00:00season just to update they lost to the Mavs last Thursday and then they or last week they lost to
00:06the Mavs in their first uh NBA cup game but then they beat the Thunder on uh on Halloween so
00:13so
00:13now they're hosting the Boston Celtics they're six and one they're one of the better teams in
00:18basketball and I'm there they've captured my attention I feel like things have changed enough
00:25in the NBA and the landscape and how things look around them between how they're looking and how
00:31things are looking around them we saw that depleted Thunder team that they just played Seth I'm starting
00:37to believe that they've got a chance is it is it too early to be sold on the Rockets I
00:41don't know
00:41no no I I caution against caution at this point because if if they've gone out and if they looked
00:48exactly like the same team from the last couple years uh then and and they were six and one right
00:53now I would say all right pump the brakes I don't know I don't know if being a best rebounding
00:59team
00:59in the NBA is the is the path the glory all of that but they're just they're in they're they're
01:06in
01:06they're shooting I was I was struggling to spit out the words you see Brandon because even though
01:13it's been a few weeks of now they're they're the best they're one of the best shooting teams in the
01:18league and in a lot of it seems sustainable my only question would be okay they're shooting
01:23without Amin Thompson you know still really showing that he's an incredibly improved outside
01:28shooter so yeah versus better defense they end up having spacing issues and all of that sure
01:34but they're doing so many things so well that it's and and they've done it versus good teams
01:40they've they've done it versus a weekend Oklahoma City team no Chad Holmgren etc etc etc they beat the
01:47Spurs they have the Celtics tonight and this is this is another great test versus the best defense
01:53in the league right now to really see okay what exactly is this team offensively and can you can
01:59you replicate that against a really really good defense yeah they're third in three point percentage
02:04right now and I don't know how sustainable that is like you can you can remind Ari or check me
02:09when
02:09you've heard this story before of the Rockets starting the season off shooting it pretty good and then
02:15that kind of trailing off as they have some of the inconsistencies that they have with their
02:19spacing issues but could they be kind of close to this they're third in the league right now
02:2439 percent from three that's got to help them a lot in being the top ranked offensive or having the
02:30top
02:31offensive rating in basketball I mean that's that's that's I mean yeah and they're but they're not
02:37taking a boatload of threes either you know it's it's much more balanced in terms of attacking all
02:42areas or attacking from all areas of the floor if and hopefully you know I don't I don't need
02:47to be this efficient from three if they can just start taking more threes and making that making
02:53that more important part of the repertoire I guess yeah the I the big x factors at this point would
02:58be
02:59is Jabari Smith is this is this the real Jabari Smith Jr yeah like okay because that's uh when you
03:05see
03:06some young guys really take a step forward and how sustainable is it over time there how sustainable
03:11is it if they have to start really relying on him when other guys are injured or load managed I
03:16guess
03:16that would be the the thing that I might be waiting to see if this turns into a pumpkin or
03:20not but so
03:21far it's been really good really really promising for Jabari Smith Jr yeah Jabari Smith Jr with 30 points
03:27in the Rockets win over the Thunder the other night so I mean look Jabari Smith Jr is a part
03:33of
03:34these four guys that they have right now and this is really impressive speaking to their offensive
03:39prowess right now that they got four guys that are averaging 16 points or better Jabari's average has
03:45gone up slightly I think he averaged around 15 or 17 last year and it's gone up a little bit
03:50so and then you get a 30 burger from him and I think that's the big piece of this too
03:55is that you're
03:56seeing the confidence in a lot of the younger guys right like Jabari Smith Jr even a men Thompson not
04:02being a shooter I think having like having Kevin Durant obviously makes a lot of people's lives
04:07easier but just having Fred Van Vliet out there doing all the ball handling stuff okay now you're
04:14able to do more with a men Thompson have him roam the baseline have him flash to the high post
04:19let him really be a menace defensively to the point where he can guard straight up against Victor
04:26Wimby Yama at the end of the game and meet him at the rim to save the game like I
04:30don't I don't know
04:31if he's able to do that if he's having to play point guard the entire game and you don't have
04:35the
04:36options that you have now so I just think the pieces fit so much better and that the team just
04:42makes so
04:43much more sense than it did last year when it was injured on top of the field sort of you
04:48being kind
04:49of lucky and good I feel like in this situation right now we'll see how sustainable it is but I
04:53feel like
04:54it's a it's a pretty good look so far it's not I mean it's it's it's almost it's it's hard
05:01to even
05:01overthink it I guess I like I guess the temptation would be you know to to not think about it
05:07too much
05:08and like just enjoy it and yet if you try to overthink it it all just makes sense right now
05:14you're seeing guys play the way they should play complimentary basketball and they're doing all the
05:21things that last year were really really a struggle just in terms of ball movement guys guys getting
05:27catch and shoot opportunities so you can be the best version of them I mean I'm kind of left I
05:32give
05:32if I want to be a hater on all of this I I'm having a hard time like if I
05:37if I try to play the role of
05:38hater I'm trying to figure out exactly where it's going to go wrong barring injury well um other than
05:44you know what's that there it is well yeah but I mean you can say that about any team any
05:49year
05:50well except that Kevin Drand is old well and that's the thing Seth you can especially say it about
05:55every almost every team every year think about the NBA right now unfortunately and I hate this sucks man
06:02because nobody wants you want to talk about the game you want to talk about the actual stories you
06:05want to have fun with the game but a reality in the NBA right now there are way too many
06:10injuries for
06:10me to even list off in this segment but we're talking about the Thunder right now being in this
06:14in this spot because they've lost three key players the Rockets falling off a cliff last year because
06:21they lost Fred Van Bleet and so I'll do this as somebody who has overthought it you try you
06:27threw that out there Seth so I gotta be as somebody who think it for me as somebody who's definitely
06:32overthought I'm not hating this is me you're a hater this is the apocalyptic fan in me right
06:36I'm just like well you are heavily reliant on guys who are either old recently injured or just the
06:47simple five man you know five five man starting lineup there like every guy in the starting lineup
06:54to me is just so essential to what they do to where I don't know how much they could afford
06:59to lose
07:00any single one of them okay and you can argue and rank which one you think is most valuable whether
07:05that's Kevin Durant or Alperen Shingun Fred Van Vliet probably wants a word given how things went last
07:11year but I don't think they could afford to lose Jabari Smith Jr. right now even if Tari Eason could
07:16start in his place you know I don't I don't think they could afford to lose a men Thompson even
07:21if he
07:21can't shoot outside of the paint you know all of these guys are so essential to the operation and fit
07:27so
07:27well together that would be my concern is hey I'm looking around the league and I see everybody else at
07:34at least losing somebody yeah and I'm over here crossing my fingers that the Rockets don't lose
07:40anybody I guess everyone's so essential to the operation my argument against you would be hey
07:45you didn't have Shingun versus the Bucks but then your counter argument that to be could be oh yeah
07:51and they didn't have Shingun versus the the Mavs you know like that's the that's the the big one
07:57obviously yeah and went into the point of Shingun I mean if he's gonna play like this right like you
08:02also put a pin in that how lingering are the back issues gonna be with Alperen Shingun hopefully not
08:08not gonna I'm not no hater I want Alperen Shingun to be healthy but I think having him play at
08:14the
08:14level that he's played in the early small sample size that you've gotten from him is also essential to
08:20this whole thing right we I talked about this a lot of who's gonna be that all NBA candidate
08:25on the Rockets that's not Kevin Durant because they do need somebody to look like that and it
08:31seemed like it was gonna be Shingun early in the season he starts to get injured around the the
08:36start of the calendar year the turn of the calendar year and he doesn't look the same this is more
08:42of
08:42what he was looking like early last year what he looks like an international ball and everybody all
08:47little hoop heads are are longing for international ball Shingun this is as close as you've gotten to
08:52it how sustainable is it they need him to be out there too yeah so I'd like to uh over
08:58the next six
08:59games uh or at some point this season I'd like to see Steven Adams play more than the the eight
09:03total
09:04minutes uh he has this year so far that's we're talking about injuries yeah I mean that's uh now that's
09:11that's just actually you could be super optimistic or pessimistic about that you could say like
09:17yeah but just imagine once Steven Adams is healthy and out there but that's that's a big if you know
09:22over the course of a season and on into the playoffs man as much as I love Clint Capella I
09:28did not I did
09:29not expect even going back to last year did not expect to see this much Clint Capella or to think
09:34that he would be this necessary now Jabari Smith Jr. back to him that could be like he could very
09:40well be
09:41your backup center or an option like his growth and development on top of the whole Shingun piece of this
09:47I think is also essential to the Rockets leap and what potential leap they could make like if he's
09:52if he's that stretch five or if he's a consistent player and every single one of these guys has had
09:57that stretch of just of lows of when they just seem like they forget how to play if this is
10:02what he's
10:03going to play like you got to look at the Rockets completely different you you just have to it's a
10:07it's
10:07early small sample size we don't want to get over in over our heads a little bit but
10:14this is it's good early signs from the Rockets so far is Capella for you one of those guys where
10:19all of a sudden you feel old when you realize he's 32 years old or like when you saw him
10:24last year and
10:24you're like oh he's 31 years old my god yeah I've been through this with plenty of athletes so far
10:29that I'm used to it I feel like for you that might have been the one where you all of
10:33a sudden
10:33old yeah I get to say I remember when he was 19 years old man when he was a young
10:38buck I do he was so
10:39baby-faced you know Sterling does he make you feel old he does actually he does because I remember
10:44Capella back in 2016 yeah I'm like how old are you I'm 25 even though you're 25 yeah he's younger
10:52than Capella yeah you look like you're 16 to me hey hey that's no offense to you that's that's what
10:57every 25 year old looks to me now like uh is that kid a sophomore in high school no he's
11:02it's got three
11:02kids ah damn it let us know on the text line 713-572-416 you can also get involved on
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11:17hosting the
11:18Boston Celtics tonight at Toyota Center that's a 7 30 p.m. tip so check them out he said paint
11:25I'm
11:25Brandon Scott in for Sean Pendergast and it was a wild day in the NFL yesterday we got headlines
11:31coming up next on the fan
