A Wexy Good Time Without Clanton, Rockets Rumble Set To Begin

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam, raised.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
By Earl.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Nolan, multed by the magnificent roller coaster ride.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
That is Houston Sports.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Chill lage down for the only homegrown afternoon team is
talking your teams? Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the
A Team eighty.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
It's Friday afternoon here on Sports Talk seven ninety. We
have you here on the A Team we today a
little bit different than usual. Adam has the well the
weekend off. He's off today and he's off again on Monday.
So by the time we hear from him again, we'll
be prepping for Game two of the Rockets Warriors series,
which won't come until Wednesday night. Game one, of course,

(01:00):
Sunday night, we will know how the Astros fared this
weekend against the best team in baseball, the San Diego Padres.
First of those three evening games comes your way tonight
here on Sports Talk seven to ninety. They play again
the usual early evening Saturday night, Tomorrow night, and the
Sunday night game coming up a little bit earlier tip

(01:21):
off than your Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. So
a lot of downtown activity for the Astros this weekend
and specifically Sunday night, with the playoffs beginning for them.
The rest of the NBA Playoffs first round we'll all
tip off before the Rockets do four games tomorrow. Three
other games tip off before Houston and Golden State do
on the last game of the night Sunday night. And

(01:44):
there's also the all important last game of the season
tonight for the Memphis Grizzlies or the Dallas Mavericks. The
winners season continues for four or five, six, maybe even
seven more games when they take on the Oklahoma City
Thunder and their series, also like Houston's, begins on Sunday,
but the last of the play in games to determine

(02:06):
the number eight seed in the West and in the East.
With the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks taking care
of their business on the Eastern Conference side, they obviously
will get Cleveland. That series clearly also does not start tomorrow.
It starts on Sunday. We have our usual suspects over
a Friday here on the eighteen. That means a five
o'clock visit from Chandler Rome from the ballpark talking Astros

(02:28):
and padres, and a four o'clock in studio visit for
a yet to be determined amount of time, but to
several segments, maybe an hour or two with Chancellor Johnson,
formerly of KPRC Channel two Sports. Looking forward to having
him sit in for a host of the time we
have with you this afternoon, and we will take it
to the Bay Area next segment. Bonte Hill of ninety

(02:52):
five to seven The Fan covers the Golden State Warriors
in a number of different ways, co hosts at times
their morning show like he did today when I joined
them on their program, and also handles a lot of
the Warriors' work pre and post on the TV side.
They're in the Bay Area, so looking forward to the
conversation with him, and that is just about ten minutes away,
but it feels like it's almost arrived. You and me

(03:17):
won't be doing a whole lot of talking together in
a form like this the next two days, but we're
still well over forty eight hours away.

Speaker 4 (03:25):
From tip off. Between these two teams.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
There's a ton of history that the fans absolutely should
have deep buried in their hearts that have been broken
by the Warriors before. Absolutely and positively it should matter
to Houston fans. It should matter to a lot of
people in the organization because it's an organization full of
long time, dedicated employees of the franchise.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
The basketball side, it's definitely a little bit different.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
They had a different GM at the time, though Rafelstone
was obviously a part of the management team at that
point in time, and they have a new coach and
an entirely new coaching staff. They have a whole lot
of new players, as most NBA teams do. Since the
last time they played at home in the postseason, not

(04:13):
only was it twenty nineteen, but it was against the
Golden State Warriors, the last of the four meetings between
those two teams from twenty fifteen through twenty nineteens postseason,
and yes, all four of those series went the same
way went to Golden State. Rockets probably had the better
team once they pushed them to a series that certainly
should have gone seven games, only went six. On another occasion,

(04:35):
seen them in the Western Conference Finals, where they were
five wins away from winning an NBA championship, and the
NBA Championship was an absolute lock for whomever won the
Western Conference that year.

Speaker 4 (04:47):
It happened to be the Warriors.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Had the Rockets been able to beat them the Chris
Paul sixty five win season in either Game six or
Game seven. Yes, without debate, no matter who's a homer
for the others of it or the player on the
other side of it, and there are plenty of national
homers for that particular four time NBA champion. Not to
get another, they would have wiped the floor with that

(05:09):
team again, barring injury, which obviously impacted the series a
great deal. But the players are all, of course, they're
different here, Kevon Looney, Draymond Green, Steph Curry, Steve Kerr.
Not only did they were they Warriors at the time,
they were on the court for the last game between
these two franchises in the postseason in twenty nineteen, and

(05:33):
they will all play significant roles in this series coming up.
I was mentioning it earlier today, the way the Rockets handled,
and I do mean handled, Steph Curry in the last
meeting between these two teams back on the sixth of
this month, a Jimmy Butler era beat down of the
Golden State Warriors. The Rockets had a pre Jimmy Butler
beat down off the Warriors, also by a point during

(05:56):
this season, but that game, in particular, the Rockets not
yet clinched the number two seed, it obviously meant a
lot to them. They didn't know who they were going
to face in the postseason, nor did they care, nor
should they care. And I'm excited that the Rockets followed
along with my advice for them like they needed it.
They shouldn't have cared, nor should they care now that

(06:18):
it is Golden State. They played Golden State in a
way I almost wished even then. I certainly wished it
now as they're facing them for four or five or
six or seven games in succession, maybe they could have
pulled back on the let's stifle Steph Curry with amend Jalen,

(06:41):
Dylan Tari and everybody blitzing him every chance they got
with double teams, getting the ball out of his hands,
not allowing him to get the ball in his hands,
and allowing him to only take ten shots and not
have repeated trips to the free throw line. He scored
three points, he made one shot, He scored no points
at the free throw line, like the formula for this

(07:02):
particular team only. And if the Golden State Warriors play
somebody else in the postseason with a victory over the
Rockets in an advance to the second round. That team
will not be able to defend Steph Curry the way
the Rockets did that day. I don't even know if
the Rockets can defend Steph Curry this series the way
that day. But I feel pretty confident saying no game

(07:23):
in this series, barring injury, will he score only three points,
will he make only one shot? Would have been nice,
in hindsight to save that performance for the postseason. Maybe
get that one game where he's going to be that
far off or that handled and manhandled would also be
a proper way to describe it. I think the manner
in which this series gets officiated will go a long

(07:46):
way into determining who advances. Free Throws are a big
deal when you shoot them well. Free throws are a
big deal when you shoot them poorly. And that's who's
in this series the second best free throw shooting team,
or I'd say it this way, the best free throw
shooting team since February eighth, the first day Jimmy Butler
put on a Golden State Warriors uniform among the sixteen

(08:07):
or technically eighteen nineteen twenty still playoff teams, the best
one is Golden State. Last two months of the season,
since he put on a uniform, nobody shot him better.
Nobody took more than they did either among these playoff
teams and eighty two percent free throw shooting team. And
I think you know the other end of the spectrum,
the Rockets were the worst. They also, I guess by

(08:31):
design or accidentally, they shot a whole lot less of them.
Remember at the beginning of the season, when the Rockets
were among the worst free throw shooting teams in the league,
and they were among the most frequent free throw shooters
in the NBA, they were top five in attempts while
missing a ton of them. Well, their attempts are way
way down over the final two months of the season.
I don't know if it's a lack of aggression or

(08:52):
a lack of calls where they played it differently or happenstance,
But if they these teams go to the free throw
line with the frequency that they did over the final
two months of the season, that's probably a five to
eight point gap on the scoreboard. Just if these teams
hit their averages average attempts average makes that's a huge discrepancy.

(09:16):
Like to think the Rockets can shoot a little bit
better than seventy percent, but don't have any evidence that
suggests they will. Jalen Green probably hits the free throw
line quite a bit, though he didn't a ton during
their five game season series. Alprinshngoon will and that's somebody
who needs to shoot well over seventy percent, but a
season percentage says.

Speaker 4 (09:33):
He probably is not looked at to do.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
So we'll see how that aspect of it plays out,
and the most fun aspect of this entire series will
be on display on the court. It's been talked about
for days with the Rockets, it was talked about for
days leading up to each of their first five matchups,
and obviously it was talked about during the Rockets franchises
four matchups with the Golden State Warriors in fifteen, sixteen,

(09:59):
eighteen nineteen in those postseasons. How do you handle the
antics of Draymond Green? And nobody in the NBA disputes
that word being accurate. Of course it's accurate. I think
they do lose sight of two things, and they both
relate to this series a great deal. Those two things

(10:19):
regarding Draymond Green and this series for the Rockets. I'll
put those in the kitty for things we will need
to discuss later. Mens will talk Warriors, Rockets basketball with
our next guest, so we'll have all that for you.
We will still hit you at four o'clock, of course,
with the twenty fifth pick in the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select We are four guesses in.

(10:44):
We will get number five today. We will see a
repeat of a position for the first time in our
five days worth of this selections, if you want to
get specific about it, and obviously we will do it
four more times next week before Thursday evenings NFL Draft
gets underway. The Texans in line for pick twenty five
on Thursday night. They're in pick in line for three

(11:06):
additional picks on Friday night, one in the second, two
in the third, fifty eight in the second round. Seventy
nine and eighty nine come their way barring Nick Cassario
making a deal, which obviously he will uh and then,
of course the extremely important picks that he will trade
on Saturday. They have three of those, only three of
those currently in the final four rounds of the NFL Draft,

(11:29):
and a host of other things. Best of X comes
your way at two thirty and like I said, we
all a lot to get to, a lot to discuss. You're
welcome to join as you always are via social media
at Adam J. Wexler, at mister Cole Thompson, and of
course right there on the phone line seven one three
two one two five seven ninety Bonte Hill from Golden
State Area, from Warriorsville.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
He will join us next here on the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
The AED on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (11:58):
California Brox will be there soon enough. We'll see if
they make one trip out there, two trips out there,
or future trips out there. Should they meet up with
any other teams from California later this postseason. But first
things first, for the fifth time the Houston Rockets and
the Golden State Warriors get together in the postseason begins

(12:20):
on Sunday night. To that end, Bonte Hill from ninety
five to seven to the fan and NBC Sports Bay
Area joins us here on the A team had a
chance to talk with you this morning on your program,
So have an idea of where things are coming from.
We want to share all that with our listeners, and
I really appreciate you joining me here. This is a

(12:41):
series that I figured at some point was going to
happen again if the Golden State Warriors maintained their excellence
and pulled off what honestly was one of the best
trades at the deadline. At what point after Jimmy Butler's
arrival did you realize the basically five hundred basketball team
that the Warriors were before he got there would turn
into a legitimate Western Conference threat.

Speaker 5 (13:04):
Thanks for having me on your program, and you did
such a great job on ours. Hopefully I can match
it there and beat that standard. But look, it took
a while because they were playing a bunch of teams
awayers full strength. They had beat the New York Thinks
Aboudison Square Garden. There was no Carlin Didnty Towns. They
beat the Nicks on the Saturday night at Ome. There
was no Jayalen Brunton. They were playing a bunch of

(13:25):
teams that were shorthanded. But you couldn't deny the form
of the team and the balance that Jimmy Butler gave
this team on a nightly basis. And then all of
a sudden, the Warriors, who were dead last at free
throw percentage and dead last at free throw tips. All
of a sudden skyrocketed was Jimmy Butler arrived and now
their third at free throw tips since he's been on
board with the Warriors. And then the form again, the

(13:47):
ballance of the offense to you saw steffand Curry droffice
some fifty six point games and fifty two point games,
and it was undeniable how different this team looked in
Layton games where you knew that Jimmy Butler, if you
want to play isolation battle, the Warriors haven't really been
able to do since Kevin Durant left. All of a sudden,
you become an ISO team, which is not bad in
print SIN situations, and you've got a guy who knows

(14:08):
how to get to the flicto line. So I would
say it took about ten to fifteen games and realize that,
oh snap, maybe they are a threat in the Western Conference.
Maybe they can into the top six, or at least
you know, I know they didn't avoid the play A situation,
but at at least they were able to host the
game in a play A situation. But I would say
it took about ten to fifteen games. Didn't know that,
Oh yes, Jimmy Butler isn't a backpole player, can't take

(14:30):
this team to the next level.

Speaker 3 (14:32):
And I'll remind our listeners, but I think they know
this from listening to us throughout these last several weeks.
I called the Warriors a threat because I believe every
team is a threat. I think The's thunder obviously much
better than everybody else. But we'll see what the matchups dictate.
But two through eight, when we figure out who eight is,
they're all threats, especially if it's not the Mavericks. But anyway,
what about the Steph Curry effect? We say Jimmy this

(14:54):
and Jimmy that, and I noticed it very very quickly.
Steph Curry was thirty first in the NBA in scoring
prior to Jimmy's arrival, and when the Rockets and Warriors
met on April sixth, he was fourth in the NBA
in scoring during the time that they had played together.
His life, unless we're talking about the April sixth game,
but for two months, his life was made so much easier.

(15:15):
How much more life did that give him, maybe personally
and emotionally as he's later in his career, and then
about for the team's sake, hope that he can turn
in some of the previous editions of Steph's postseason performances.

Speaker 5 (15:29):
There's no doubt that Steph Curry was reinvigorated with the
trade and the Wearers had to do something. Now I
know Jimmy Butler wasn't the first option they went. They
had a full court press on Kevin Durant to try
to bring him back from the Valley and the Sun.
Kevin Durant wanted no parts to coming back here, which
is understandable considering how some of the things ended here
once Jimmy Butler arrived. And even the first game was

(15:50):
a little clunky because the winners were down twenty four
points in the Chicago Bulls in stip Curry needed to
go nuclear in a third quarter to win that game.
But there's no doubt now step outside of that Rockets
game back on eight for six, where he's seeing less
double teams and he's seeing less blitches because of the
three of Jimmy Butler and his playmaking the ability able
to get a like look at Brenda Patiski, for example,

(16:12):
Crendon Pagiskin in his last thirty four games is shooting
forty one percent from three hed He just had a
hot streak over the last two weeks where he was
shooting fifty percent from three. So now all of a sudden,
you got these guys hit he open shots, and it's like, well,
we can't really leave Steph like that. So there's no
doubt that we won our season awards. On the Warriors
three Game Show, we gave out our season awards and
we basically said Jimmy and Stephford co MVPs. Because before Jimmy,

(16:35):
obviously the lawyers were in timph place. I mean, when
Jimmy arrived steps at a thirteen to thirty five game
against the LA Lakers, he had a thirteen or excuse me,
a twelve to thirty one game against the low league
Jutaw Jazz. His efficiency went out the window. He was
shooting in the thirties low thirties from the three point line.
So Jimmy Butler arrived in obviously giving the Warriors an
next of playmaker, next to score, a legit threat who

(16:58):
could be an alpha dog on the other team in
this league. Yes, it's made life easier for Second Curry
and around here you never hear about his bilateral be
Tod nightas the Pelvit contusion shirt kept him out of
a game or two, but his numbers are through the RUSS.
Jimmy Butler's right, He's around twenty nine to thirty in game.
He's back in the forty for the three point line.
He's back in the high forties from the field. So

(17:21):
Jimmy Butler definitely being that second playmaker, that second super
superstar to being that dynamic duo has made life a
lot easier for second Curry. Jimmy Butler, who did in
this series knowing that Onman Thompson and Dylan Brooks will
be all over Steph and Dell blitz him at half court.
That's where Jimmy Butler comes into play because Jimmy Butler
knows what to do with the basketball once it's in

(17:41):
his hands, playing off for Steph Curry double team.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
Bonte Hill ninety five to seven, the fan contributor in
pre and post game host for NBC Sports A Bay Area. Now,
let's not dismiss the April sixth game. What's the discussion
been like since that day since a team was able
to do that? And I've said many times it's not
like there a formula for slowing down Steph Curry that
other teams can now follow because they don't have the

(18:05):
Rockets personnel. It's a formula of the Rockets can attempt again.
I don't think any other team has the personnel to
even attempt that and maybe be as successful. What was
the talk internally with the team and amongst the media
about how the Rockets were at least able to execute
it as well as they did for one night.

Speaker 5 (18:21):
Well, I think they were able to get the lawyers'
attention because I believe the Rockets had just beatn Oklahoma
City in their previous game before playing the Warriors. So
I remember previewing that game saying, Wow, they beat Oklahoma
City and beat them up pretty good. And we kept
waiting for the Rockets at Dame the West conquer something
I mentioned to you earlier, and they just wouldn't say.
And they ended up winning fifteen to seventeen for in

(18:42):
one stretch. And so we already understood the physicality the Rockets.
We've seen that all season long. These teams have played
five times, and I know the Lawyers had held the
Rockets and when they are one hundred points and three
straight meetings, which you think about the meetings after the
first one where the Warriors outlasted the Rockets and overtime
they had a thirty point league. I think the Rockets
discover something with their small ball lineup. The Rockets has

(19:03):
slowed the pace so much where they dictated tempo against
the Doves. And you look at the numbers throughout the
season against the Rockets, the Wars average one hundred three
points a game. That is low for them, one hundred
three points a game against the Rockets. So people understand
out here that it's going to be physical how their
officials call it, or they allow some of the physicality
to happen, which I think they will, which have no

(19:25):
problem with that. And they saw Aman Thompson in that
third quarter back on April six, when he basically took
over the game without scoring. Is defending ninety four feet
away from the hoop pressing Stephan Curry doubling I remember
played before the end of the third quarter where he
basically sat down positive and basically didn't allow him to
get a shot up before the end of the quarter.
Maybe just stared at him, gonna say, wow, this guy

(19:47):
is unbelievable. Then you mentioned Javardes Sevan Tigia coming out
that bench. Who I think could play the small ball
five in a small ball lineup in Shangoon doesn't have
it rolling. There's a healthy respect for these Rockets now.
When James Harden and Daryl Moury and Mike D'Antoni was
coming to town, there was no love. There is no respect.
We didn't like the way the Rockets played the threes

(20:07):
and freeze and no mid range jumpers. This Rockets team,
I think Warrior fans are standing. I think the Warriors,
the sales are understand that, Okay, these guys aren't pumps.
They're not gonna They're not going to be intimidated. They're
gonna come at you.

Speaker 6 (20:18):
Now.

Speaker 5 (20:20):
The Rockets may not be able to shoot worth the damn.
That's what they hurt them in this series, their inability
to put the ball in the basket consistently. However, we
understand that they can get out and run. They crash
the offensive glass. It ain't got athletes. Gazelle's Harry Easton,
I don't have to tell you he washed them all
season along. So there is a healthy respect for this

(20:40):
group of Rockets here. And for Cu Dunker. We know
he's not no punk and we just saw him a
couple of years ago with the Boston Celtics leave them
from an NBA finals, So he's a hell of a coach.
This is a good team. We all know about Dylan Brooks,
so Lawyer fans aren't put on notice.

Speaker 7 (20:54):
Now.

Speaker 5 (20:54):
A lot of us are preging the Warriors in six.
Obviously we gotta beat Homers or whatnot, but there is
a respect with the decent because of their athleticism, and
they are lanked. That could really take away a lot
of the acts into Warriors, like the run.

Speaker 3 (21:05):
Which of the other Warriors do you think the other
team the Rockets should be most concerned with first playoff game?

Speaker 5 (21:11):
Ever?

Speaker 3 (21:12):
For BP, there's Buddy Heel, There's Jonathan kuminga who against
other teams like the Grizzlies the other night, was not
a factor, not a player against the Rockets. It's been
a very different story. Or anybody else that you think
Gary Payton the third who could be a much bigger
factor than maybe we or Rockets fans are anticipating.

Speaker 5 (21:31):
Well, I think Rockets fans should have this mindset. Anybody
but Steph and let's just play Tim New one on
one to not go up for the punk Go Live.
Jimmy Butler has ten three throw attempts in the two
meetings that he had against the Rockets this years, and
we're going to say Warriors, Jimmy Butler had eighteen three
through attempts alone to Zanetigus and Memphis Grizzlies. So that's

(21:52):
number one. So I fear anybody else. I don't think
you should per se because of what you just mentioned. Granted,
Kotiski has never been in his position before. Moses Moody
hasn't gotten consistent into the playoffs before this, so this
is kind of new for him. As he's see in
thirty minutes as a starter, and with the starting five
with Moody Pods and then Big three with Draymond staffon Butler,

(22:14):
they're seventeen to three. But I'm not sure that the
Rocket stanshion fear anybody else.

Speaker 6 (22:19):
Now.

Speaker 5 (22:20):
The Warriors, who have a good bench, the benches average
over forty four points a game this season, but right
now the benches influx because jan the Dominga's not playing.
Each received two straight DMPs. And we're talking about a
guy who averages sixteen points per game. It's one of
the stranger things out here. See if gos gone with
his rotation and JK is not in it some I'm
sure we'll discuss in the second, But I'm not sure

(22:40):
there's another guy rocket stan shiond fear. If Jerrymond Green
beating from the three point line, so be it. If
Garry Painting the second beating from the three point line,
so be it. If Buddy Hills who's been inconsistent all
season long and only played twelve minutes against the Grizzies,
so be it. I think it's the Rockets. It has
to be anybody with Steph and let's try to play
Jimmy straight up as much as possible so we don't

(23:03):
have to double off some of these other guys where
they do gain confidence. But I'm not sure there's another
player Rockets fanship here on this Warriors roster.

Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yeah, definitely phrasing it that way, I would absolutely agree
there's no fear in any of those things happening. It's
a terrible three point shooter like Draymond Green makes them. Well,
those are the shots you want them to be taking
on their offensive possessions. Well, you're like me, Bonte, you
got a lot of colleagues working on the radio side
and the TV side, where any of them brave enough
Monte or Carris or anybody say yeah, I've got the

(23:31):
Rockets winning this series.

Speaker 4 (23:32):
I predict a Warrior season ender.

Speaker 5 (23:36):
Not a chitch not in this series. Now, you'd be
surprised we were doing like all these potential matchups with
the Clippers and Lakers, and the Nuggets actually picked the
Flakers over the Warriors at seven picked the Clippers over
the Warriors of seven. I would not do this in
the season series. I think you know, a lot of
people won to the six days offer to go to
Saint Warriors. I just didn't want no parts of the

(23:56):
Lakers in their first round. I didn't think that was
a good notch up from them, especially early on the Rockets.
Knowing that, I look outside of Fred van Vliet and
Dylan Brooks and Jeff Greens, who I know I'm not
sure is going to play a lot of bit into
the series. There's not a lot of experience on the court.
This is new for a lot of those guys. So
I think this is a very advantage a series with
the Warriors that's going to be difficult because this Rocket team,

(24:18):
like you watch all the match ups.

Speaker 6 (24:19):
He's good.

Speaker 5 (24:20):
These kids have come down to the wire and they've
been in the low nineties or the low hundreds. It's
going to be a dogfight, and so the Warriors will
have to work cut off for them. And they're beat
up a little bit. With Steph with the right thumb,
I'm sure the Rockets are targeting that right thumb. That's
going to be a tap. Draymond Greens had a neck issue.
Jimmy Butler had a deep quantity or deep guy bruise
that I heard. If it was a regular season game,

(24:41):
he would have sat out. So where's he got health wise?
I do have the Warriors out last of the Rockets
and six there's gonna be some ugly games. Would I
be surprised at the Rockets the Warriors in the seven
game series. I'm be mildly surprised because of the shooting. Now,
you guys are twenty first and three point shooting and
they'll go percenters. But here's a deal. Yalen Green found
something in that last game. And without Andrew Wiggs being

(25:03):
that point of protect defender on Jalen Green, all to Sadden,
he can hunt Steph. You can hut brenda Pozemski and
try to get to a spot. So I do worry
about that with Jalen Green as he found a bit
of confidence back on eight L six against the Warriors,
because I believe in the first sporting games he is
shooting twenty five percent from the floor. It's full of grant.
I had a grand total of forty two points. So
he is an ax actorum for me. Jalen Green is

(25:25):
finding the sponsor and he's feeling good and he's in
the groove looked out for the Rockets. But I still
have the Warriors in six in a very entertaining series.

Speaker 3 (25:34):
Well, I'll be sure to shoot you a text in
advance of the second round series between the Timberwolves and Rockets,
should that happen. Looking forward to this series, looking forward
to y'all's coverage on your end in ours on this
side of it, and very much appreciate the time this afternoon,
bonte no.

Speaker 5 (25:49):
I appreciate you as well, man, thanks for coming on
this morning. You guys do a terrific job out there
with Datestown. It is fun. This is a fun series.
Then the young up and coming Rockets, who's not getting
a lot of respect nationwide. It's the Old Garden and
Golden State Warriors. This should be in great, great series,
and you guys got some suspecial with Amy Thompson. I'm
still in all what he was doing in that third
quarterback on April six.

Speaker 3 (26:09):
Looking forward to more of it, respect earned when victories
come along with it, and certainly we down here hope
that that is what is on the horizon.

Speaker 4 (26:16):
I will catch up with you again soon, hopefully.

Speaker 5 (26:18):
Absolutely.

Speaker 4 (26:19):
You got a Bota Hill joining us here on Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
You catch his work over there at ninety five seven
the Fan and over on NBC Sports Bay Area pre
and post coverage. On the TV side, we have best
of X here on the A team next.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (26:42):
Did you all see this?

Speaker 8 (26:43):
We should be putting out between five and him posts.

Speaker 9 (26:47):
Four hundred people were arrested for things that they said
on social media.

Speaker 8 (26:50):
History repeats itself type. Benuels succeed. Never doubt that you're
the one of us. We'll go one Bill, believe yo,
the best. Nothing's gonna have a top.

Speaker 4 (27:04):
You know you're the best posting every single day.

Speaker 3 (27:09):
You're the best of the breaking the entire internet. Best
of X here on Sports Talk seven ninety This is
the a team WEX and Cole here with you today.
Ac off today and Monday plenty for us to discuss.

(27:29):
This is our time to hat tip social media, and
in this instance, we're a day out from the actual
NBA playoffs beginning. It's the first of many, many, many,
many many many consecutive days of NBA basketball because there
are two games tonight, one team season one end and
the other team will get an eight seed against a
near record setting team in the East in Cleveland or in.

Speaker 4 (27:52):
The West in Oklahoma City. But then the playoffs begin.

Speaker 3 (27:55):
And with the playoffs underway, and with the recent several
weeks back reinstatement of one of our favorite parody accounts,
we turned there for the best of X at the
NBA Centel. There is a very popular aggregator site out there,
NBA Centrol, but some people still don't notice the difference.

(28:18):
And the playoffs are here, so they've been very, very busy.
I'm wondering did anybody really fall for any of these?
I think one of them absolutely positively got fallen for.
Here are some of the ones that I question whether
or not anybody did breaking news from the NBA, And
this was just mentioned a little over an hour and

(28:41):
a half ago by the NBA centel parody account breaking
news Anthony Edwards questionable for Game one against the Lakers
reason paternity appointment. And again they add a reputable reporter
to the story and intentionally misspell their handle at Chris
by Haynes. In this instance, I don't think anybody's going

(29:04):
to fall for a paternity appointment, putting Anthony Edwards on
the sideline. They did the same thing to see if
anybody thought the Rockets were catching a break in the
series with the Golden State Warriors when they posted something
regarding Draymond Green. This was yesterday, also a Chris by
Haynes report, fake report. The Golden State Warriors are working

(29:28):
with Pfizer to tranquilize Draymond Green and keep them calm
during practices amid playoffs, so a calmer, gentler Draymond Green
heads into the postseason against the Houston Rockets.

Speaker 4 (29:40):
Serenity now calm.

Speaker 3 (29:44):
As you heard in our last segment, I did go
on with Bonte and his co host on their Morning
Are broadcast this morning and they were commenting on Draymond
Green's on court antics with Steven Adams and they said.

Speaker 4 (29:58):
Hey, nutshot calling online too. Yeah, a couple of them,
but a tranquilized Draymond Green probably not going to do that.

Speaker 3 (30:06):
What type of tranquilizer, Well, I would think maybe the
kind that someone you'd hire for your kid's birthday party.
If you worked at Speaker City and invited the fraternity
over and Stiffler was running the petting zoo and needed
a trank gun, he just took one in the jugular, man,
something like that. Something I would think maybe that it worked. Man,

(30:32):
Frank got in some tough spots there, beat up by
the dean and got shot by a trank gun.

Speaker 4 (30:38):
He got divorced. Uh yeah, just keep on keeping on listen.
That was the entire premise. Just keep on keeping on.

Speaker 3 (30:46):
From Marissa, this is Frank Ricard. I just want to
see if he wanted to get some frozen yogurt. Yeah,
good stuff. The Rockets were not left out of the
NBA sentel parade. They he went to Jalen Green's Instagram
and doctored up his comments. You know, from time to time,
players will go to Instagram with rebuttals for everyone's talking

(31:09):
about what you did or this incident or this football play,
and you'll see the black screen with the message on it.
Very simple, handful of words, just not too much to it.
But I'm going to make this point and I'm going
to move on. It's all that needs to be said.
Their doctored post for Jalen Green as he preps for
his first ever postseasons, first ever NBA playoff game, says, again,

(31:34):
this is fake. Broke up with my girl deactivating for playoffs?

Speaker 4 (31:40):
Not true, not doing that.

Speaker 3 (31:42):
I mean, he may be a little further from social media,
but that's at his own discretion and he did not
state that, and he also did not there was no
breakup there. Now, this is the one I absolutely think
people probably did fall for, or at least went looking
around to see this camp be right. I cannot believe this.
There's no way this happened. This is unbelievable because photoshop

(32:06):
skills are excellent. And when people make predictions on upcoming
postseason series, the Rockets and Warriors in particular, the Warriors
are the seventh seed, but they are favored and actually
favored fairly heavily, and we were talking about it the
other day the ESPN eight that made their predictions on
the series. A host of these people are ancillary contributors

(32:27):
to their NBA coverage, a little bit further off the
beaten path, not the group of people you would normally
see on the Yellie shows sitting next to stephen A
Smith or the NBA Today program sitting next to Malika.
A few of them yes, but most of them no.
And the eight predictors, according to NBA Sentel Jamal Collier,

(32:48):
Rockets and seven, Andre Snellings, Chris Herring, Jorge Sedano, Dave
McManamon Ohm who covers them for ESPN, and Ramona Shelbourne
all agreed Rockets in seven. Wow, eight predictors. Only Bobby
Marks going with Warriors in seven. How is this possible?

(33:09):
They're all going for the underdog and they're all picking
against Curry and Steve and Draymond and Jimmy. Well, no,
because they basically just flipped it. Bobby Marks, for real
actually picked the Rockets to win this series and seven.
None of the others picked the Rockets to win this
series at all. So I think that among the fine,

(33:33):
fine work that they have done, was probably the only
one that actually cut some people's eyes and maybe meant
made them go scrambling for it. Actually probably got a
ESPN's site to their NBA site a couple more looksies,
because you had to say, this can't be right. There's
no way all these people picked them. Maybe I'm seeing
it incorrectly. Well, it's okay to pick the Rockets. That's
not what I'm saying at all, very much. Okay to

(33:54):
pick the Rockets. You heard me ask Bonte to give
his prediction and share those that many there in the
Bay Area have predicted, and nobody picked the Rockets. I
know somebody on their program this morning around ten am
Central time eight am Pacific time, maybe around eight fourteen
or ten fourteen here, I know someone who predicted the
Rockets to win that series.

Speaker 4 (34:15):
It was their producer, right, Uh, did you did I mention?
I was on their show around that time, did you. I.
We'll we'll get to that.

Speaker 3 (34:20):
I don't want to really go into that right here, Cole,
but we've got several hours to go. You guys can
be with us throughout. I'd love to hear from you
and your predictions on how not only someone advances, but
how we get to that advancement.

Speaker 4 (34:34):
Is this series that doesn't go very long?

Speaker 3 (34:35):
Is a series that has you back at Toyota Center
for a game seven seven one three, two one two,
five seven nine of your thoughts on that also.

Speaker 4 (34:44):
Didn't mention this earlier.

Speaker 3 (34:45):
We're going to hear from Ryan Hollinds, Rockets television analysts
for Space City Home Network. He joined Sports Talk seven
ninety earlier. So about forty five minutes from now, we'll
check in with Ryan Hollins. All still to come here
on the A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (35:15):
Eight team continues. Wex and Cole here with you this afternoon.

Speaker 3 (35:18):
A host of people set to join us over the
course of the rest of the afternoon, including Ryan Hollins,
Chancellor of Johnson and at Chandler Rome. Plenty more discussion
Rockets Warriors still to come, some more specific things within
the series that I think the Rockets would like to
see go their way, And obviously we also have not
heard a whole lot from the had an opportunity to
practice all week Houston Rockets, so we will sprinkle some

(35:41):
of that into the program as well. For a Van Vleecher,
Bari Smith Junior emi Udoka, among others, will hear from
over the next handful of hours. I haven't talked at
all about the other series. I joked with Bonte just
a few moments ago about the impending Rockets Timberwolves series.
I know it's it's normal to think, Ah, these one seeds,

(36:02):
two three, four seats, they're not gonna lose this year.
In the Western Conference, there's really no difference between the
teams unless you're talking about the Oklahoma City Series. The
teams two verse seven, three, verse six, four, verse five,
there's basically no difference and I would hardly call any
of them upsets. If the team that isn't favored to
win by Vegas won the series. And again saying it

(36:24):
like that, that means the Rockets as the two seed,
are underdogs if you were unaware. Eastern Conference, I'm not
surprised we haven't done a deep dive into their matchups.

Speaker 5 (36:35):
Well.

Speaker 3 (36:35):
I do think the Pacers Bucks is potentially a toss up.
When Damian Lillard returns, I think the Pacers are going
to win that series, and I think the Milwaukee Bucks
will continue questioning what were we thinking when they traded
for and get this four Damian Lillard because they made
sure they would never win a championship again unless they
got a lot better players. They had Drew Holliday, they

(36:58):
had a championship caliber team, they decided to play less defense,
and this is what happens. So don't like the constructor
of their team and will continue to wonder does Giannis
see that too, and what he may be change course
and say maybe Milwaukee for my entire career is not
where it's at. The two seed Boston Celtics, I won't

(37:20):
be picking against them at all in the Eastern Conference,
no matter who they're playing, who they're playing in the
first round, which obviously came to pass with Tuesday Night's result.
I don't think there's too much concern that they'll have
any trouble with Orlando. I also don't think the Boston
Celtics are going to play the same way they did
in the regular season.

Speaker 4 (37:37):
Unless they're already up by fifteen.

Speaker 3 (37:39):
They're not going to jack up fifty to fifty five
sixty three pointers just because that's what they wanted to do.
I really think they just wanted to see what happened
during this regular season. They used the entire eighty two
game regular season as a little bit of a test,
as a little bit of a fake to what other
teams are going to see when they get to the postseason.
They won with essentially a very different style a year ago,
with basically the same ross. All they wanted to do

(38:01):
was get to the postseason healthy and then stay healthy
through the postseason.

Speaker 4 (38:04):
They played it that way.

Speaker 3 (38:06):
I think that's a very potent team, and there could
be a game or two where they shoot a billion threes,
but that means they probably went in. I shouldn't have
any concern until they get to the games against the
Cleveland Cavaliers. Cavs obviously are going to take care of
business with whomever advances in tonight's game between the Trey
Young led Atlanta Hawks and the Tyler hero led Miami Heat.

(38:30):
That leaves the fun series the one fun series. In
the Eastern Conference opening round, JB. Bickerstaff's Pistons against Tom
Thibodeau's Knicks two former Rockets assistants, both of whom have
had multiple opportunities as head coaches elsewhere, and obviously JB
had an opportunity briefly for the remainder of his season,

(38:52):
seventy five games worth of it after he took over
for Kevin McHale as the head coach here in Houston.
I think one of the two of them is up
for head coach of the Year and JB. Bickerstaff and
the other one still probably does have the best player
in the series, maybe the best two players. And that's
where I think the decision on who's gonna win the
series lies between people trying to guess is the second

(39:15):
best player in the series Cad Cunningham. Well, if so,
I think those people probably are picking the Pistons to
upset the Knicks, even in a Rockets like road to
the playoffs. The Pistons were a fourteen win team last year.
This has happened faster than anybody could have expected. They
are a legitimate threat to win early in the postseason.
That's the Rockets. Rockets just happened to get it started

(39:38):
last year with a forty one win team and then
added eleven more to it this year and they're number two.
The Pistons are number six from No man's land a
year ago. But if the belief is Jalen Brunson's the
best and then Karl Anthony Towns is the next best player.
If anybody thinks that, then they're definitely picking the Knicks
to win the series. And I think the Knicks probably
will win the series if they stay healthy. I think

(40:00):
their depth is awful, and I think the Pistons have
been able to get something from enough players even in
the absence of what could have been a fairly significant
absence with Jay Nivey's injury. This team's just flat out good.
I think the Rockets knew that pretty early in the season.
They had a November meeting that produced the Jalen Green
Dunk of the Year, and they know what they're about that.

(40:22):
Not only did they advance to competitive status in a
similar fashion to the Rockets, they stand their ground like
nobody in the Eastern Conference. You do not push them around.
They definitely will push you around. There will be technicals,
there will be testy play, there will be chippiness. There
will probably be ejections in that series, and it kind

(40:42):
of played that way during their regular season meetings. That
actually will be a fun, I think competitive series to watch.
I don't think any of the poorly er seeded teams
always get confused come tournament time or NBA time the
higher seeded team when you say, higher seat.

Speaker 4 (41:00):
What does that mean?

Speaker 3 (41:01):
Does it mean the team with the bigger number six
is bigger than three, or does higher mean the better
team the team seeded third or second or fourth? It
means the one that literally gets a break at the
very beginning, the higher seeded team. What's the higher seeded
team the break at the very beginning of what? I'm confused?

Speaker 10 (41:17):
Okay, Oklahoma City is practicing tonight. Oh the break in
play tonight.

Speaker 3 (41:23):
Yeah, but the three seed and the sixth seed get
the same amount of break time, right, But who.

Speaker 4 (41:27):
Are they playing?

Speaker 10 (41:28):
Because everyone else knows who they're playing except for Oklahoma
City in Cleveland.

Speaker 3 (41:32):
Okay, So the higher seeded team is the team with
the lower number. Yes, and that goes for the NCAA
tournament too.

Speaker 4 (41:37):
Yeah. So when the five plays the twelve and loses,
the higher seeded team loss, the higher seed team loss.

Speaker 3 (41:44):
I mean, I'm not even kind of not even kidding
for those that, again, longtime listeners to me on this
program and every program I've been on for the last
thirty years, There's some things that I really never get
a handle on, and that is one of them.

Speaker 4 (41:58):
So that's why I may be said it that way.

Speaker 3 (42:00):
But the one seed, the two seed, the three seed,
and the four seed they are advancing in the Eastern Conference.
I would be very surprised if that's how it shook
out in the Western Conference.

Speaker 4 (42:09):
Did I pick your brain real fast?

Speaker 5 (42:11):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (42:11):
If there was any game that you thought could go
to a seven game series, is it gonna be New
York versus Detroiter or is it Milwaukee?

Speaker 3 (42:17):
It's probably the Milwaukee series, but it's dependent I think
on Lillard playing and playing well, which we believe is
now a real possibility.

Speaker 4 (42:27):
I don't know that the games will.

Speaker 3 (42:28):
I mean, the way Indiana plays, I think it probably
actually does make the games pretty entertaining.

Speaker 4 (42:32):
I do like their style of play.

Speaker 3 (42:34):
I hate playing against it because they got five different
guys that you say, ah, they're not going to hurt us,
that's not Tyrese Halibert. And then then they start hitting shots,
and I don't like that when it seems like you've
played your defense the way you would like.

Speaker 4 (42:45):
Three o'clock hour comes our way.

Speaker 3 (42:46):
Next, we'll begin with a little bit of a discussion
on the NFL Draft, and we also begin with our
simulcast on Space City Home.

Speaker 2 (42:55):
Network The AEED on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (43:04):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named at him talking your Team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eight team.

Speaker 3 (43:20):
Three o'clock here on Sports Talk seven ninety and now
the as simulcast on Space City Home Network. Great to
be with you, there and there. We's here with you today,
Ac on a weekend, Vak. We'll get the postseason started
without him, We'll get a Padres series in the books
without him, and we'll get that much closer to the
Houston Texans reoutfitting their team with young talent beginning next

(43:43):
Thursday for the draft. Three game series with the Padres
commences tonight. All three games are evening at Tilts. The
Astros will hope that Ryan Gusto's second major league start
a little bit lengthier. Not trying to be too harsh,
because I don't think his last start was bad, but
four innings and four runs is not good. Thinking through
the ball pretty well, They're hoping for a little bit more.

(44:05):
They will see elite pitching, I believe, at least in
the next two games, with Dylan Cees throwing Sunday and
Michael King throwing Saturday. You might argue that Hart their
pitcher tonight, Kyle Hart is a lot better than you
would think when you glance at his er, which is
five point forty through three starts. Well, when you get
less than an innings worth of work in in one

(44:27):
of those starts, it can throw things off. When each
of your other two starts, we're outstanding. And the left
hander was great in both of those two. I said
the left hander because somewhat sadly and miraculously, the Astros
spent to the majority of the season not seeing any
left handed starting pitching, and then in the span of
a week they've seen a pair of them, and now
we'll see another.

Speaker 4 (44:48):
They didn't win either of.

Speaker 3 (44:49):
The two games started by a left handed pitcher I
lost to Tyler Anderson are on their last homestand with
the Angels lost to Stephen Mattz on this recently completed
trip to Saint Louis, and now they will see heart
tonight with Gusto on the mound. Hayden Wizenski will also
throw in this series, trying to continue to build on
some really, really, really good work out of that fifth

(45:11):
starter spot. And it won't be said often, I hope
this year, but it's time for a bounce back start
for from ber Valdez. He has the ball on Sunday night.
His bloated ra is indicative of the way he has
pitched this year. Two very good starts, two very bad starts,
and thus the era not in a very good place.

(45:32):
I say all that knowing full well, probably doesn't matter
unless the offense is a whole lot better than they
have been, and this is not a particularly good weekend
to make that happen. We'll see if a minute mate
Park is good to Houston, to see if jan and
Diaz at home continues to be a thing because they
are home. I hope it's not a thing when they're
on the road again. But this is a very good
Padres team. They've played nineteen times, they've been beaten only

(45:54):
four times. They're fifteen and four as they head into
play tonight. One other note for you long time Astros fans.
Game number nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety eight tonight
in their Major League history. For the Astros, that means
game ten thousand as a team comes Sunday night, just

(46:14):
a little indicator on how long they've been around. They
have one player on the team who will likely be
a two thousand games played with the Astros player that
is jose Al Tuvey won't get there this year probably
he is definitely, I should say it's one hundred and
seventy one games away.

Speaker 4 (46:33):
They don't have that many.

Speaker 3 (46:34):
Games left or in any regular season, but should get
there early next year, obviously well behind Craig Bigio played
almost three thousand games here and similarly Jeff bagwell sits
at number two at twenty one fifty.

Speaker 4 (46:46):
Get into some more Rockets conversation.

Speaker 3 (46:48):
Like I said, we'll sprinkle in some sound from Fred
van Vliet coming up in the next segment. Wanted to
slide into at least a little bit of thought about
what others believe the Texans could be doing. Interesting that
Nick Cassario on Wednesday talked about mock drafts almost in
the same way we do here on the show. Everybody's

(47:09):
got a mock draft, and some you pay attention to
more than really the teams hold their own mock drafts.
They literally some teams will have their personnel staff go
through a mock draft and make the selections and go
through some of the thought process, guessing and using some
of the intel that they have on what this team
might do with the third pick, the seventh pick, and

(47:31):
in their case, the twentieth and twenty fourth pick in
advance of twenty five.

Speaker 4 (47:34):
They will literally do that.

Speaker 3 (47:36):
But he also said something I think people do know
by now, and it isn't odd they do pay attention
to it. The old we don't pay attention to what
the media has to say.

Speaker 4 (47:45):
That's just not the case.

Speaker 3 (47:46):
There are enough people in the media that are respected
inside football buildings that they do the same thing that
the NFL teams are doing, and sometimes they might have
a better handle on, a better ability to get that
information they believe in. They're not saying I analyze these
players and then I'm deciding who these teams are gonna take.
They're taking information from the teams, intel from the scouts,

(48:10):
intel from general managers, assistant general managers, player personnel directors,
and others inside the organization agents. Even what is the
thinking inside this building about this player that's probably gonna
be there for him at eight? Is that their top
of the board player? What does their board look like?
What aren't they looking at who's been taken off their board?

(48:32):
Not just I know the players and here's where I
think they will go. So I do think there's some
some belief in some people's mock drafts. I don't know
if this one is one of them, but I'll give
give Cole a chance here to see if he can
figure out where this particular mocker is going.

Speaker 4 (48:49):
And if we're talking mock drafts, then I know you
want to mock.

Speaker 10 (48:56):
Well.

Speaker 4 (48:56):
I'm so cool of my vest in a room full
of scouts, got the forty.

Speaker 2 (49:02):
If you're past hell Angel Gottison to wander leak.

Speaker 3 (49:21):
We will have our daily selection who the Texans will
draft at number twenty five coming up at four o'clock
straight up. We expect Chancellor Johnson to join us at
that point in studio, so he'll obviously get a chance.

Speaker 2 (49:33):
To weigh in.

Speaker 3 (49:34):
But the last several days have produced a handful of players.
Walter Nolan was one of them, and I will tell
you he is on the board in this particular NFL
dot Com seven round mock draft from Chad Raider on
the board at twenty five when the Texans select same four.
Luther Burden the third another player selected by the A

(49:56):
team specifically Cole as well. If he's on the board
at twenty five, I think there's a real good chance
the Texans would lean that direction. Tyler Booker We've not mentioned.
Also on the board at twenty five, the Alabama alignment
on the board if the Texans for the first time
and never they do it all the time drafted a

(50:18):
player from Alabama.

Speaker 4 (50:19):
Just a little joke there.

Speaker 3 (50:21):
Nick and Monllorie, the safety who the Texans clearly do
not need, still on the board at pick number twenty five.
I note all these things because I'm rather surprised in
all of those cases saying all that and giving you
no other information on this particular mock draft. Who do

(50:41):
you think is placed to go to the Texans at
pick twenty five? When I read you part of the
blurb to describe their decision making, and it reads as follows,
signing Cam Robinson stabilize the left tackle spot after the
Texans traded started Laramie Tunsel to the Commanders. Still, Robinson's
deal is only for one year, and he struggled to

(51:02):
stay on the field at times. And with the twenty
fifth pick, Chad says the Texans will take who.

Speaker 10 (51:10):
I believe that he is mentioning Josh Simmons out of
Ohio State.

Speaker 3 (51:16):
So I didn't put a link on the rundown because
I didn't want you to look at it in advance,
but you probably did anyway. I didn't actually Josh Simmons
the pick. I already expected to see his name onographic
at four o'clock one day next week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
or Thursday.

Speaker 4 (51:35):
Is that accurate. I'll spoil it for you. He is
one of the players we will be breaking down next week.
I thought that might be the case.

Speaker 3 (51:40):
Tell me why you would select him in this instance,
if you still would, if you had the information I
just gave you. Walter Nolan is on the board, and
Wan Warry is on the board. Tyler Booker is on
the board. Luther Burden the third is on the board.

Speaker 10 (51:54):
So again, take him in worri out who just would
be so much fun to watch actually need to be
a Ryant system. In the process, I was like, I
can't believe how good Well, obviously we and you knew
this all season long, if not sooner than that. I
never even imagined twenty five was even a possibility. But
there was some point during this whole evaluation where the
thought was, well, Eric Murray's not here, and it doesn't

(52:15):
even matter. You want to upgrade the position Jimmy Ward's
going into the last year of his deal and his
injury prone Jalen Peatree's coming off of an injury.

Speaker 3 (52:22):
You love what you got from Kaylen Bullock. Can you
imagine what this secondary would look like?

Speaker 4 (52:27):
I kid you not. Up until the CJ. Gardner Johnson trade,
I started.

Speaker 10 (52:31):
Mocking Nicky men worry in the big for the pick
I did, because it just makes so much sense the
way he plays.

Speaker 4 (52:37):
But you take him out.

Speaker 10 (52:38):
The reason why I can imagine it being Josh Simmons
number one. He's higher ranked on my board than the
players that you already named. That's why we're going in
this order. So Simmons where he ranks, that would be
the selection of where I have him. If the text
are picking at number twenty five, so we haven't named
him yet, so higher on my board. The other thing,
you talk to scouts, you talk to people in the industry,
You talk to those who really do the evaluations of

(53:00):
offensive lines, and they tell you, if not for the
Petella injury, which again major caveat, you're playing the risk
reward game here, he would have been potentially the first
offensive lineman taken. So you're getting him at twenty five
for exceptional value and Coryne. Everyone that I've spoken to
and according to people that I know in the business
have spoken to, it's gonna be ready for the start

(53:20):
training camp. Get him out to speed. The best part
is you don't have to start him right away, and
isn't the other part of this week.

Speaker 3 (53:26):
We try to emphasize this every time we do this,
especially watching Nick draft players coming off of injuries. Other
teams do it too, But he's done it a bunch
here in a couple of years. You're not necessarily drafting
him for year one, first eight nine game. You're drafting
them for their NFL career. If there's no concern that
the injury is something that's an impactful, long term injury,

(53:48):
it's just he's currently hurt, then I don't think it
precludes you from drafting him. It definitely doesn't preclude Nick
from doing it. He did it with Kenyon Green, he
did it with Derek Singley Jr. He did it with
John Metchi, and there's others. This injury, I don't believe
is one that makes you think this is not the
player that he could become again. And I don't want
to really do this to Kayln Bullock or Jalen Petree.

(54:10):
But my goodness, SEC corner, SEC safety, SEC safety SEC corner.
I mean, I know they're they're good in all, but man,
this would be some kind of defense. You'd be almost
almost all SEC on the back five and you could
probably swing it with some other moves.

Speaker 4 (54:27):
But you know that, Uh yeah, it does it just
it just means more.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
The reigning national champion SEC Florida Gators on the basketball side, Yep,
they won a national title in basketball.

Speaker 4 (54:41):
The SEC way to.

Speaker 2 (54:42):
Go the ag on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 11 (54:59):
You're right crossover step back Green hop right in front
of step Curry.

Speaker 4 (55:06):
What the crossover? Triple?

Speaker 11 (55:09):
Naughty six eighty six Houston, i'man Thompson bumped by heel
left side.

Speaker 2 (55:14):
Green three punter s wish. Rockets up by thirteen.

Speaker 4 (55:21):
Jalen Green went his third triple and nineteen for.

Speaker 3 (55:24):
The game from the last meeting April sixth, Rockets Warriors.
That was part of the ten consecutive Rockets points scored
over the three minute span by Jalen Green. A six
point game turned into a thirteen point advantage. They ultimately
won by ten, and it was the best short stretch

(55:44):
of basketball. Jalen played against the Golden State Warriors all season,
played five times. He was not very effective in the
first four games. He wasn't particularly effective in this fifth
game either offensively up until that point in time and
just about everything. What the Rockets w from a what
do we want to do that evening on the road
at Golden State, Well, they wanted to shut down Steph Curry.

Speaker 4 (56:06):
Mission accomplished. He scored three points. They led by one at.

Speaker 3 (56:11):
The half, doing what they wanted to do by design,
saying Brandon Pajemski, Buddy Heel, Gary Payton, the second they
can score, they can do whatever they want. They're not
gonna beat us. And they all three contributed in a
big way offensively. Jimmy Butler never really stepped forward like
he did Tuesday night against Memphis in this game I'm

(56:32):
talking about against the Rockets a couple Sunday nights ago,
And because of that and because of what they did
to Steph Curry, eventually the Rockets were able to pull away.
Remember Steph Curry scored zero points in the second half.
He had a late first half three and that was
the only shot he made the whole game. Each of
the other nine shots missed, each of his other seven
to three pointers missed, and he had a three point game.
He was averaging forty two points per game in the

(56:54):
month over three games, but it scored better than thirty
six points in each of us three games in April
at that point, I'm including a fifty two point game
against the team he just torched for a second time
this month, Memphis, and comparing the Rockets defense to the
Grizzlies defense is comical.

Speaker 4 (57:08):
They stink. The Rockets are elite.

Speaker 3 (57:10):
Nonetheless, maybe that stretch of good basketball for him was
a mental help, a mental assist into what they have coming,
and also recognition that I don't know if necessarily have
to crush it against the Warriors for my team to win.
The Rockets had already one of the other one one
of the other four meetings against the Warriors without him

(57:32):
having a great offensive game. He needs to make good
decisions if and when they blitz him, which they did
very little of in this particular game but have at
other times in this five game season series. Basically, when
he goes to get a screen from a teammate, that
secondary defender will just go with him. They'll double team him,
he'll be thirty thirty five feet from the basket, and

(57:53):
obviously he needs to give it up. That's fine because
then you're four on three and if the passes get
made from there, if he makes the right initial decision,
it almost always results in a very good shot for
the Rockets, just doesn't come from Jalen, which also is fine.
We've mentioned this a couple times with the group of
the Rockets brought to town at the beginning of last season,
playoff experience and championship experience in the person of Jeff

(58:16):
Green and Fred Van Vliet, playoff experience in the person
of Aaron Holliday, Jock Landale, and Dylan Brooks, and the
case of Brooks and Van Vliet, they've played this Warriors
team in the postseason. Most recently it was Dylan with
the Grizzlies, and a little less recently as Nate Title

(58:37):
series with the Raptors Fred van Vliet. If a Van
Vliet not only played them, but beat them, you'll hear
from Fred what he thinks about that as any kind
of factor in this series. But initially as he was
one of those players to join this team with emay
Udok in advance of the twenty three to twenty four
season and to go from a lottery top top top

(58:59):
lottery bound team to forty one and forty one to
fifty two and thirty and to the second seed in
this postseason. He was asked earlier this week, Fred was
if he could see this ascent to the top of
the Western Conference upon his arrival.

Speaker 12 (59:13):
I mean, you saw the talent, right, I mean, if
you look at the roster and pick up and you know,
training camp and see the talent that's on the floor.
But we were so far away, and then it's amazing
the ground that we covered in two years such a
short period of time. You forget, you know, the group
that we inherited, and you know, with the additions that
we made with the coaching staff and the vets and
kind of blended everybody together. But no, it was really

(59:35):
just for me as a player and trying to lead
the locker room one step at a time, build a foundation.
We're able to do that last year, and we built
on that this year and now you know, get some
experience when it matters the most. I'm excited, you know,
for our group to get out there.

Speaker 3 (59:48):
Rise to the k last line, of course, most important
is not about where they've gotten to today on April eighteenth.
It's about where they've gotten to when they have completed
playing the Golden State Warriors, because they don't beat them
four times, and they haven't gotten anywhere.

Speaker 4 (01:00:06):
And that's how they're approaching it.

Speaker 3 (01:00:08):
Getting to the playoffs, being in the top six, being
number two, that's not what they were after this year.
They were after reaching and winning in the playoffs. You
win a series in the opening round, there's only eight
teams left. You're one of the final eight teams if
you win one series. This is what I talk about

(01:00:29):
all the time with the Texans. The Texans the last
two years have won one game in the playoffs and
not being the number one seed. When you win one game,
there's only eight teams left and you're one of them,
that's a pretty good group to be in. That's pretty
to me. That is an accomplishment. We'll save a day
for when Ac is in here to see if he

(01:00:49):
believes that is an accomplishment. Once you've had those accomplishments,
repeating that is no longer an accomplishment. That's where the
Texans are. They won one playoff game two years ago
and then they repeated it last year.

Speaker 4 (01:01:02):
That was not an assent.

Speaker 3 (01:01:03):
That was a stabilization of a team that's not quite
good enough to compete to be the best in the AFC.
We'll find out a little bit more about the Rockets
as this first step. They can't take the second step
of winning in the playoffs unless you get to the playoffs.
They obviously are there. They have home court advantage, they
get to start all these new players and men Thompson,
Jabari Smith Junior, Tari Easton obviously, Jalen Green and Alpera

(01:01:25):
and Shengun. They're all playing in their first ever playoff game,
but they played games this season in multiple instances. Both
of their late play in tournament games beyond pool play,
I think had that kind of feeling to it. I
think the back to back games that we brought up earlier,
the April sixth game against Golden State and the game
prior to that against Oklahoma City, which the Rockets.

Speaker 4 (01:01:47):
Won handily, had that kind of feel to it.

Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
Not quite the field that we'll have Sunday night at
Toyota Center, but something nonetheless, what kind of prep work
has gone in here as opposed to maybe during the
season from Fred van Vliet.

Speaker 4 (01:01:59):
Not a whole lot of different, same thing we've been
preaching for the last couple of months.

Speaker 12 (01:02:02):
Attention to details, execution focus. Obviously, got to bring the
physicality from the start and get out there and you know,
just be who we are.

Speaker 4 (01:02:13):
That's the thing.

Speaker 3 (01:02:14):
I said it in other interviews and I've said it
here many times. They don't have to change who they are.
It'd be nice to shoot better than thirty one, thirty
two to thirty four percent from three. That's not changing
who they are. That's making more shots. They are the
physical team. They are the aggressors. They are the team
that's constantly an irritant to a degree that they have

(01:02:36):
skirmishes all the time. They're not going to have skirmishes
and dust ups and double technicals and extra whistles and
pulling guys apart because they're playing Golden State. They're going
to have them because they're playing because that's who they are.
And I don't expect that to change no matter who
the opponent is, no matter that it's the Warriors, no
matter that it's a team that has a player or

(01:02:59):
a couple players maybe that like to play that way
a Rocket's team plays that way, and nothing's changed over
the course of the year now to this particular matchup.
Fred was asked about the vantage point that the fans
might hold, and we talked about it here quite obviously
we've both been covering the team all throughout, not just
this era but many eras, but certainly this one that

(01:03:20):
has over the last ten years been to the playoffs
with a playoff championship caliber team and has running to
the Warriors and had their season end, and the fans
have been through that.

Speaker 4 (01:03:28):
And the same fans that we're.

Speaker 3 (01:03:29):
Going to Toyota Center then are going to be out
of Toyota Center on Sunday and Wednesday night and hopefully
for many more games over the postseason. The same ones
that break us off phone calls here on this show
and all of our shows, send us posts on the
X platform, hit us up on our Instagram, and talk
to us when we're over at Big City Wings and
everywhere else and in the streets and its celebrations wherever
we might be. The same ones then are going into

(01:03:51):
this series. Now for Fred, can he understand the position
there in Can he sympathize with the fans how they
feel heading into the series?

Speaker 12 (01:04:02):
No, this ain't that team, and that ain't that team.
So it's a different team. We're a different team. They're
a different team. It's a new year. With the acquisition
they made at the deadline. Obviously, they've been on the
heater and one of the best teams in the league
over the last few months. We understand that you respect
your opponent and you know you gotta go out there
and place them up.

Speaker 4 (01:04:25):
Can you sympathize with the fans here?

Speaker 13 (01:04:27):
No?

Speaker 4 (01:04:29):
No, I cannot. I love it.

Speaker 3 (01:04:31):
I love hearing that because it's true. It's a different team.
It might he knows what it means. He's not trying
to say otherwise. But to them, it's who they are,
and he also specifically said it's to who they are now.
The Rockets haven't changed a whole lot this year. They
did not make a move at the trade deadline. I
think you can see why they did not. They obviously

(01:04:51):
did add one component to this year's team that they
didn't have previously, and that's Steven Adams. He was on
the team post trade deadline last year but did not play,
and he also eased his way into things this year.
Now he's a fairly sizable portion of what they like
to do. He is in the rotation. They will play
double bigs at times in this series. It all matters.

(01:05:11):
But to the matchups they had with James Harden leading
the Rockets against the Warriors and its impact on this series, No,
there isn't any. Ryan Hollins from Space City Home Network
here on Space City Home Network and Sports Talk seven
to ninety joins us.

Speaker 2 (01:05:26):
Next the eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:05:36):
Eighteen continues.

Speaker 3 (01:05:37):
It is Friday here on the A team, So two
more days until the Rockets get started with the Warriors.
No more days until the Astros hit the field again.
They've got tonight their game against San Diego Padres. Jose
al Tuve back in his familiar left field spot, gets
you the rest of what it looks like Ryan Gusto's
first home start as we continue here on Sports Talk

(01:06:01):
seven ninety but wanted to continue with the discussion about
the Rockets and Warriors. Ryan Hollins, who you catch right
here on Space City Home Network as the analyst on
the TV side alongside Craig Ackerman and along with of
Vanessa Richardson occasionally with me as well on the hosting side.
But he joined the Matt Thomas Show earlier today to

(01:06:21):
discuss Rockets Warriors. If you missed any of that, you
can catch it in full at sports Talk seven ninety
dot com or via the iHeartRadio app via their podcast
iHeartRadio app. If you haven't updated it, you should because
with the update you can set your presets. Most importantly,
your number one preset can be sports Talk seven ninety.

(01:06:42):
Please please please make Sports Talk seven ninety your number
one preset. Makes it that much easier to listen to,
and you can catch interviews like that in full. A
part of it for you here, beginning with Ryan discussing
what this Warriors team that looks like that how they
finished the season. Essentially the team the Rockets will see
the Jimmy Butler Warriors.

Speaker 7 (01:07:02):
With all due respect to the greatness of Jimmy Butler
and when he's brought to the table. From what we've seen,
and obviously Jimmy can pull a rabbit out of a
hat some playoff time. We've seen it with his time
with the Miami Heat. They're still very step Perry centric
and they have to have Steph to have a major
game essentially to win. So for Emay and the Rocket standpoint,

(01:07:26):
and you've seen this from Emay even more so fine
tuning down the stretch, he's gonna say, somebody else has
to beat you. And one big takeaway that I saw
and I know I from playing against the Warriors is
when they have non shooters on the floor, you can
zone out. But those non shooters become dangerous because they
play it throwing gold games. So even though Draymond's open,

(01:07:50):
I'm sacking ten feet off Draymond, right, But as soon
as Draymond gets it, he pitches to Curry and he
runs off a DH show where he kind of runs
off his hip.

Speaker 5 (01:07:59):
So now you go from guardian on shooter.

Speaker 7 (01:08:02):
So I gotta be at the level, if not extended.
So that's the challenge and Steph Curry, the problems he presents,
they're so unorthodox because you break the rules of basketball.

Speaker 6 (01:08:13):
I got to pick the.

Speaker 7 (01:08:14):
Guy up at half part. When the ball's on the
weak side, what do we do that we jump to
the ball. Oh no, no, no, no, you don't jump
to the ball against Curry, So you're pretty much playing
one on four.

Speaker 5 (01:08:25):
I'm also looking to see.

Speaker 7 (01:08:26):
If he may throws some wrinkles in his zone, if
there's some extended coverage or a different type of maybe
a box and one. But as extreme as the Warriors now,
as Steph Curry cintric as they are, I think you're
gonna see some unique defenses thrown at him. And again
Houston did an unbelievable job, not just starting with the

(01:08:48):
men Thompson, but as from a team perspective, jumping out
on those screens, hedging being high, and you got to
overly communicate against Curry and the Warriors.

Speaker 11 (01:08:59):
And it was talked about a lot. Ryan is the
the amount of playoffs experience and obviously the.

Speaker 4 (01:09:04):
Warriors have the edge there. How much does that actually matter?
Like where does it matter most?

Speaker 11 (01:09:09):
I should say, is it preparation, is it on the
floor or is it something that we kind of just
talk in the media and it gets overblown.

Speaker 7 (01:09:17):
No, I ain't overblown at all. When the game gets
extremely tight, guess what happens. Like they know what they're
going to they know who their guy is, they know
the sex they're going to run. It's a very cerebral group.
If her throws out an adjustment, they're ready to adjust
on the floor. And in those playoff games, every fill
is different. Sometimes the energy is really high. Sometimes the

(01:09:37):
referees are calling it tighter. And for a young player,
that can throw you off. You can emotionally get caught
in a shuffle of what's going on. Draymond's used to
pushing the line. Okay, He's going to be pushing the line,
and the challenge is, hey, do I push that line
back with him? Or do I tune them out? You
know what puts me in a situation where I can,
at the end of the day play best. So you're

(01:09:59):
going to be looking for those things.

Speaker 5 (01:10:00):
It is a factor.

Speaker 7 (01:10:02):
And for Houston, the beauty is that Emai Udoka has depth.
He had guys, He has Jeff Greens, he has Dylan's,
he has Van Bleez, he has Landelle's. If you needed,
he has Steven Adams who have experienced in those moments.
And you ain't have to be patient, you know. So
let's say let's just throw it out right, Let's spitball.
Let's say Jalen Green's not having a night. You might

(01:10:23):
need it might be Ian Holliday stepping in and saving
the day, with all due respects, but you're gonna need
Jalen Green to bounce right back and show up and
be prepared in the next game and for email, he
hasn't been afraid to, you know, pull that switch. It's
nothing personal, but he's gonna go with whatever he feels
best out there.

Speaker 5 (01:10:41):
All right?

Speaker 4 (01:10:42):
For let you run?

Speaker 11 (01:10:43):
Give me a sneaky headline that I think you think
will be a huge part of this series if the
Rockets are able to pull off what will be considered
an upset.

Speaker 7 (01:10:52):
I'm gonna give you two guys on each side. Let's
just spot like that, and I'll bet you just answer
your question. Sure, what the heck is going on with
the John and Jonathan Pamina deal? He is scoring the
Rockets up in the past. He actually didn't play when
they played because he was injured and they had a
one and done game. And I don't know if this
was because of the.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
Lineup, trust whatever it is.

Speaker 7 (01:11:12):
Kamingia gets zero minutes, bro, No, Kaminga's a guy. But
the Rockets are going big. That could really help out
Golden State or hurt them.

Speaker 5 (01:11:23):
For Houston, I'm going big now.

Speaker 7 (01:11:26):
Another guy that I want to point to for the
Houston Rockets is the unsung hero right now who kind
of makes things work. He's that he's the oil to
the will right right now, Jabart Smith Jr. In the
flow of the game. This guy has rebounded the ball
out of his mind. He makes Houston very big. He's
a small ball center. He's a three guard okay when

(01:11:49):
you go in the double big lineup. And Jabbari is
really a guy that has just quietly helped the Rockets
roll along with their success. So for him, I think
less has been more. He's done a lot of the
little things. I know, Men Thompson is mister little things. Okay,
we're running out of thing to say for him. But

(01:12:10):
Jabbari having a good series in the role that he's in.
He's the sneaky guy that I don't think you really
prepare for. And as we've seen through his young career,
he loves these big moments. Man, He's mentally in a
great space where some people would have lost their starting
spot and been in their feelings and I think this
guy's excelled.

Speaker 3 (01:12:31):
Interesting that Ryan mentioned something there and again you can
get that entire interview via Sports Talk seven to ninety
dot com orvia the podcast page on our iHeartRadio app
for the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. You mentioned Jonathan Kuming,
and I think everybody was curious how he kind of
fits in with the Steve Kerr circle of trust because
he was not a part of their game plan whatsoever.

(01:12:53):
In staying in this position where they could earn the
seventh seed. It wasn't a do or die game because
the loser obviously had another chance, and that is Memphis.
Their chance comes tonight, but now it's only to be
the eight seed. He didn't play, He was not expected
to play. Wasn't a surprise to him or his teammates
that he didn't play. The leading score against the Rockets
this season for the Golden State Warriors by two points

(01:13:16):
was Jonathan Kuminga. The leading score against the Rockets for
the Golden State Warriors by five points over any current
teammate was Jonathan Kuminga, because Wiggins was actually the only
other player near him. Wiggins had nineteen points per in
his two games and then was traded. Kuminga scored better
than twenty one points per game in his four games.

(01:13:37):
He only started two of those games. He destroyed the
Rockets and I'm sure he will be a part of
their game plan in this series because of it. Steph
Curry averaged sixteen point three points per game in his
three games against Houston, So even with that three point
game tossed out, he didn't score a lot of points
against the Rockets this year and did not shoot the

(01:13:59):
ball well advantage.

Speaker 4 (01:14:01):
We'll see if it plays out this way.

Speaker 2 (01:14:03):
Houston the ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:14:12):
Into the final seven of the three o'clock hour. Appreciate
that having Ryan Hollins on, so we were able to
give you a little bit of that heard from Bonte
Hill of ninety five to seven the game in.

Speaker 4 (01:14:24):
The Golden State area, San Francisco.

Speaker 3 (01:14:26):
He joined us earlier in the show, so we have
plenty of conversation about Rockets words and plenty more to come.
We'll visit with Chandler Rome about the Astros coming up
at five o'clock, expected to be joined in studio by
Chancellor Johnson, formerly of KPRC Channel two, to talk about
all of it. Wanted to get into the Astros just
here briefly before we hit the top of the hour
with the Padres in town eight and ten. The record

(01:14:48):
for the Astros and a fourth series against National League competition.
They've all been three games and this one will be two.
So when the fifteen and four Padres hit the field
tonight against the Astros doesn't sound promising. I am going
to dry out the wet blanket and give you this
tidbit of information and see if it plays out. When
you have a three game series, there are four possible outcomes.

(01:15:12):
You can sweep the series. They can sweep the series.
You can take two games, they can take two games. Well,
this is their fourth series against the National League team.
The opening series, the Astros took two games. Who's against
the Mets. Second series, the Giants took all three games.
The Astros got swept. The third series, all the Cardinals

(01:15:33):
took two games. Well, that's three of the four independent outcomes.
There's only one left, a sweep four. You're Houston Astros.
They are only three and sticks against the NL, and
now they're getting the best NL team. Best way I
can spin it. Now, they have to go out and
do it. Kyle Hart, Ryan Gusto. The starters tonight, Augusto

(01:15:53):
making a second Major league start, al Tuo ve Perretis
Alvarez Goo one two three in their usual positions. And
remember in twenty twenty five, that means Jose al Tuvez,
a left fielder, Walker Payna Diaz in their usual positions
and what looked like their usual positions in the lineup.

Speaker 4 (01:16:09):
Two Christian Walker. This is game number nineteen.

Speaker 3 (01:16:13):
He's batting in the cleanup spot for the nineteenth time,
bringing his one fifty four average into play, and again
two spots behind him, Theiners one thirty average is in
the lineup. He'll do the catching for Gusto today. Did
have a nice breakout game on their last home stand
with a five RBI day, a grand Slam and a
three hit day, but he had in very many good

(01:16:35):
days this year. Brandon Rodgers is going to get the
start at second, Myers and Smith round out there at
nine man unit. Of course, Smith back in right field, Tatise, Arise, Machado, Bogarts,
Sheets Iglesias, Hayward, Wade and Maldonado both former Astros in
the lineup tonight for the Padres, Jason Hayward and Martin Maldonado,

(01:16:59):
and they'll be recognized before tonight's game for their work
with this ball club during their respective tenueres. Jason Hayward
was obviously with the twenty twenty four Astros, and I
believe Martin Maldonado caught.

Speaker 4 (01:17:09):
An important game or two or ten or one hundred.

Speaker 3 (01:17:13):
Very well liked here, and for good reason. He was
very well liked in Chicago after he left here. He's
very well liked in San Diego now that he's there.
And I can't believe this is a true statement, but
he and yaner Ds have the same number of home
runs this year. Janer's hitting one thirty, Martin's hitting two fifty.

(01:17:33):
I haven't had the same amount of playing time, but
Maldy's been out there quite a bit this year. He's
batted twenty eight times, he's gotten a hit in a
fourth of his at bats, and he's once again playing
for a team that thinks they can win the World Series.
And he's playing some part, large or small, in the

(01:17:54):
best pitching staff, in my opinion, in Major League Baseball.
The numbers certainly favor them in a handful of areas,
and unfortunately, the good news about the Astros is their pitching.
It just doesn't sound quite as good when you compare
it to the Padres pitching. The Padres have been ridiculously
good on both sides, when they're out in the field

(01:18:16):
and when they're at the dish. A two point fifty
six er is what they've posted. That's second best in baseball.
The Astros are tenth at three seventy three. The Astros
have a one to thirteen whip and a batting average
against as a team of two oh seven. The two
oh seven batting average against is awesome. It's fourth. The
Padres are first at one ninety three. The whip that

(01:18:39):
I mentioned one one three, that's awesome. They're fifth. The
Padres are second at one oh seven. There's a reason
you get to fifteen and four. You just do everything well.
And I wasn't expecting them to a win the division
or b maybe ever be in this current position, which
is a pretty power one. I mean, the Dodgers have

(01:19:01):
obviously played very good baseball and not as good as
the Padres.

Speaker 4 (01:19:05):
This division has been insane.

Speaker 3 (01:19:07):
I did expect it to have three good teams, but
I was pretty dismissive, probably erroneously about the Arizona Diamondbacks
losing Christian Walker, gaining Corbin Burns, among other things.

Speaker 4 (01:19:19):
Well, they're better. The Arizona Diamondbacks.

Speaker 3 (01:19:21):
Team that repped the National League and the World Series
a couple of seasons ago and has been very good
for seasons prior In the seasons following. They're very good again,
and I hope some of these National League teams will
quit giving the Astros so much trouble. Three and six
against the National League, and again a couple of seasons ago,
they shifted the overall scheduling.

Speaker 4 (01:19:42):
You play them all now.

Speaker 3 (01:19:44):
There have been some years where the Astros absolutely embarrassed
the National League teams. This doesn't appear to be one
of them, and they're gonna see all of them. I
think they'll catch a break by seeing the Rockies twice
two different series this year. The Rockies are a pitiful
three for fifteen, and they fired their hitting coach already

(01:20:04):
eighteen games into the season of his third season, and
put Clint Hurtle back in their dugout, not as a manager.

Speaker 4 (01:20:11):
Yes, can you name me three players on the Rockies
right now?

Speaker 3 (01:20:15):
Yeah, Andres Galarraga, Dante Bischett and Larry Walker. So congratulate,
round of applause, Buddy, good job. I mean, I probably
would have said Brendan Rodgers, but he's an Astro.

Speaker 4 (01:20:25):
He is.

Speaker 3 (01:20:26):
I probably would have said Charlie Blackman, but I don't
know if he's still under that beer or not.

Speaker 4 (01:20:29):
Plus he retired. I say, well, he is under the beer,
just no longer at coursefield.

Speaker 3 (01:20:33):
There's one player, interestingly that I thought could have and
maybe he should have been an Astro this offseason. That
is a Colorado Rocky when he was let go, I
thought Mickey Moniac would have been a good non roster invitee.
Signed him to a minor league deal, see if he
can make the team type of addition, he had a

(01:20:54):
super month last year where he was basically superman, and
then he didn't have a very good season on the
front side of that or backside of that. But everybody
knows he has talent. There's a reason he was drafted
where he was, and you know some team would give
him the opportunity. And in that the Astros outfield was
so uncertain. Certain now, I guess because all three of

(01:21:14):
the guys out there essentially everyday players. Jake plays center
almost every day now, Cam Smith and jose Al two
have played their respective positions now almost every day. But
I thought he might be someone they would give a look,
see to it and done anything special with the Rockies. Duh,
nobody has. They aren't hitting, and they aren't pitching, and
they aren't winning. It's the worst team in baseball and
they're in the best division in baseball. They can't even

(01:21:35):
bring the division down all by themselves, no matter how
how they try. But I am afraid of how many
losses they're gonna have in their fifty two division games.
It's gonna be like forty forty five.

Speaker 10 (01:21:47):
Are they gonna be worse overall this year than the
twenty twenty twenty twenty four White Sox.

Speaker 3 (01:21:52):
They might be able to give them a run for
their money, run for the money without a doubt, because
you also remember, with two months left to go in
the Sea, if anybody on their team is doing anything, well,
they're gone.

Speaker 4 (01:22:05):
They're gone.

Speaker 3 (01:22:06):
They're gonna get traded, they're gonna get moved, and there
won't be that many players that are after And unlike
the White Sox who probably should have said, yes, of
course we should be trading Luis Robert, well, this year
they have to, and the Rockies don't have anybody quite
like that. Again, Hopefully when the time comes, you can
take advantage of that. Astros Padres, Tonight, we got it
for you here right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

(01:22:27):
Our coverage begins at six same for Space City Home
Network as they get ready for Astros Padres first of
three two night at seven two Borrow night at six
Sunday night, also at six, a couple hours before Rockets Warriors.

Speaker 4 (01:22:42):
We'll talk about that.

Speaker 3 (01:22:43):
Next hour, we'll talk about who the Texans will pick
at number twenty five next.

Speaker 1 (01:22:49):
The aged on Sports Talk seven ninety two lifelong Houston
sports guys named at him. We're talking yours, Adam Clinton
and Adam Weckler prr D A team.

Speaker 3 (01:23:10):
Two in two to go here on Sports Talk seven
ninety a Friday edition of the program. Wex here with
you ac on a little VAK Cole Thompson with you
two and soon to be joined by Chancellor Johnson here
on Sports Talk seven to ninety. You know I'm from
KPRC Channel two, as he was there for several years
and now has continued his coverage via social media and

(01:23:31):
other outlets.

Speaker 4 (01:23:32):
So looking forward to our conversation with him.

Speaker 3 (01:23:34):
Got to get to the Astros over the course of
the next two hours as they lead into their series
with the Padres. Obviously get into the Rockets Warriors series
as they are getting ready for basketball at Toyota Center
in the playoffs for the first time since they played
the Warriors at Toyota Center in the playoffs. Twenty eighteen
nineteen season ended with the Warriors at Toyota Center in

(01:23:56):
Game six, knocking out the Chris Paul James Harden Warriors
for the second consecutive season and knock.

Speaker 4 (01:24:03):
The Rockets out of the playoffs four times in five seasons.

Speaker 3 (01:24:06):
Now, the Rockets did make the playoffs since that departure
from the Toyota Center floor, but that season was the
Bubble season. They beat the thunder and then lost to
the Los Angeles Lakers. So their most recent playoff departure
and their second most recent playoff departure, well, they can
make amends for both in a span of just two

(01:24:28):
rounds if those playoff games come to be. They know
they have Golden State starting on Sunday, Sunday, Wednesday Saturday
for games one, two, and three, obviously Sunday and Wednesday
here in Houston over at Toyta Center where a couple
of late night starts eight thirty ish, and then two
games in UH San Francisco, both of those also evening starts,

(01:24:50):
and then we'll see how the series goes from there.

Speaker 4 (01:24:52):
Five, six, and seven.

Speaker 3 (01:24:53):
Of course, currently in the if necessary stage the Timberwolves
and Lakers similar early portion of their schedule. They'll have
multiple days off in between games ones and two, Game
ones and two and.

Speaker 4 (01:25:05):
Game two and three.

Speaker 3 (01:25:07):
But a potential for a Rockets Warriors followed by Rockets
Lakers postseason and then followed by Rockets Thunder. The Thunder
were a loser to the Rockets, as I just mentioned,
the last team they beat in the postseason, and those
could be the three teams they play on their way
to beating the Celtics in the Championship Series to win
the NBA title. How awesome would that be? Sixteen wins away?

(01:25:31):
There were seasons not so long ago where the Rockets
struggled to win sixteen times at all. No longer the case.
This is one of the best teams in the NBA.
But we start with the Texans here when doing it
throughout the week, and we'll do it throughout the first
four days of next week.

Speaker 4 (01:25:48):
They currently all the twenty fifth pick of the draft.

Speaker 3 (01:25:50):
One week from this past Thursday, they will make that
selection barring a trade, and we wander allowed who might
be in the running, who might fall into their laps,
Who might they feel like, is this at twenty five,
and we get call to answer this very question.

Speaker 4 (01:26:06):
We're the twenty bit pick in the twenty twenty five draft.
The Houston Texans select a Mecca Egbuca wide receiver from
Ohio State.

Speaker 3 (01:26:21):
The Texans have drafted an Ohio State player in twenty
twenty three.

Speaker 4 (01:26:26):
His name is c. J. Stroud.

Speaker 3 (01:26:27):
They drafted an Ohio State player in twenty twenty four,
his name is Kate Stover, and then apparently they'll be
drafting an Ohio State player in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 4 (01:26:37):
Amcca Egbuka.

Speaker 3 (01:26:39):
I was a little surprised and looking at some of
his bio work that he wasn't a first or second
team All Big Ten performer. Dude same and his numbers
certainly were there, and we saw highlights, and we've seen
him play so much, and we've known about him playing
at this high level, which sometimes plays a part in

(01:27:00):
selections for those type teams. Because three years ago, when
somebody was throwing in the ball that we love, he
produced his first unbelievable season. The season in between was
a little bit less so, but he was outured. Yes,
that was one of the biggest reasons why not only
he played in a lot of those games, and I
think people will see that number. I believe it was

(01:27:22):
ten games, nine starts, and think, well, what happened? Well,
he was playing a lot, and luckily most of us
don't play college fantasy football, because you really would have
hated him there. He would play, but he really wouldn't play,
wouldn't be out there for a lot of snaps.

Speaker 4 (01:27:34):
He was clearly not himself.

Speaker 3 (01:27:35):
He wasn't one hundred percent, and they were trying to
get him back to that point without having a miss
games completely. But then last year he played the way
I think everybody expected him to. And I'm not sure
what unappealing word best fits for his skill set and
his production and his future. Oh I have it because
most of the time, the first word you hear about

(01:27:57):
him isn't a wow word.

Speaker 4 (01:27:59):
It's more of a say for it. It's more of
the word solid.

Speaker 3 (01:28:03):
And I think it's close to accurate, but it always
sounds like an under sell when I watch him out
running people, when I watch him out techniquing people, good people,
people that he'll be matched up against in the future
in the NFL. Everything you want your receiver to do
at the NFL level, he's already doing. He's been doing

(01:28:24):
for several years. But he's not Marvin Harrison Jr. And
he's not Jackson Smith and Jigba, and he's not Chris o'love.

Speaker 10 (01:28:31):
So what I can push back on that? And here's
the best part. So what do the Texans already have
a number one wide receiver in Nico Collins? They got
that guy locked up. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.
What is a Mecca Abuka done? In his two breakout years,
he's been produced robin to the other batman, whether it
be Marvin Harrison Junior or breakout star Jeremiah Smid, the

(01:28:52):
five star from Florida this past year. Every season he
has been consistently a quality number two weapon. And what
are the Texans need a consistent quality number two weapon?
Wex There's a couple of other things I wanted through
out there. Not only does he have two one thousand
yard seasons, he also only has two career drops throughout
his three years during his time when he was out

(01:29:15):
Ohio State. Most scouts believe he is the best route
runner in the class. Most scouts believe he has the
strongest hands.

Speaker 4 (01:29:20):
In the class. You're looking for that word, You're looking.

Speaker 10 (01:29:23):
For that one word that stands out that maybe has
hurt his stock or and you're saying goes sound's a
nice word.

Speaker 4 (01:29:29):
I got another s word for you. Slot. He is
a slot receiver.

Speaker 10 (01:29:33):
He has played eighty nine percent of his reps, including
this past year ninety four percent of his reps on
the end.

Speaker 4 (01:29:39):
So let me ask you about that.

Speaker 3 (01:29:41):
For Houston, even though we don't have full knowledge of
Nick Cayley's offense yet, is he a slot receiver in
the sense that Stefan Diggs is a slot receiver.

Speaker 10 (01:29:51):
That's the way I would lean into it, especially for
this year, specifically with Christian Kirk signed to a one
year contract.

Speaker 4 (01:29:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:29:57):
So Stefan Diggs has played in multiple spots, and I
don't mean locations and geographies, because obviously he has.

Speaker 4 (01:30:06):
He played in Buffalo, he played in Minnesota, but I
mean lined up in multiple spots. He played a lot
of slot receiver here.

Speaker 3 (01:30:13):
He played a lot of slot receiver with Josh Allen's
Buffalo Bills, but not exclusively. And that's kind of what
I think the Texans would want to do. I know
Slok's offense is going to be different than Nickkley's offense.
I know Nick Caley's offense is going to be different
than Sean McVay and Lafleur's offense.

Speaker 4 (01:30:28):
But Nico Collins plays in the slot. Tank Dell plays
in the slot. Tank Dell plays on the outside, Nico
Collins plays on the outside. I think everybody on their
current roster plays multiple spots when they line up. They
can do that, they should do that. I love that
they do that.

Speaker 3 (01:30:48):
They shouldn't be pigeonholed, and their talent suggests that's why
they haven't been, because they can do it. I don't
mind seeing Nico Collins line up in the slot anywhere
on the field, and I absolutely love it when he
lines up in the DeAndre Hopkins slot when they're in
the red zone because it's like a guaranteed touchdown every
single time. Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna run
to that spot. The defender has absolutely no chance and CJ.

(01:31:09):
Stroud's gonna hit you in the numbers and it's gonna
be over and you're gonna put six points on the board,
hopefully seven, but certainly six. And obviously I don't envision
a Mecca or Luther Burden or I don't know about anybody,
and you tell me what you think of these top
flight receivers, many of whom are probably not in the
Texans range at twenty five, but rather if they traded

(01:31:30):
way up, well, I'm just gonna tell you right now, those.

Speaker 4 (01:31:31):
Are the only two wide receivers I'm naming because they're
gonna be in the ring.

Speaker 3 (01:31:34):
Yeah, they would have to move up to get University
of Houston product by way of the University of Texas
recently Matthew Golden, and I still think it looks like
Teed McMillan is the guy that's catching the most strays
as we lead up to the draft. Man, this guy's awesome.
This guy's the best receiver in college football. Nobody can
stop him. Look at how great he is. And I

(01:31:54):
had the pleasure of being there for the U of
h Arizona game this past year, and I saw all
those things. There are plays you run where it doesn't
matter what you do defensively, you're in the perfect position,
you have him doubled, you have safety, help your rolling,
it doesn't matter. And yet the closer we get to
the draft, it's well, I'm not sure that he's this
and he kind of didn't do that, and maybe he's
not what we Yeah he is, some team is gonna

(01:32:17):
absolutely love drafting him, and maybe it just will cost
him a little bit of money that he's not the
eighth pick and said he's the fourteenth pick, or he's
not the thirteenth pick, but he's the seventeenth pick. He's
not gonna be the twenty fifth pick. And so I
don't envision him being here, but I do envision him
being a one, a true size one in the NFL

(01:32:37):
in my opinion. Yeah, that certainly is his body type
and certainly the work he put on tape at Arizona, again,
an Arizona team that was in a little bit better
conference that people think. I think this past year, and
I don't even think it matters at this point. I
think the competition was perfectly fine, but probably not lined
up with the Texas. So to recap five days in

(01:32:58):
four days to go, Donovan Jackson could be a Houston Texan.
Luther Burden. The third could be a Houston Texan. Gray
Zabel could be a Houston Texan Walter Nolan. He was
our pick yesterday and today it's a Mecca Agbuka, our
first double up at a position. That's two wide receivers
sent to the offense which needs help at some spot,

(01:33:24):
and two offensive linemen for the offense that needs help
at that spot. We'll see what Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
brings to the party. When we hit you up with that,
we do it at four o'clock each and every day
here on the A team leading up to Thursday night's
first round of the NFL Draft. Again, Draft Day number
one is one round, just the first round, Draft Day

(01:33:44):
number two Friday, the second and third round, Draft Day
number three on Saturday, when Nick really makes phone calls
to the other GM so he can make trades. That
is Saturday rounds four, five, six, and seven. Again the
absolute guarantee, lock it up stone cold, Nick Cassario will
make at least one trade. And that is setting the

(01:34:05):
bar super duper lowly low, but that way, I'll be right.
He will make at least one trade coming up over
that three day period. He might even make a trade
before we get to that three day period, and we'll
see what he has to say about it not long after.
We'll hear from them after those evenings, and hopefully we'll
allso hear from Damico Ryans and Nick Cayley in those
same instances. When we get there, when we return as promised,

(01:34:28):
Chancellor Johnson joins us in studio.

Speaker 4 (01:34:31):
Let's talk.

Speaker 2 (01:34:33):
The ag on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (01:34:41):
Ahal, this is Todd Kallis from the Astros broadcast team.

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In fact, I thought we had a draft ideal to
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Speaker 2 (01:39:45):
This is your home for Houston Rockets basketball. Sports Talk
seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (01:39:52):
The A Team continues continues one Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:40:02):
There's a Friday edition of the eight Team here on
Sports Talk seven ninety and simulcast on Space City Home Network.
Pleasure to be joined by Chancellor Johnson a local like myself,
calls h Town home. It has for many many years
and does again formerly of KPRC Channel two, which I
could say the same for myself. Good time over there,
and you probably saw a lot of I hope people

(01:40:24):
saw a lot of your work recently, something you and
I and Ari and Laney and Simone and Randy have
all had the opportunity to do here over the last
several years during the great times for University of Houston basketball,
we've all had a chance to go with them on
some of those rides. So in addition to talking to
you about the Texans, the Astros, the Rockets, and we're

(01:40:47):
definitely getting into the Rockets Warriors series that ride, we're
afforded the pleasure of being a part of when they
make these runs, when they make a Final four again,
it's awesome and everything they've done over there, and really
appreciated the angle of coverage you provided, especially as they
made this particular run. As you were with them, I
got the chance to get to know some of these

(01:41:09):
players a little bit differently.

Speaker 21 (01:41:10):
Yeah, absolutely, it was a it was a pleasure to
do that, right and you think about a team headed
to the Final four and had how they got there
beating Duke in what was to me a game that'll
go down when.

Speaker 4 (01:41:23):
We talk about in podcast, dude man.

Speaker 21 (01:41:26):
And to be there in that moment, to see a
Keem nance and the celebration, to see a Keem not
get on the stage.

Speaker 4 (01:41:32):
Yeah, who captured that video?

Speaker 10 (01:41:34):
That was you?

Speaker 4 (01:41:34):
Absolutely so it was.

Speaker 21 (01:41:35):
It was a fun ride through out and obviously their
storied inn in the way they would have liked it's in.
But still the fact that they ran through the Big
Twelve for the second straight year when undefeated on the
road and got to the National Championship game still a special.

Speaker 4 (01:41:49):
Season, no doubt.

Speaker 5 (01:41:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:41:51):
Again, more news today on that front. Ramon Walker will
be playing for u of H again next season. Unfortunately
injuries have been a far too large part part of
his time there, but a huge part of their culture
and will be again. Yesterday the news with Emmanuel Sharp
and Joe Tugler they were going to be loaded pretty
much no matter how things played out, with whatever transfers

(01:42:13):
might have come in, whatever players might transfer out. And
I know there's some portal news on a few of
those players, most specifically with Arsenal, but we know what
their class looked like before. Other news in college basketball
today vaulted the Cougar's recruiting class, their incoming class as
now number one in the country because of Houston. And

(01:42:33):
I say that to mean the new head coach at
the University of Miami is a Houstonian. It's Jay Lucas.
He went to Belair High School. Maybe a new recruit
for the University of Miami because he just decommitted from
Duke Is Shelton Henderson from bel Air High School. Hasn't happened.
There's some smoke, maybe that a lot, but nonetheless we

(01:42:56):
didn't need that to know. Multiple McDonald's, all the Mayas
Americans and taking the best player out of multiple states.
Kellen and Kelvin and the rest of their coaching staff,
they have a doozy of the class coming.

Speaker 21 (01:43:08):
In absolutely the number one recruiting class in the country
officially as of today, it'll also be the number one
consensus preseason team in America as well. When you look
at the town that's coming in and the talent that
is staying, and that's something to be said, especially in
this era of nil and you bring back the Big
twelve defensive player of the Year in Jojo Tugler, you

(01:43:28):
bring back Manuel Sharp who he went out and was
the MVP of the Midwest Region in the final four.
He was the best player throughout the Big Twelve tournament
as well. And then of course from all Walker who
he's a name that people don't only talk about as
much because of the injuries, but he's a vet on
a team that's going to need it next year for
a team that has, as you mentioned, three freshmen who

(01:43:49):
are going to get some playing time. Right, you don't
bring in basically three five stars for nothing. They're going
to see the floor. And so to have a guy
who knows the culture as we talk about with the
Cougars so much, very well, it's a welcome back addition
to this team and you know those things too. He
got minutes for the Euston Cougars when he was healthy.
Tobin Sampson trusts him and I like to see him

(01:44:10):
back with the Houston Cougar's once again next year.

Speaker 6 (01:44:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:44:13):
Over the last couple of years, there are plays that
I think every Cougar fan and anybody following the program
can recall. Specifically, Yeah, they probably don't win that game
late because if not for a play made by Ramona Walker,
and it wasn't often a shot that he made, it
was some other play. He set the screen, he was
the guy diving on the floor, he made the save,
he did something to help him. It's exactly what they're

(01:44:34):
all about. And certainly it's been fun to be with
them and your time here in Houston. It's the Astros
have been us the best era of Houston Astros Baseball ever.
The Houston Texans, I think it's safe to say probably
employ the best quarterback they've ever had in team history.

Speaker 4 (01:44:51):
And you're on the good side of it now.

Speaker 3 (01:44:54):
You're one not so much two years ago, a little
bit better last year, but now the front side of
what could be a long open window for the Houston
Rockets to be competitive in the Western Conference. Is it
starting with Sunday Night to be competitive in the Western Conference?
That can't be true if you're not playing in the

(01:45:15):
second round. Do you believe it can begin Sunday night.

Speaker 4 (01:45:18):
I'd certainly believe it can begin, but you have to
show me.

Speaker 21 (01:45:22):
And that's the tricky thing about the Houston Rockets is
they're so inexperienced, at least their core, their main guys
and the guys that they need to take them to
the second round they don't have.

Speaker 3 (01:45:33):
Yeah, we can talk about it this way between me, you,
Jalen Alp, Tari Amen and Jabbari, we've all played the
same number of playoff games exactly.

Speaker 21 (01:45:41):
And to me that's a concern because, look, you have
Dylan Brooks who's been there, Frev Mvliet, maybe Steven Adams,
Jeff Green, but once again, you need Alp, you need
Jalen Green, the two guys that you just gave a
contract extension to to carry.

Speaker 4 (01:45:55):
Over the hump over this team that you struggle to
do so for years.

Speaker 21 (01:46:00):
And then many Houston Rockets fans know that so well,
and so I think we'll actually get a pretty good
sense early on, really in the first two games how
things might play out throughout the series. But to me,
the thing that gives me hope in this Houston Rockets
team to overcome that inexperience is their coach Emadoka, who
we know has been there before and a guy who

(01:46:20):
doesn't back down from anybody. And we saw that recently
against the Warriors. What type of coach, Bark said Steph
Curry on his way out. We said, this guy, we
saw him bark at Lebron James and.

Speaker 4 (01:46:32):
Now he's done. Its Steph Curry.

Speaker 21 (01:46:34):
And it helps when you have a guy like a
Men Thompson who could have your back on the floor
and hold Steph Curry is one of the worst games
of his career. It's going to be an exciting series
throughout over the next couple of weeks. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:46:45):
So, earlier this week, Dylan Brooks was talking about this
series with the media over at the training facility falling
practice and was asked about, you know, how many ejections
do you think they're going to be in the city.

Speaker 4 (01:46:55):
I'm not going to be ejected.

Speaker 3 (01:46:56):
I'll leave that to somebody else. And I've watched him
say and I've heard him say it, and I think
I knew what he meant. I didn't have but one
second of time to waste before I checked out what
the Warrior side of It wrote about it. He's obviously
taking a shot at Draymond Green. He clearly meant I'll
leave it up to Draymond to get ejected, and of

(01:47:17):
course over the course of this article they wrote about it.
They said, but it's probably not going to be Draymond.
I mean, you look at Fred Van Vliet. He's been
ejected three times this year, and you just brought up
a men. Thompson, He's been ejected a couple of times
now in a men's case, unlike Fred's case. Fred got
ejected because he had a small disagreement with the with
the referees, with the officials. Each time in a men's

(01:47:39):
case he had a small disagreement with an opposing player
and he raggeddall him and to throw him across the court.
And the other time he deserved an injection also for
a flagrant foul flagrant to it was called against Giannisnodacumpo.
Those are maybe the kind of things they're talking about,
But my personal belief was Dylan's was just saying I'm
not gonna get ejected. If it happens, it's gonna be

(01:47:59):
somebody else. I don't think there was any lead to, yeah,
I'm throwing shade at Raymond, you know.

Speaker 21 (01:48:05):
So I was there for that, yeah, in that scrum,
and to me, that was a very very mild Dylan Brooks,
very somebody.

Speaker 4 (01:48:15):
The stadown Yes, Sunday Night.

Speaker 5 (01:48:17):
Right.

Speaker 21 (01:48:17):
So Jackson Gallen actually asked the question, kind of you know,
a tongue in cheek and he kind of he smirked
it off. He said, I don't have can injected and
he sally that to somebody else, But it didn't even
feel like a shot. And for somebody like Dylan Brooks,
he's one of those guys that I think if he
he says what he means, and he means what he says,
and so I think if you actually wanted to like
really throw a shout at Draymond Green, he would have
been a little bit more direct at that, Like, yes,

(01:48:39):
he kind of hinted at it, but it wasn't something
that like I think the Warriors to write on their
bulletin board, and you know, I think as media there
was a couple of opportunities to where we gave him
n Aaley up to potentially say something that could be,
you know, a fire starter, and he didn't. You know,
And it seems like the team is really focused, from

(01:48:59):
you know, Dylan Brooks to the young guys with ALP
talking to LP yesterday, Jylan Green earlier today, it's a
team that they know, like, hey, we haven't been here before,
but they seem like they're ready.

Speaker 4 (01:49:10):
We will see on Sunday. Yeah, they're not talking about anything.
I don't think out of turn at all.

Speaker 3 (01:49:15):
They're simply answering the questions that are asking and they
are possible to not You got to ask something, You
got to present something about the matchups with Raymond Green,
the history with Draymond Green, because there's history with so
many teams, so many individuals, and obviously with this team
it's so fresh. I mean, they played five times this year.
In the first four meetings, there was just there really

(01:49:37):
wasn't a whole lot there between Draymond and the Rockets
versus what happened less than two weeks ago. That was
two Sundays ago. It's two weeks to the day of
when they will now meet in the opening round. I
think alp had already met Draymond Green's elbow, but Draymond
made sure they got well acquainted in this game two
weeks ago. He got in his grill earlier and begged

(01:50:00):
official to give him a technical and sadly they only
gave him one, not the several that he deserved. Didn't
get flagrant tuded out of the game for the intentional
elbow on the layup, which nobody shoots in that manner
unless they're trying to deliver an intentional elbow.

Speaker 4 (01:50:13):
But it's all there, and it's all so fresh.

Speaker 3 (01:50:16):
We'll continue the discussion on this because I think the
angle that everyone's taking, or most people are taking, on
Draymond's involvement in this series is kind of missing what
Draymond's involvement in this series will be.

Speaker 4 (01:50:29):
Chancellor and I will hit on that next.

Speaker 2 (01:50:33):
The aged on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:50:41):
It is Friday on the A team here on Sports
Talk seven to ninety and simulcast on Space City home Network.
Adam Wextley here with you as per usual, Adam Clanton
on a vac day today and on Monday. Chancellor Johnson
here with us, talking a little bit about everything that's
going on not only this weekend, but all the way
through next weekend with the NFL Draft home series against
the San Diego Padres, and obviously the opening of the

(01:51:03):
NBA's postseason for real, not the Tuesday games, not this
past Wednesday's games, not tonight's Friday games. For the two
teams that will say goodbye to the postseason, and the
two teams that will soon say goodbye to the postseason
when they're matched up with Oklahoma City and Cleveland respectively.
But the Rockets, Warriors, the Lakers, Wolves, the Clippers, the Bucks,

(01:51:25):
the Celtics and everybody else. It's gunning for a championship,
and in those latter three cases a second championship in
the not too distant past. The Lakers are recent enough winners,
the Bucks the same, and obviously the Celtics are the
defending champs. Still sounds weird to say the Dallas Mavericks
are they defending Western Conference champions They could make the

(01:51:46):
playoffs and they will do so if they win tonight.
We're talking obviously about the Houston Rockets and something that
we brought up yesterday when he was asked about it,
but didn't let you hear directly from e May with
his answer to it. Seems rather obvious, and I know
there's reasons when you get asked certain questions on the
other side of it that they need to hear some
of those things. So it was a little curious, but

(01:52:07):
email Yudoka asked yesterday about what the most important matchup
might be for the Rockets taking on the Golden State Warriors.

Speaker 12 (01:52:14):
Most important individual, I mean the Curry aspect. Of course,
you got multiple guys that have guarded him and played
on them. So it's not a I don't know if
it's an individual matchup as much as Garden Curry containing
him in general, Like I said yesterday, you have a
whole team hunting shots for him, So it's not a
one on one thing. Everybody else has to be on
point with their communication and coverage and awareness. And so

(01:52:37):
that's why we get guarding wells because bred on Green
and some of those guys took away some of the
actions there, and so it's not just put them in
on him and he gets through every screen, every pick
and roll, every off ball action. That's everybody being on
point on the same page.

Speaker 3 (01:52:49):
Eight for seventeen for nineteen points, seven for seventeen for
twenty seven points, and then one for ten three points.
Steph Curry played against the Rockets three times this year.
One time the Rockets were able to beat them without him,
one time they were able to beat them with him,
and he did play in both of the Jimmy Butler

(01:53:10):
Warriors versus Rockets games. Can they replicate for a stretch
of time, for an entire game, for much of a
series what they did on April sixth through Steph Curry,
I feel like the question I played for e May
was rather rhetorical. I think the question I just asked
you was the same.

Speaker 21 (01:53:29):
I would agree, because uh yeah, I wouldn't bet on it.
We're talking about a top fifteen player. Ever, you know,
at some people they might tell you top ten on
the you know, the henot on the show, they outside
the top ten. But I think it's better to say
top fifteen wears top twin absolutely, and there's reason being
for that. And we talked about the inexperience that the
Houston Rockets have within their core. And meanwhile, on the

(01:53:52):
completely opposite side, the Golden State Warriors have plenty of
it within theirs. And so obviously it starts with Steph
Curry asking a man and the rest of this defense
because I think he May of course is correct. It's
it's more than just two men, and especially especially when
with a guy like that, you have to send him
different looks, and in the past we've seen that not
even work, especially within the building, uh that he'll be playing.

Speaker 4 (01:54:15):
In on Sunday night, right.

Speaker 21 (01:54:17):
But I like the fact that the Rockets have the length,
they have the athleticism to guard not just Steph, but
to me, the other thing The other player as well
that you have to put a body on and contain
is Jimmy Butler. Look at what he did in the
last and they're and they're playing game to get them
to this moment. Having what it was, the thirty eight
points or so in that matchup really kind of carrying

(01:54:38):
the way and allowing Steph to to do what he
does best late in that ball game, so obviously that
it starts with Steph Curry and then you know, trickles
down there to to Jimmy Butler, and then if it
gets late, you just pray that Draymond Green doesn't hit
one of those f you threes lay football game to
still a game, or.

Speaker 3 (01:54:57):
So any shot he shoots unless it's a dunk, and
sometimes even those shots, those are the ones you want
if you're defending the Golden State Warriors. A bad three
point shooter, he's a bad offensive player. He's not bad
on the offensive end, but he's bad as long as
he's the person shooting the basketball. And that was kind
of the angle that I wanted to present about Draymond.
All the questions, all the discussion, everything, the whole narrative

(01:55:19):
is nothing but antics. It's nothing about how do you
handle Draymond Green's antics? How can you play your game
without letting that affect you as if he doesn't help
them win. Beyond that, he's not helping them win because
he's getting into the other team's heads. And I know
he's not what he once was, but he still plays
the exact same way, just not quite at such a

(01:55:39):
high level. He's gonna be one of their most creative players,
meaning he still creates for other players on this team
because of what your defense is foking on, He's still
gonna grab that, Oh my god, why didn't we get
that rebound? And then he passed this and steff and
now they just scored three points over and over and
over again. And nobody is as flexible a front court defender,

(01:56:00):
hardly in the league, but certainly in this series than
he is. I think a Ben Thompson's an exceptionally flexible
defender in terms of who he can defend. But it's
very unlikely he's going to defend too many, if any
players in this particular series in the post, whereas Draymond
obviously will. His impact on the series goes way beyond
pushing people around, kicking people, yelling at the referees without

(01:56:22):
getting technicals and people aren't talking about it absolutely.

Speaker 4 (01:56:25):
I mean he's a winner.

Speaker 21 (01:56:26):
Like when you talk about Draymond Green, you could talk
about all the extra stuff, but the guy wins. And yes,
of course he was, you know on the Warriors scene
that was stacked with talent, with Clay, with KD and Steph.
But to me, he's always been the engine and the
X factor of this team. And it is like the
little stuff, right, it is knowing how to set a

(01:56:47):
screen and turn your body at an angle and this
is this is not me trolling, but this is being
serious of like being able to maybe do the jersey
pool so that the rest don't see it, but makes
an impact.

Speaker 4 (01:56:56):
It gives Steph to angle. It's the same thing with maybe.

Speaker 21 (01:57:00):
Being a little extra physical down low on the post
to get a box out over a guy who weighs
more and is taller than him.

Speaker 4 (01:57:09):
Like all that stuff matters.

Speaker 21 (01:57:10):
And so I don't have to tell Houston Rockets fans that,
like we've seen it for years and we never saw
the Houst Rockets get over that hump and he's a
big reason for that.

Speaker 10 (01:57:21):
And so.

Speaker 21 (01:57:22):
He's gonna have an impact on the series. I think
he's certainly going to test the inexperience of this Rockets team.
He's certainly going to get you know, tried to at
least in somebody's head. It's gonna start to me with LP.
We that a couple of weeks ago, and I would
to be surprised for him to see him go nose
to nose fourhead to forehead with Dylan Brooks. His Rockets

(01:57:44):
raided a logo in the bass as they bark at
each other, like I expect that, I want that, and
I'm excited to see that.

Speaker 3 (01:57:51):
Yet, put it this way about Draymond, I'm telling you
he's a poor shooter, not because I think he's bad
at it. I'm but he's bad at it. He's not
a good shooter. He's not a good offensive doesn't put
the ball in the basket.

Speaker 4 (01:58:01):
He doesn't do that.

Speaker 3 (01:58:03):
He hurts the team quite often with the foul problems
that he gets in and the technical fouls that he
draws constantly. Okay, so how does he help the team?
That's the point. He does so many things that I'm
telling you are bad for a basketball team. Well, then
why is he out there for thirty plus minutes? Why
is he still without qu I mean, he's obviously not

(01:58:23):
the leader of the team, that's Steph. He's not the
second best player on the team, that's Jimmy Butler. But
he's absolutely still the heart and soul of that outfit.
He has been the entire time all these championships, whether
KD was there, whether Iggy was winning MVP, whether Steph
was scoring forty, whether Klay was hitting the eleven threes.
The heart and soul of that team goes through twenty

(01:58:44):
three and it has not changed, even with a player
who carries similar attitude into every game, but certainly postseason
games like Jimmy Butler. So they have a one player
and a one a player that brings a similar attitude,
which is why, if not for the ridiculous trade the
Mavericks made with Luca, people were just totally asleep on
how much better the Warriors were going to get until

(01:59:07):
they saw their record post Jimmy Butler trade. And that's
obviously the team that the Rockets have the pleasure of
entertaining Sunday Night, Wednesday Night and maybe for some more
games and what should be a fascinatingly fun series. We
continue with that discussion here on the A Team. Adam
were actually along with co host Chancellor.

Speaker 2 (01:59:24):
Johnson, the Age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:59:38):
We continue here we today is Adam Wexler and Chancellor
Johnson here on Sports Talk seven ninety and via simulcast
on Space City Home Network. You're a home of the
Astros tonight, Padres and Astros. You're a home of the
Rockets here throughout the season and for us here on
Sports Talk seven ninety throughout or over on KTRH for
them all of their first round coverage with games will

(02:00:00):
come your way. On Sunday Night, one matchup that is
getting little run, and you brought up Jimmy Butler, and
you brought up thirty eight points against Memphis, and my
immediate thought as you were discussing it, and as Cole
and ac No, it was all I could do not
to very rudely interrupt you, because I have tendency to

(02:00:21):
do that here on this show. I was wanting to say, yeah,
he scored thirty eight points, but Zach EDI's not walking
through that door. Just an absolute travesty what Memphis tried
to do both on Tuesday Night and earlier this month
when Steph went for fifty two, like anything that happened
in that game, for both a philosophical standpoint, the Grizzlies

(02:00:43):
Warriors game from Tuesday a philosophical standpoint and a personnel standpoint.
I take nothing from that game about what the Rockets
could do should do, except for that the Rockets might
want to make sure their double big line is going
to work knowing that one of those bigs can guard

(02:01:04):
Looney if he's out there, or Draymond if he's out there,
or both of them if they're both out there, and
then they're okay because now neither one of them has
to defend Jimmy Butler if shng Gun or Steven Adams
has extended possessions time, minutes quarters trying to defend Jimmy Butler.
It's clear Golden State would like against Zach Edy take

(02:01:27):
advantage of it.

Speaker 5 (02:01:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:01:27):
Absolutely, And to me, that is one area that I think.

Speaker 3 (02:01:32):
And they're both better than Zach Edy defensively, Don't don't worry.
I do know that they both moved their feet a
little bit better, and they both know how to play
NBA basketball a little bit better than that rookie does.

Speaker 6 (02:01:41):
For sure.

Speaker 21 (02:01:41):
The plus side of the double big matchup is you know,
we look at the East Rockets. They out rebounded teams
and they were at the top of the league in
doing that, and that's where they.

Speaker 4 (02:01:49):
Can pound the Warriors on the offensive end.

Speaker 21 (02:01:53):
But yes, there to me, there is concerns of yeah,
like all right, cool, well they're gonna put you in
a bunch of picking rolls, you know, like how so
how will you fare when you have stuff in island
and you know, like so that certainly does concern me.

Speaker 4 (02:02:04):
But yeah, like they can certainly take advantage.

Speaker 21 (02:02:07):
Of it, and they call it a double big line up,
but when you have Jabari out there, you could do
that three you know, maybe you know, if Tari's are
at the two like they can, their length can really
bother you. And I'm interested to see how that could
shake out over the next couple of weeks. Yeah, and
I'm hopeful that they're not reliant on it. And we
were talking about the Cougars earlier. There's an area where
the Cougars and the Rockets are the same and it's
very much on display against the Warriors. When you shoot

(02:02:29):
thirty percent on threes, which is what the Rockets did
against the Warriors this year, you're dependent on your strength,
the Cougar strength and the Rockets strength, but scoring on
possessions where you don't hit your first shot, and there
are a lot of them for both of those teams.
The number one rebounding team in the NBA this year,
and even by a bigger margin since the trade deadliner,
with basically the past two months of the season, it's

(02:02:50):
Houston and Golden State is a poor defensive rebounding team,
which just adds to it because the Rockets are the
best offensive rebounding team by a good margin. They're the
best overall rebounding team by a good margin. They do
have more offensive rebound opportunities for obvious reasons, but they
have to not just win the rebound battle, they have

(02:03:11):
to dominate it, and they have in many games and
in games against them, and I don't see any reason
why that would change. I'm not sure what other looks
the Warriors could give. I do expect Jonathan Kaminga to
matter in this series.

Speaker 6 (02:03:23):
Has to.

Speaker 4 (02:03:24):
He has to. We just kind of just talked about
like you didn't want to come me off of works.

Speaker 3 (02:03:30):
That's why I don't mind doing it, because that's exactly
how I think it should work for sure.

Speaker 21 (02:03:33):
And yeah, like cominga didn't see the floor and they're
they're playing a matchup with the Grizzlies, but in order
for them to beat the Rockets, he has to matter.
He's a guy that you know was draft in the
same draft classes is Jalen Green and an Alprehi Shan
Goon and you know, at the top of close to
the top of the lottery for them. And years later,
if he doesn't, if he doesn't mean anything for you,

(02:03:55):
what is this in year four?

Speaker 4 (02:03:58):
Like that that's the problem and and and it to
that end, if you didn't see it.

Speaker 3 (02:04:01):
Tim Kawakami reported that Jonathan Kuminga not expected to be
in the Warriors plants moving forward. The two days before
this series begins, a report is being made on that topic.

Speaker 4 (02:04:14):
Well, if that's the case, then it sounds like we
won't see him there.

Speaker 3 (02:04:17):
But you have to he can't score the most points
in a game or most points per game against the
Rockets over the course of the four games that he
played in and move into a zero role, even though
some of those games happened pre Butler and clearly there's
minutes where he's taken from him and deserves to take
from him, but things that he does clearly work against Houston. Unfortunately,

(02:04:37):
I don't know if you regard Steve Kerr as a
great coach, a midland coacher, is anywhere in between.

Speaker 4 (02:04:42):
They're not gonna miss that.

Speaker 3 (02:04:43):
They're not gonna overlook that they have time to plan
for the Rockets, they have film to look at from
their previous games. He might not matter against Memphis because
every Golden State player is good offensively against Memphis, because
Memphis doesn't care about defense. The Rockets do they actually
need plus offensive players. He's clearly not trusted by Kerr
and the coaching staff and probably these teammates. But they're

(02:05:05):
still gonna plan because he brings something they might lack
even with Butler, and.

Speaker 21 (02:05:09):
That would be length in athleticism, something that on the
flip side for the Houston Rockets they hold the advantage in.
And so if you know, if it's not him, you're
gonna need somebody else other than Jimmy Butler and Steph
Curry to step up. And as we talked about what
Draymond Green brings to the table, it's not really that
as far as offensive production.

Speaker 4 (02:05:27):
So are you gonna lea on Lean on podds. Is
that your answer?

Speaker 10 (02:05:30):
Now?

Speaker 4 (02:05:30):
Now there go ahead it Maybe he'd loves you.

Speaker 21 (02:05:33):
One game where like he's an effective but maybe it's
a game where you drop.

Speaker 3 (02:05:36):
And did it concern you when they did just that
on April sixth, they focused solely, in completely on slowing
down steps and multiple bodies at him A man, Jalen Dylan, everybody,
Jimmy didn't, I guess, feel compelled to play a super
aggressive role because he just didn't. I don't think the
Rockets slowed him. I just don't think he did. And
they said Pods is gonna be open, Peyton's gonna be open,

(02:05:57):
Buddy's gonna be open, and they all had good offensive
game games in a ninety six point output that they lost.
Ably concern you that they said quite clearly, he staff
isn't gonna beat us, and we're unafraid of those guys
winning the game for them.

Speaker 21 (02:06:11):
I'm certainly okay with that, like like show me and
showed me in the playoffs now and talking to actually
talking to the Rockets after the after they got back
to Houston, I asked, actually, you know, Jayllen Green about
that game, he felt like, listen, it was kind of
more so on us. We didn't hit our shots, and
they felt like they were in position to win it late,
and they certainly were. And so yeah, like, if Pods

(02:06:31):
is the reason why the Warriors ended up winning this series,
I guess you just shake it, you know, shake their
hand and move on. But I would rather gamble with that.
And on top of that, that's what a series is about.
It's about adjustments. And so if Pods is killing you earlier,
all right, well, well you have time to switch it up.
And so first of all, I want to see him

(02:06:52):
do it, just just just like I have to see,
you know, Jalen Green make shots. And obviously Jalen Green
is is a different tier and the expectation is different.
But all these guys they don't have that experience, and
so I want to see how all of them fare
in that.

Speaker 3 (02:07:05):
Yeah, he had fourteen attempts in his thirty one minutes
against the Rockets. In that game, he scored nineteen points.
He was effective, he hit four of his nine threes,
He had half of the shots overall. He also had
four turnovers in those thirty one minutes. And that's something
I think you probably can expect when he becomes a
bigger focus of their offense. And in this instance, because
of how far away from their offense the Rockets were

(02:07:26):
able to keep Curry, he was becoming more of a
ball handler, a creator in the half court offense. All
those things played into the Rockets' hands. It's it's a
game plan you'd love to replicate, it's very hard to do. So,
it's very hard to do from game to game in
a series. Not only do you get multiple days off
two game plans, so does the other team. And the
other team, in this case gets two days to rest

(02:07:46):
in between games, and they're old, and that's probably not
an advantage to the young Houston Rockets. Another hour of
discussion comes your way. We will talk Astros padres early
season Major League Baseball with Chandler Rome, who joins us
next here on the eight team.

Speaker 2 (02:08:03):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (02:08:08):
Adam Clinton and Adam Weckler are the Eighteam.

Speaker 3 (02:08:14):
Ay appreciate Chancellor Johnson joining us for the last hour
catches work at Chancellor TV. We slide into some astros
talk with the team back in town this weekend, welcoming
in the best team in baseball and no.

Speaker 4 (02:08:27):
The Dodgers aren't here.

Speaker 3 (02:08:29):
The San Diego Padres are here with their fifteen and
four record, their elite pitching staff, and their unbelievably strong offense,
all to go up against the eight and ten Astros.
To that end, Chandler Rome joins us here on a
Friday afternoon. The eight and ten Astros technically the last
place Astros, but Chandler of the Athletic who covers Major
League Baseball and the Astros and has for several years. Now,

(02:08:52):
let me ask you about one of the subjects over
your recent articles, Christian Walker. And before he arrived here
in Houston, I'd looked back at what he did post injury,
and then obviously he had a similar injury in spring training.
Didn't seem like he was quite the same hitter for
his final month of baseball last year, missed August, played September.
Just didn't quite seem like he was producing the same way.

(02:09:14):
He was lower slug, lower average, just all those things. Obviously,
and he's had a very poor start here, which he's
readily acknowledged, and he wrote about quite a bit of that.
What do you think snaps a player like that out
of it when there's been very few stretches of his
healthy career the last four years where he's gone through
anything like this.

Speaker 22 (02:09:33):
Yeah, I mean it's gonna sound cliche, but I think
he just needs to get some hits to fall seeing
and having success because you know, I mean, I can't crawl.

Speaker 6 (02:09:41):
Inside his head.

Speaker 22 (02:09:42):
I'm not good enough of an evaluator to look at
his swing and tell you what's wrong and what's not.
I can see that the chase rate's up, but the
chase rate has gone down a little bit in the
last week. He's swinging at better pitches, he's getting on base,
Like I think it's mental. I think at this point,
you know, talking to him, he I mean I've only
known him for about three months now, but to talk

(02:10:03):
to him, he's one of the more just kind of
you know, self critical players I've been around. Just really
takes it hard and he weares. I mean, if you
guys have watched the first eighteen games of the season,
you can tell how much this is grating on him,
just because it's visceral. It's physical, like you see the
knees bend, you see the head go back, you see
you know, he spiked his helmet in Saint Louis on Monday.

(02:10:25):
I think it's I think it's now getting to the
mental side of it, and he's pressing. That's pretty obvious,
and he has acknowledged that that he's pressing trying to
impress a new team on a big contract. So, I mean,
the easy answer is, like he needs some hits to fall.
He needs a line drive into the gap to fall.
He needs, you know, doesn't even have to be a
line drive, Like at some point, it's like a blue

(02:10:46):
kit would help, just to like maybe calm him down
and let him take a deep breath.

Speaker 6 (02:10:50):
But yeah, it's a rough go for him right now.
And it's not all on him.

Speaker 22 (02:10:55):
I mean, Jordan Alvarez has four extra base hits all season,
Niner Diaz has and abysmal. I mean, I don't even
have his numbers, but I know he's got an ops
and the threes, which is not what you want. Josel
Tuves cooled down. Cam Smith is breaking news. Cam Smith
is not the best player in baseball app despite what
his spring training stats would say.

Speaker 6 (02:11:16):
So it's not all on Christian Walker.

Speaker 22 (02:11:18):
But if you're gonna keep hitting him clean up every day,
if he's making the money, he's making, and if he's
your big off season acquisition, then yeah, he's gonna get
the brunt of the criticism.

Speaker 6 (02:11:29):
And the brunt of the blame.

Speaker 3 (02:11:30):
Yeah, I guess the meanest way to talk about Janer
Diaz's start. I think I took care of that earlier
when I mentioned Marty Martin Maldonado was in the lineup
tonight for the Padres and far far, far far fewer
at bats this year.

Speaker 4 (02:11:42):
They have the same number of hits, hits. They both
have seven hits this year.

Speaker 3 (02:11:46):
It's it's kind of jarring when you consider that, and
kind of from the way he wears it attitude of
Christian Walker. And we brought this up to you the
last conversation we had here on the show. It's totally
opposite for jan A really except for his you know,
after he gets around the bases or after he's driven around,
you clearly see him smile with his teammates like anybody would.

(02:12:06):
But you know, going up and back from the plate
as often as he has without success, you can't hardly tell.
Although I'm sure he's changing things, his approach, his attitude.
He's he's had some downturns before, many of them in
his short brief career. Most of that seemed like he
came from lack of consistency being in the lineup. He's
in the line of every single day. In going through this,

(02:12:28):
it sounds I'm sure the answer is still the same.
He's not gonna get out of it by sitting him.

Speaker 6 (02:12:33):
No, he's not.

Speaker 22 (02:12:33):
And I mean, to be honest with you, who else
would they play if they did sit him. I mean,
they have Victor Parrottina, but they don't have a third
catcher on this roster. I mean, he's gonna have to
play it, So I mean, he's have to play his
way through this. And you know, to be honest with you,
I'm probably a little more worried about Yordas.

Speaker 6 (02:12:49):
Than I am Christian Walker.

Speaker 22 (02:12:50):
Just give him the track records, right, Like I'm not
going to bring up back of a baseball card, But
you know, Christian Walker has a more substantial, lengthy track
record than the eiderda who I mean, for all the
good things Jiner Diaz has done, he's really only put
together one full major league season, and as you said,
in that one full major league season where he was
really good, you saw slumps like this, Like I think

(02:13:13):
he went his last one hundred and thirty played appearances
last year without Homery still hit three hundred, but he's
gone through stretches like this, so I'm a little bit
more concerned maybe about him.

Speaker 6 (02:13:23):
Look, I don't think he's gonna have.

Speaker 22 (02:13:24):
A three hundred oh pps all year, but certainly it's
something that I if I'm looking at it from a
ten thousand foot view, as the sample size gets bigger,
I would probably be a little bit more concerned about
Yiner than I would Christian Walker.

Speaker 3 (02:13:38):
It forced, as I am from time to time, to
be much less of a wet blanket. What would you
point to offensively or individually offensively or a kind of
a team wide philosophy, if there is one of something
that has been a good thing with this team's offense.

Speaker 22 (02:13:53):
Well, I mean, first and foremost is they're taking more pitches.
They're in the top ten walks, They're seeing more pitches
per late appearance this year than they did at any
point last year. It's pretty clear that whatever they told
the team in spring training or what they did this
offseason to see more pitches, to take better at bats,
that's been the weird thing about this whole offense, Like
the bats have looked good, like there are very few

(02:14:17):
six pitch innings when it seemed like every other inning
last year was an eight to ten pitch inning when
they were going bad. Like the at bats look good,
like they're battling, Like Estoc Paradus is doing exactly what
they thought he would do. Jordon Alvarez is seeing almost
four and a half pitches per plate appearance.

Speaker 6 (02:14:32):
Like the at bats look good.

Speaker 22 (02:14:35):
They just they just don't have the results right now.
And I know, you know, you can't just you can't
just say that and say, oh, it'll come. Like there's
some underlying stuff that's concerned. They're hitting the ball on
the ground way too much for a team that is
very slow and very old position player wise. You say that,
and they're seeing more sinkers than any team in baseball,
so you would expect most of the stuff to be

(02:14:55):
on the ground. You know, the all right handedness of
this lineup minus Jordon Alvarez, Like, I think that's gonna
be a problem going for it. I think they're gonna
have to find some way to inject some balance into
this lineup because you know, you.

Speaker 6 (02:15:09):
Can't pitch everyone the same.

Speaker 22 (02:15:10):
But when you get every when you get eight of
nine righties up there, like it comes a little bit
easier to navigate. So, I mean, look, there are some positives,
like I said, the walk rate, the amount of pitches
they're seeing. The bottom of their order has been okay,
like Jake Myers is having a nice start to his season.

Speaker 6 (02:15:27):
Cam Smith for the ops not looking great again.

Speaker 22 (02:15:30):
Yeah, bats look all right, It's just yeah, they they
need to slug, like I mean, just just playing and
simple like they need to hit doubles, they need to
hit homers.

Speaker 6 (02:15:39):
And that is not gonna come from the bottom of
that order.

Speaker 22 (02:15:41):
It's gonna come from Christian Walker, from yinor Diaz, from
Jordan Alvarez, from the guys that are scuffling the most.

Speaker 3 (02:15:46):
Yeah, it's it's a pretty simple philosophy. If this team's
gonna go and as same as any other year that
they've been really, really good, it's gonna come from the guys.
You need it to come from the top four in
their order or five most days with Jiner. That's where
they're going to win games, that's where they're going to
score runs, that's where they're going to slug. And it
simply has not happened. Yet it's Ryan Gusto Hayden Wiznsky
from ber Valdez getting the three starts in this San

(02:16:07):
Diego series beginning tonight. What about the immediate future for
Gusto and having seen him now throw against major league
hitters now the six times that he has, what do
you like about what his future might hold?

Speaker 22 (02:16:20):
You know, Look, he throws strikes, which they like a lot.
He's not afraid, he's not nibbling around the zone. He's
around the strike zone, which they that's why they like
him as a long reliever. And to be honest with you,
I think he's going to stay on this club as
kind of that long relief role because you've seen their
bullpen get upside down a couple of times already this season,

(02:16:40):
and it's because either Gusto was in the starting rotation
already or that he had been used and they just didn't.

Speaker 6 (02:16:46):
Have him available.

Speaker 22 (02:16:46):
Like putting one guy out there that can throw strikes
and get you nine or ten outs after a short
start or in a game that's lopsided, that helps you
so much going forward, especially in these long stretches a game.
So I can see him and around as a long reliever.

Speaker 6 (02:17:01):
But tonight. It's gonna be a big challenge for him.

Speaker 22 (02:17:04):
This This is a really, really good Padre's lineup that
makes a lot of contact. They don't swing and miss,
they don't strike out, And the biggest thing for him
is he's gonna have to control the running game because
I fear that this team is going to run all
over them, uh this weekend, just with all three starters.
And it's not even just running on the battery, it's

(02:17:26):
you know there tonight in left field and the center field.
You don't have much confidence in the arms. Camp Smith's
got a fine arm and right field, but he's a
guy that's in his first month as a full time outfielder,
so you could see a lot of first to third tonight.
You can see them putting a lot of pressure on
Ryan Gusto, a guy that while every game in Triple

(02:17:48):
A matters.

Speaker 6 (02:17:49):
To the team that's playing.

Speaker 22 (02:17:50):
I doubt Ryan Gusto has ever had to think about
the running game as much as he's gonna have to
think about it tonight, because this is a Padres team
that with a lot of their guys on the I
L they're having a play a little bit differently. They're
putting a lot of pressure on teams and go first
to third. They're stealing a bunch. And if we've seen
anything from this Astros team th eighteen games, is that
they cannot control the running game.

Speaker 3 (02:18:09):
Yeah, it's been pretty disappointing when they're fully aware of
the issue, and it's not a new issue to this
year's team, but it's an overwhelming one and yet they're
unable to do much about it in any given game.
Twenty four steals on twenty seven attempts is what the
Padres have already put together among the leaders in stolen bases,
and I like you expect, unfortunately, more of that this weekend,
provided they have base runners, and they likely will. They're

(02:18:31):
an unbelievably strong offense, pitching staff, and obviously team best
in baseball at fifteen and four. Chandler certainly appreciate the time,
enjoy the rest of the weekend, and always appreciate you.
All Right, thanks, you got it, Chandler, Roma of the
Athletic covering the Astros and Major League Baseball. Gusto was
nesky fromer Valdez and Gusto's case, he'd just like to

(02:18:54):
go a little bit deeper in the game and was
Nesky's case. He'd like a repeat of his domination strikeout
performances last time out, and absolutely a bounce back performance
is what Fronbervaldes is looking for. Hopefully it's an opportunity
to claim the series of nothing else. If they can
grab a win on either of these first two days,
then maybe you beat a National league team. It's the

(02:19:15):
best National League team and the Astros. I've mentioned it
a couple of times even in this conversation, it sounds
like we're talking about a four or five win team.

Speaker 4 (02:19:25):
They're eight and ten. It's not awful.

Speaker 3 (02:19:28):
They've managed to stay around five hundred without even winning
two games in a row all season long. But the
longer it goes, and with the competition what it is
this weekend, it can only last so long before they
will see a dip in that number in the standings
where they count wins and losses.

Speaker 2 (02:19:46):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (02:19:56):
Aha back here, second segment of the final hour of
the program this week here on the A team say again, yeah,
I'm pretty good in this era. It's not from this decade.
It's not from the decade before that or the one
before that, but the one before that Locked In Locked

(02:20:17):
This is my favorite song of all time. I thought
you played it more for what you usually do because
the title had to do with you know, the sun
and TV and all that. But I would have never
guessed that was your favorite. Why not even their biggest hit,
although remember.

Speaker 10 (02:20:33):
I saw a Spider Man meme where he was just
doing like the monkey dance for h forty five minutes
straight in the song All Love with It's Ever Since.

Speaker 3 (02:20:40):
Well, earlier this week, I believe I was none too
pleased with our extended conversation about bump music, so I'll
curtail it here, though I'm happy to bring in the
cassette tape with that song on it for you if
you'd like.

Speaker 4 (02:20:52):
Good luck trying to find somewhere to play it.

Speaker 6 (02:20:53):
But I do have it.

Speaker 4 (02:20:54):
You don't have your Walkman anymore.

Speaker 3 (02:20:56):
I'm one hundred percent positive actually do have it. I'll
put some batteries in it and bring that for you
as well. Wait, it's gonna be great. We'll make sure
to social media that out for everybody.

Speaker 4 (02:21:09):
Oh, by the way, the Rockets are playing the Warriors,
maybe we can talk about that.

Speaker 3 (02:21:12):
The last of the eight opening round series will go
off Sunday night at Toyota Center between the Rockets and
the Warriors.

Speaker 4 (02:21:19):
It runs like this this weekend.

Speaker 3 (02:21:22):
The Pacers take a one game to none lead first
on Saturday, then the Clippers upset the Nuggets in their
Game one that follows from Ball Arena in Denver against
David Addleman, their interim head coach. The Knicks hold serve
at home against the Pistons late afternoon, and then the
Timberwolves push pace all night long at Crypto and lose

(02:21:47):
to the Lakers in Game one. That's what you have
on Saturday night. Each of those teams are favored to
win except for Denver. I mean, of the teams I
said would win except for the Clippers. Clippers are two
and a half point favorite underdog going into that game.
It's obviously on the road. Said that very clearly. Like
I said, the Rockets are the last to play. We

(02:22:07):
don't even know the matchup for the first game of
the day on Sunday. And keep this in mind, that
is a noon game for one of the teams that's
in Memphis right now. I know Memphis isn't that far
from Oklahoma City, but this isn't the regular season. They're
playing a game tonight, and then they have to be
on the court and playing the best team in the NBA,

(02:22:29):
one of the best teams statistically in the history of
the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder. I'm sure they'll bring
tons of momentum into that game. We don't have a
full update report expectation on Jahn Morant and his sprained ankle, but.

Speaker 4 (02:22:48):
No scenario has the Thunder with any worry.

Speaker 3 (02:22:50):
They have the first game on Sunday, they'll win, The
Magic will get clobbered by the Celtics right after that.
The opponent for the Cavs is unknown. Other than this,
it will be a team that loses more than it wins,
the Heat or the Hawks. I don't think one of
these teams is gonna fall to some Game one upset,
a wake up call before they run through those teams.

(02:23:10):
But the slate of games leading into Rockets Warriors on Sunday,
you couldn't set up a more underwhelming game. You got
a sixty eight win team, a sixty one win team,
and a sixty four win team all hosting garbage, and
then you got Rockets Warriors. So I hope people can
stomach the other games as they get prepared for what

(02:23:31):
should be a very good game and a very good series,
arguably the most entertaining, compelling series in this opening round,
even without necessarily star power coming from the Rockets. Rockets
had enough talent to win fifty two times. They had
enough talent to beat every team in the Western Conference
at least once, most of them twice. They beat every
team in the West twice that they tried to beat twice.

(02:23:54):
They only played the Nuggets and Lakers two times total
in the first eighty game games. Well, so when Game
eighty one rolled around, it didn't matter and it was
against the Lakers. The Rockets didn't play anybody. When Game
eighty two rolled around, it didn't matter to Houston, but
mattered a great deal to Denver. Now, the Rockets did
play their starters for much of the game, but none

(02:24:15):
after midway through the third quarter or fourth quarter. And yes,
they were getting rolled by then, so I do think
they at least tried to put something together, but not
in the way that they were during the first eighty
or maybe the Nuggets and Lakers would have been two
more teams they beat twice during the year. So the
five meetings with Golden State for Jabari Smith Junior. What

(02:24:35):
did you learn from those five matchups, including a victory
in the last matchup just two weeks ago.

Speaker 13 (02:24:41):
It's kind of like the stand there, almost like the blueprint. Honestly,
you know, the Worris have won so many rings and
done so much in the past ten years or whatever.
It's like you kind of like test yourself against them.
With guy like Jamond and Steph over there who have
done winning and like done it at the highest level.
It's like you kind of touch yourself against them and
see how hard day play and see how much you're prepared.

Speaker 2 (02:25:01):
And it's kind of like an eye opener.

Speaker 13 (02:25:02):
Where you can go beat those teams. You can go
compete against those teams, and it's also a eye opening
where you can end up down twenty of those teams
so quick, you know what I'm saying. So it just
shows how much of a complete game you got to
play against against good teams like that, good venters and
well coached.

Speaker 3 (02:25:15):
Teams, well coached teams, that's what they are, and like
you said's kind of it's a standard. It's who they
are up against. This is a team that I know
they're not the best team in the NBA this year.
And I know the Lakers have a title, and I
know the Nuggets have a title, and I know the
thunder have the best record in the West. But this
is absolutely a measuring stick type of team because they're

(02:25:36):
made of championship medal They got three guys in their
lineup that have been there through this entire championship run
their rotation. They've got another guy who's Jimmy Butler, and
obviously their coaching staff remains almost completely intact from the
best years that they had. And like I've said multiple
times this week, I knew it, and I said as
much when the deal was made. This is not a
small trade. This is a huge trade. And Jimmy wasn't

(02:26:01):
even playoffs Jimmy. He was regular season Jimmy when he
was there. Very good Jimmy, and also happy honeymoon Jimmy.
I don't know that Jimmy's next year at sixty million
dollars or the year after at sixty million dollars is
going to be quite as Wow, Sunshine and Rainbows as
it is currently, but they don't care, nor should they.

(02:26:22):
This is a this is our last chance to win
a title with Steph Curry at at least this level.
He got a shot in the arm, a big shot
in the arm. Thirty first to the NBA in scoring
before Jimmy arrived top ten after he was fourth in
the NBA IS as recently as two weeks ago. Last
handful of games, including the Rockets holding him to three,

(02:26:42):
took him off that a little bit, but a much
better percentage shooter two months with Jimmy, a much better
percentage three point shooter.

Speaker 4 (02:26:49):
With Jimmy.

Speaker 3 (02:26:51):
There's one clear elite team in the West. Every other
team in the Western Conference playoffs sparring the eight seed
should believe we're the team that can meet Oklahoma City
and potentially knock them out. For the teams on the
other side of the bracket, that means we're going to
the Western Conference finals Houston, the Timberwolves, the Warriors, the Lakers.
For the team on teams on their side of the bracket, well,

(02:27:12):
that means the Clippers and Nuggets absolutely believe we can
win at all.

Speaker 4 (02:27:16):
The Clippers believe it absolutely. They believe it.

Speaker 3 (02:27:19):
The way that Kawhi Leonard has returned, the way that
he's playing. James is playing his best basketball probably since
leaving Houston. You might not see it in all the numbers,
but I think he's playing the best basketball that he's
played in Brooklyn, Philly or there. And a lot of
that is both coaching and the group he's out there with. Lastly,
from Jabari Smith Junior, everybody that has talked this week

(02:27:39):
essentially was asked this question. They all played against Draymond
Green two weeks ago and they all kept their cool.
Is it hard to keep your cool against Draymond You know.

Speaker 13 (02:27:49):
We go against Dylan Brooks in practice and Steved Adams
a practice, so you know, it's not really hard to
keep you cool.

Speaker 6 (02:27:54):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 13 (02:27:55):
It's just like, sorry antheics, just who he is, you
know what I'm saying, It's just got I gotta focus
on the game.

Speaker 3 (02:28:02):
The thing is, first of all, I hope they're not
trying to keep their cool against their own players in practice.
I mean, Draymond Green can't keep us cool all the time.
He punched a player in the face. Probably should have
ever seen that video, but we did. But the Draymond
Green antics that they kept their cool about Like what's

(02:28:23):
the scenario where you're like, oh my god, we lost
this ejection battle? Like I know people think he doesn't contribute,
and I'm not sure why they think that. Let's say
Draymond Green gets ejected because a Rocket lost their cool,
and that's exactly what's going to happen. If a Rocket
doesn't keep their cool, Draymond Green is also going to

(02:28:45):
be ejected in that scenario, whatever the exact specifics are.
If a Rocket gets ejected because they could not keep
their cool with Draymond Green antics, it's not gonna be
because they hauled off on some random possession after they
were mad and punched him and got ejected. It's not
because they hauled off and could at a flagrant foul
against him later in the game. It's gonna be because
they get tangled up and they do something. There's words shared,

(02:29:06):
and there's whatever happens, they're both gonna go and in
a lot of those scenarios, and I'm not sure that.

Speaker 4 (02:29:11):
They set it up the right way or set it
the right way.

Speaker 3 (02:29:14):
I don't want to mixing it up with hardly anybody,
because I wonder can the Rockets recover from continuing on
without amend or Draymond or Jalen or Alprin Shngoon or
Dylan as much as the Warriors might be able to
carry on without Draymond Green, because they're gonna run a
different lookout there if he's not a part of it.
If there is any game, by the way, they're gonna

(02:29:35):
play seven games, they're gonna play forty eight minutes plus
maybe an overtime game. Raymond Green's not getting ejected in
a game in this series, and Dylan Brooks is not
getting ejected. Just like he said this week, I'm not
getting ejected. I'll leave that for somebody else. I don't
anticipate that happening. For all Draymond Green's antics, he has
lost his cool in the playoffs before. He's also played

(02:29:55):
in a billion playoff games in the last twelve years,
so many more opportunity to do so.

Speaker 4 (02:30:01):
And yeah, it has caused his team.

Speaker 3 (02:30:02):
And at that point in time, I did think he
played a more important role than maybe he plays now.
Kicking Lebron James in the finals is probably a bad
idea and he deservedly got ejected for it. And he's
had other instances in the postseason where it's happened. I'll
guess it's not happening in this series. It's not happening
in any series the Warriors playing this year, especially if

(02:30:23):
this is the only series the Warriors playing this year.
We'll catch you up with in case you missed it
when we come your way next.

Speaker 2 (02:30:33):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (02:30:39):
It is time for in case you missed it Here
on the A Team, wext and Cole here with you
this afternoon. Same story for Monday, in case you missed it.
A couple of vacation days for some rastland for ac
can't wait for the recap on that all day Tuesday,
No Rockets talk, only wrestling talk. But I've ran through
the NBA schedule a moment ago, and before we throw

(02:31:00):
over to Cole for a look at the things I
should have discussed earlier or need to revisit. Now we
have primetime basketball. The Lakers obviously draw that prime time
slot on Saturday night when they take on Anthony Edwards
and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Speaker 4 (02:31:19):
So what goes along with primetime basketball and network coverage.

Speaker 3 (02:31:22):
You gotta have a sit down with some of the
key players, maybe the biggest star in the league or
his teammate. Luka Doncic and Malika Andrews had the pleasure
of sitting down with Luka Doncic and recounted some of
what took place as he found out that he was
no longer going to be in the only place he
knew in America, let alone in the NBA. Been a

(02:31:44):
Mavericks since draft Day and the deal that was made there,
and figured he was never going to leave. So as
she entered into that conversation, this very entertaining exchange took
place between ESPN ABC's Malika Andrews and Luka Doncic.

Speaker 4 (02:32:00):
Up the phone the night you're traded and you threw it? Yes,
do you have that phone?

Speaker 5 (02:32:07):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (02:32:09):
You still use that phone?

Speaker 4 (02:32:10):
Yeah, still works, still works.

Speaker 3 (02:32:13):
Unlike Tom Brady, he did not successfully destroy his phone.

Speaker 4 (02:32:16):
He merely threw it.

Speaker 3 (02:32:17):
And you obviously is a video a video interview. They're
going to erit during the broadcast. You can see his phone.
You can see his manager also saying I've got something
for you. They obviously edited around her when she brought
the phone into the conversation. It's good and banged up,
but I do wonder Cole as you've seen it. Also,
there's no what did he throw it against the softest

(02:32:39):
mattress ever like that phones aren't made to survive violent throws.
When I would assume he was upset he threw his phone.
He's no longer a maverick. He wasn't trying to rationalize.
But I get to go to LA and I might
win a championship this year. I might make it back
to the finals this year.

Speaker 2 (02:32:59):
I'm going LA.

Speaker 3 (02:33:00):
He was on the other side of it. Still, he
was on the sad side. He was on I just
bought a house side. He was on the what just
happened side of it? Did his phone fall out of
his pocket? And he claims he threw it? Or is
he the new pitch man for whatever phone case he has?
Like how many times have you just randomly dropped your

(02:33:20):
seen a phone drop and immediately the front is completely shattered? Like, well,
only if you've just put on the new glass screen
or you've just bought a new case, do you almost
immediately drop it?

Speaker 4 (02:33:32):
Like how the time it happens.

Speaker 3 (02:33:34):
I couldn't tell you the last time I dropped my
phone from my hand to the ground, except the one
time I did it at Texans training camp. And you
know where we hang out at Texas training camp. Usually
we're off to the left behind the track, watching the
middle field, and we're standing on the grass, or we're
off to the right standing on a very very tiny walkway,

(02:33:55):
a concrete walkway, or the grass where they have a
little covered ted force. So there's not very many places
where I'd even be the slightest bit concerned. Then I
dropped my phone. But of course I dropped my phone
right onto the concrete chattered. I had to replace the screen,
the protective glass screen, which I had recently replaced, probably

(02:34:19):
within the.

Speaker 4 (02:34:19):
Last five days. Here's the other thing. This is obviously
a while ago. I'm over it now.

Speaker 10 (02:34:23):
The other thing that's really funny is that whenever, like
especially in an iPhone, when you don't have a case
on it and it's shattered in the back, glass goes
into your hand and so like.

Speaker 4 (02:34:31):
He's holding it, I'm dangerous.

Speaker 2 (02:34:33):
Dude.

Speaker 4 (02:34:33):
Do you understand that you got traded to a championship.

Speaker 10 (02:34:37):
Caliber team who needs you and you're just from a
championship caliber team from a championship the defending Western Conference
champion Dallas Mavericks. But still you're walking around with the
phone that's broken and busted and completely covered in glass.

Speaker 4 (02:34:53):
You're like, oh, yeah, it still works.

Speaker 3 (02:34:54):
So that's like Aaron Rodgers complaining about flying to New
Jersey from Malibu on his own dime, on his own.

Speaker 10 (02:34:59):
Dime, how to pay for the gas, how to pay
for the luxury tax, to go ahead and park his jet?
You know, G six drivers wax. They are casual with
their money and they are trying to keep them back
in their pocket.

Speaker 3 (02:35:10):
So, in case you missed it, yesterday we talked about
the Aaron Rodgers meeting. I paid to come out here.
You had already decided you didn't want we Why did
you make me come out here? Why didn't you just
tell me before I did that? All that stuff that
went into it, and how I even said, Well, the
Darren and Aaron show might want to consider as they
move forward, maybe not dealing with too many players like
this because it might put the word out that this
isn't an ideal operation. But I should have also mentioned

(02:35:36):
this is Aaron Rodgers with the Jets. We're talking about
Aaron Rodgers, the general manager of the Jets. We're talking
about Hey man, this is gonna be awesome. I can't
wait to play here. If you signed this player, if
you go get this player, if you trade for this player.

Speaker 10 (02:35:52):
If you hire this coach, if you bring in this
training assistant, if you bring in this person who can
go ahead and drive me from point A to point B.

Speaker 4 (02:35:59):
I mean, like literally, that was the job.

Speaker 10 (02:36:01):
Randall Cobb kept a job in the NFL an extra
year because if they told him, hey, if you want me,
you gotta bring Randall, Well, the dude doesn't have legs
left anymore.

Speaker 4 (02:36:11):
I don't care. I need Randall on the roster.

Speaker 3 (02:36:13):
We knew that here in Houston after he was signed
to a three year deal by genius GM. Bill O'Brien
should have asked Chancellor Johnson when he's in here with us,
what it was like covering Aaron Rodgers. He was working
in Green Bay when Aaron Rodgers was quarterbacking the Green
Bay Packers.

Speaker 4 (02:36:31):
Now to the other items, and in case you.

Speaker 10 (02:36:32):
Missed it, So, there's a lot of people in Houston
that would love to see the Texans at some point
on day three, some even on day two draft tight end.
They're done with the Dalton Schaltz experiment. They know that
Brevin George fans are management isn't yet, no no, no,
not not management, but but fans are ready for a
new tight end. And we've heard Colson Lovelin's name be
thrown around, Gunner Helm's name be thrown around, Elijah.

Speaker 4 (02:36:53):
Royal's name be thrown around. Waxa got some bad news.

Speaker 10 (02:36:57):
I don't think the fans are gonna get what they
want at least a point, because another tight end has
signed with the Texans, according to reports, IRV Smith Junior
back for another year, one year contract for twenty twenty five.

Speaker 5 (02:37:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:37:09):
Irv Smith Junior took a while and a lot of
snaps late in the season that he earned for him
to even see a target. He's definitely not, at least
by previous offensive coordinator and some of their staff, seen
as much of a pass receiving threat. Yeah, but obviously
with the Brevin Jordan injury and when you lean on
Teague in Quatoriano to stay healthy, which when they brought

(02:37:31):
him back they did foolishly and unfortunately in his case,
Earth Smith was he was available, he was available to
be added, he was available to be brought up from
the practice squad, and he is at least a professional
level tight end, but not going to be a huge.

Speaker 4 (02:37:44):
Part of this offense moving forward.

Speaker 3 (02:37:46):
And I would hope, I mean truly honest, I know
you probably would believe it too. Irv Smith. Being on
your roster in the offseason, I can't possibly dictate what
you're going to be doing on draft day because you're
too full tight end.

Speaker 10 (02:38:00):
You never know, you never know, wex this might be
the move that sets the standard of a new era
of offensive football, Unneve Nick Kaylee second chance opportunities for players.
Who's the player that we talked about earlier today that
I would love to see the Houston Texas draft pick
number twenty five.

Speaker 3 (02:38:17):
With the twenty fifth pick in the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft, the Houston select, according to the A Team,
a Mecca at Buka wide receiver Ohio State.

Speaker 4 (02:38:26):
That would be great.

Speaker 10 (02:38:27):
In fact, that would be probably one of the better
moves that most people would not be complaining about. And
we're one step closer to seeing that happen. According to
KPRC two Sports, Aaron Wilson not only did the Mecca
Abuka meet with the Texans at the NFL scouting combine,
he recently had a zoom call with them as one
of their visits ahead of the draft. He now joins

(02:38:47):
guys like Kyle Williams. He also joins Trey Harris as
wide receivers. They're in the running to become the running
mate opposite of Nico Collins, so to.

Speaker 3 (02:38:58):
That end, beyond Mecha's involvement, and to kind of take
him out of the conversation because you brought up another
tier of wide receivers. Then, in case you missed it,
less than a week to go before the draft, we
haven't talked talked nearly enough about. We've brought up the
name Jack Beck, We've briefly mentioned Jalen Noel and Jayden

(02:39:19):
Higgins obviously for unfortunate other reasons. The name Isaiah Bond
has been mentioned here, and now you bring up Kyle Williams.
I brought up Saveon Williams, the player from TCU. I'm
curious if the Texans draft a receiver on Saturday, who
do you think it might be? Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh

(02:39:39):
round somewhere post one hundred. I got to the first
one is Ty Felton out of Maryland. Good vertical receiving
threat that can easily win his one on one matchups.
And then a guy that just continuously catches my eye.
I've watched him so much in the SEC. He was
the SEC leading receiver last year. Andrew Armstrong out of Arkansas.

Speaker 10 (02:39:58):
Nobody is talking about him, nobody's bringing him up in conversations,
nobody's giving him a shot. Yet he led in a
conference that features superstar talents like Cam Coleman and Ryan Williams. Yards, receptions,
yards after catch, he was number two and receiving touchdowns.

Speaker 4 (02:40:13):
That's a guy who took a taight three thick flyer on.

Speaker 3 (02:40:16):
He's a Texas kid that went to Arkansas. He's very
scary considering he was born on Halloween. But he had
eleven hundred yards last year and found the end zone. Yeah,
just the one time he had one touchdown that was
a big thing. But he had a thirteen touchdown season
two years prior to that when he was first team

(02:40:36):
All Southland with Texas A and m commerce.

Speaker 4 (02:40:40):
But he is from the SEC more recently.

Speaker 3 (02:40:42):
Very productive player. Might be targeted for undrafted free agency.

Speaker 10 (02:40:48):
I would say sixth early seventh round. That would be
where I would probably have him now his teammates Atanga.
That's an on drafted free agent that I could see
the Texan targeting.

Speaker 3 (02:40:58):
Interesting if you missed this during the off season, because
we've brought it up a couple of times the Pivot
Podcast with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Shannon Crowder. They
had an extended off season edition with the Stingleys, Derek
Stingley and Derek Stingley's father, Derek Stingley. In both cases

(02:41:19):
they talked a lot about a bunch of different things,
including a question about the dogs that he goes up
against in practice every day, and he kind of went
beyond well, obviously Nico and obviously Steph and obviously Tank,
but you should see some of the plays that get
made at practice. Jared Wayne this unbelievable one handed catch,

(02:41:41):
and x is doing this, and they didn't None of
those players were really truly given a well, he's gone today,
he's out this week. You're getting seventy snaps and you're
gonna see six to eight targets and nobody whould ever
set it up that way.

Speaker 4 (02:41:55):
But it never even played out that way, if you recall.

Speaker 3 (02:41:59):
And I'm not saying he's going to emerge this year
for sure, but the biggest play of the Texans postseason
was the fumbled snap, the forced rollout from CJ. Stroud
deep in their own territory and he found Xavier Hutchinson
in the middle of the field, absolutely wide open. It
was the play that changed everything about that game for

(02:42:21):
the Texans.

Speaker 4 (02:42:22):
He did the right thing. He knows what to do.

Speaker 3 (02:42:25):
I do think he took advantage of his opportunities, but
they were very, very limited. And the Texans right now
at the wide receiver position, they have Nico Collins in
Christian Kirk and they're curious what else they will have
when the season begins against Indianapolis again.

Speaker 4 (02:42:42):
Is my guess. I'll say Jacksonville, we shall see.

Speaker 3 (02:42:48):
We will hit you with the final segment and also
an opportunity to send you out to go see a
very good show coming up in April over to NRG Stadium.

Speaker 4 (02:42:57):
Kendrick Lamar is going to be there. You could be too.
Tickets to that.

Speaker 2 (02:43:00):
Next the Aged on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (02:43:09):
We got you for one final segment which will include
my final thoughts on Rockets Warriors before they tip things
off on Sunday night for this program. I'll be back
with you for our Rockets countdown for that program as
we get ready for Rockets Warriors. But I also have
my last opportunity this week to hook you up with
some tickets. We have multiple pairs of tickets available to

(02:43:30):
the Grand National Tour, the tour I just mentioned with
Kendrick Lamarrence's over at NRG Stadium on April twenty third.
Tickets on sale now ticketmaster dot com. Should you not
win them? Here by answering this simple question. Thanks to
listening to this program. Always like to hook up the listeners,
and if you were listening last segment, you know this
very simple answer to this very simple question. And you
can call in at seven one three two one two

(02:43:52):
five seven ninety seven one three two one two five
seven ninety if you know the answer to this question.
As discussed last segment. There will be a primetime NBA
game on this Saturday evening. Normally that includes a sit
down interview with a very important player in that game.
It's Luka Dancic in this instance, What did Luca tell

(02:44:17):
Malika Andrews that he did immediately after finding out he
was traded from his Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers.
He told her what he did, He showed her the
evidence of what he did. What did he do after
he learned that he was traded from Dallas to La

(02:44:38):
seven one three two one two five, seven ninety. We
discussed it last segment. Man, it's all over the interwebs.
If you want to find out and you want to
go see Kendrick Lamar. So for me, Golden State and Houston,
there will be plenty of fireworks with the Rockets. Nobody
from the Warriors can stop Houston, Center, Alpera and Schengoon.

(02:44:58):
The Rockets are more athletic than Golden State led by
Jalen Green, Aman Thompson and Alpera and Shangoon and Fred
Van Vliet is an NBA champion with plenty of playoff experience.
Golden State, with future Hall of Famer and the best
shooter in the NBA, Steph Curry, are going to need
playoff Jimmy Butler to also dominate. But who else will
step up for the Warriors in this matchup? I saw

(02:45:21):
Brandon Pajemski score twenty eight points against my Lakers. If
Jonathan Kaminga answers as the X factor, I'm thinking Warriors
in seven. Fool Ja. He thought those were my thoughts.
Those were Irvin Magic Johnston's thoughts and breakdown of Rockets
Warriors Warriors in seven, So, says the owner of the

(02:45:44):
soccer team, football team, baseball team, and formerly basketball team.
I gave my prediction already once today on radio on
ninety five to seven in San Francisco, so I must
not change it.

Speaker 4 (02:45:58):
It's only been a few hours.

Speaker 3 (02:46:00):
I said, Rockets in seven. They have to prove to
themselves they can beat a team in the playoffs, and
in this case, it's this specific team. And once they
do that, I think they know that they can win
any game. If it happens in game one, I'd feel
tremendous about picking them to win the series. It'd be

(02:46:20):
awesome if they went to Golden State up two games
to none. I'm not necessarily expecting that, but I am
expecting the Rockets to get back to Houston for Game
five with a series tied at two games apiece. You
win Game five, you ensure that you have a game
back here at Toyota Center before the season ends, and
hopefully that is a Game one in the next series.

(02:46:41):
Because you go ahead and go to Golden State and
you win Game six, I can see the series playing
out like that. Obvious playoff pedigree lands on the other side.
When you have a team that's been there, done that,
and you add Jimmy Butler to it, it's a heavy
advantage to them, and I do think the games are
gonna come down to the last few possessions, which sounds
like a heavy advantage to Golden State. But is it

(02:47:01):
going to happen every single game that they come up
with all the plays down the stretch every single time?
Sure it could not forecasting that. Love to see the
Rockets have a comfortable win or two, and that's how
they won one of their two games against Golden State.
They just did so by ten. But remember the other win.
They came back in that game. They made the plays late.
It was a controversial call at the end of the game,

(02:47:22):
but they needed to hit two free throws late, which
they did to win the game.

Speaker 4 (02:47:26):
So there you have it.

Speaker 3 (02:47:28):
I'll be with you on Sunday night alongside Matt Thomas,
the voice of Houston Rockets Basketball, and we'll deliver you
Game one Rockets Warriors. Space City Home Network will have
that game as well, and that's when we'll talk to
you next about the Rockets trying to take care of
business first time, eliminating the Warriors from the postseason. In

(02:47:48):
meeting number five for Cole Thompson and Chancellor Johnson nice
enough to join me in our extended guest list today.
Enjoy your weekends. Astros baseball all weekend long. Yes, we
got Astros on deck.

Speaker 2 (02:48:00):
Next the A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety

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