty
twice seventh season.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
I think that's a great question. It's the first thing
I kind of asked and my call him at the
buzzer on cron dot com. If not now, when for
Calvin Sampson And I don't mean this year specifically, but
I think last year when they made the National championship,
had a halftime lead and loss, plus this year was
kind of a perfect two year window for him to
deliver at UH Now you lose basically three key guards
(08:22):
right in Uzan, Kingston Flubings and Emmanuel Sharp. That's basically
their entire playmaking load. One thing that's been a little contested.
I think Chris Sinak Junior will go to the NBA.
I think he should go to the NBA in turn pro.
There's been some kind of conversation about him coming back.
He said he will still have to make his decision,
talk to his family. My guess is he could be
(08:43):
a lottery pick or kind of a team or early
twenty sick and he's going to be a pretty good
pro in my estimation. So that's four big players, and
that's the four leading scorers for the Coubes that'll be leaving.
As he said, Sampson's going to have a good program.
But I don't think Houston, at least in my initial read,
should be considered as much of a wagon next year
compared to the last two seasons.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I get you out of.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Here on this.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
What are you looking for?
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Not tomorrow out in the Big Easy when the Rockets
play against the Pelicans, because let's be real.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
They should win that game.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
They'll should and could are completely different words and that's
why that they don't mean the exact same thing. But
I'll say, should they come on home they close of
the month of March against the New York Knicks. The
Knicks one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.
What are you looking for in the return of Toyota
Center on Tuesday night?
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah, I want to see the Rockets defend Jalen Brunson
and Karl Anthony Towns. When you have Reed Shepherd and
Alprin Sengun on the four together right now, it's kind
of a defensive disaster for the Rockets. It's something they
need to solve in the Western Conference playoffs. And guess what,
this is a nice preview with an elite point guard,
an elite center. It's a tough matter for the Rockets.
That's going to be a close game. So yeah, Sunday,
(09:47):
let them beat the break off the Pelicans, but tune
and Tuesday that Nicks game is a good barometer for
the Rockets.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Okay, all lied to here. I have one more question.
My bracket is completely busted. I don't know who to
ride with for the rest of the season. So you
tell me right now, who's one of the national Championship
in two weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Let's have some fun and say, Illinois, I think they
have multiple playmakers. Maybe I just saw them up close,
but I just like Keith Waggler and all the itches
take me to the Balkans, as Raft said. So let's
go Lin and I why not?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
I know what I'm on. I'm bound it.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I think if they're playing in the National Championship, I
think they're gonna beat Yukon. So prom solved by the
way Yukon is beating Duchmar Can you agree with me
on that one?
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I will say Illinois will beat the winner of that game.
How about that?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
You're a terrible person.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Michael Shapiro joining us on Sports Talk seven ninety Shapiro,
give him a follow cron dot com. He does great
work over there, coming all of the greater Houston sports. Shapiro,
you're the best. Man.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Appreciate you, Thank you, Cole.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Appreciate you, man.