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00:00We're real this time we're talking hoops each town
00:06Our guy B Scott has all the latest from the hardwood in clutch city anybody here acting like no bitch
00:14It's the Rockets report
00:16On the drive with Sterner and Hughley. Hey, I am so happy
00:32All right, for real this time Brandon Scott in the building
00:36As uh, we've uh, we've moved over to, uh, our Rockets report every single Wednesday 440
00:44Brandon Scott joins us, uh to give his uh, his Rockets report
00:48He's out there covering the Rockets does uh goes to the games a lot
00:53Also covers them on the b-block podcast that you can find anywhere you uh, you get your podcast
00:59I I want to I want to get your thoughts on this
01:02They are a three three seed right now
01:05In the uh in the west they won last night
01:09They'll play the clippers again tonight in a back-to-back here at home
01:14Does this team feel like?
01:17One of the three best teams in the west and a legit title contender as they sit in
01:23In the in the western conference third does it feel like one? No, no, it does not
01:28Like the like it really feels like there are two teams in the west that that feel like
01:35Championship contenders and so who else can compete with those teams is the question now
01:40They're they're on a I don't think they're at the top of the list of those teams, right?
01:44Like I think you're talking okc
01:46Denver
01:47And then san antonio and minnesota feel like teams that are
01:52Probably ahead of you right now the way that you're presently built and then it's probably the rocket
01:57So they feel like more so
01:59Or the or the fifth best team in the western conference if we're being honest
02:02But they're among those teams like I was thinking about this earlier talking about this on the podcast actually
02:08There's okc
02:10And then there's a bloodbath of western conference teams that can beat each other now denver's the best of those
02:15teams
02:16But you got other teams that I like I think minnesota could beat denver in a series
02:20I think the rockets if they figured things out could make things interesting against denver in a series
02:25I wouldn't pick them
02:25I think san antonio would make things interesting against denver in a series
02:30So there's a blood
02:30I like san antonio
02:31I like them right in that in that range with denver
02:34So that's what i'm saying so there there is a a group of five or six
02:39That could cannibalize each other for the right to face okc
02:43And then you're talking about what could you do if you get to the western conference finals
02:46But right now they feel like a they feel like a team that could win a playoff series
02:51Right they're the four or five they could beat whoever is the other side
02:54But then probably not beating the one you know what I mean
02:57And they don't feel like much better than a four or five to me
03:00What ok what what has to happen not necessarily what you expect
03:06But what has to happen for them to
03:09Convince you between now and let's call it a month or month and a half
03:13Like what needs to happen
03:14With this team who needs to step up who needs to who needs to kind of define a role
03:19What what needs to happen for you to feel like they
03:21Are you know in reach of of an oklahoma city or a denver?
03:27You know night in night out
03:28So you have your two all-stars who are entrenched right we know who those guys are
03:32Kevin Durant
03:33Albert Shingon
03:34To me the season comes down to what are you getting from the combination of
03:39Jabal Smith Jr
03:41Reed Shepard and Amin Thompson
03:43And in whatever order you want to make it like I think Amin Thompson is probably the best player of
03:48them all
03:48But Reed Shepard is going to have the most important role as you've seen over the last couple of games
03:52They're going to rely post trade deadline going into the playoff Rockets are going to rely on Reed Shepard to
03:58be
03:58Their primary ball handler down the stretch
04:01They're going to start Amin Thompson and Tari Eason
04:03But you saw how it played out last night and how it's going to play out at the end of
04:07games
04:07Reed Shepard is going to be one of those guys that they're going to rely on to have the ball
04:11quite a bit
04:11And then you're going to have Katie Jabari Smith Jr
04:15Kind of as your guys who are your fourth
04:17Your best offensive lineup
04:18That's your best offensive lineup by a mile
04:20So that's what it's going to look like
04:22So the season to your question Clint is going to come down to
04:25What does it look like from those players
04:27Y'all were having a conversation earlier about
04:29Does Kevin Durant need to be that leader
04:32Just like a tone setter
04:34It seems like they're lacking
04:35And look I think that they are lacking that
04:38But it's not an issue of Kevin Durant
04:39It's more so of the others around him
04:43Like Kevin Durant I think sets the tone
04:45I think he brings that energy
04:46I give him credit for that
04:47But it's not the same as Dylan Brooks
04:51And it also doesn't just automatically lift up
04:54Like he can help their game
04:56But he can't necessarily make them more intense
04:59Or change their attitude
05:00That's not his style
05:01I don't think that that's his style
05:03Nor do I think that that should necessarily even be his requirement
05:06Like I think that
05:07Who made Dylan Brooks that guy?
05:09Right like that's something that is within you
05:12And you got to kind of dig deep
05:13And find that within yourself
05:14So to me it's not on Kevin Durant
05:17To make Alper Goon more intense
05:20Or more focused
05:21No it's on Alper Shungun
05:23I did like how he got in his ass though
05:24About that
05:25Yeah and so he does that
05:26So beyond that
05:28What is Alper Shungun going to do
05:30When it comes to focus and intensity
05:32What are the other guys
05:33You know think about this
05:35You got Reed Shepard out there
05:36Playing 25 to 30 minutes a night or more
05:39Versus when you had Dylan Brooks out there
05:41That's not a knock on Reed
05:42But here's a guy who didn't play last year
05:44Who plays a lot now
05:45And now Dylan Brooks
05:47Who played a lot last year
05:48Not on the team
05:48Yeah
05:48And think about the difference in intensity there
05:50So it's just a different team stylistically
05:52And personality wise
05:54I'm going to go back to the Reed Shepard
05:57You know
05:59I'm in Thompson
06:00Bari Smith
06:00It's huge
06:01Like
06:01But B Scott
06:03And this is a question from a fan
06:05That just casual watcher
06:07If Reed Shepard is such a big piece of this thing
06:10And if he's going to be down the stretch
06:12As you mentioned
06:13When a game's on the line
06:15He's going to be in there
06:15And you'll be your predominant ball handler
06:17Why would that not be
06:19Why wouldn't you commit to that
06:21And that be your starting lineup
06:22Like what's the point of going with these
06:23Other guys out of the chute
06:25If that's going to be what you're going to depend on
06:27At the end of the game
06:28You preach it to the choir
06:29No I didn't know
06:30I didn't know if there was a reason
06:31I've been an advocate of what you're implying
06:34Since the very beginning
06:35So I just want to be on record on that
06:37If you're asking me
06:38And what I would do
06:39I would start Reed Shepard
06:40Right
06:40But I think what they're doing
06:42Who would you sit down?
06:43I would sit down
06:44I would bring Tari Eason off the bench
06:45I don't have a problem with that at all
06:46Or Okoge
06:46Or whatever they've been doing
06:47Yeah
06:48Exactly
06:49All of the other iterations of a starting lineup
06:52Whether it was double big
06:53And I understood why they committed to that
06:54In the early going
06:55Whether it was double big
06:57Josh Okoge
06:59Tari Eason had mine in DFS
07:01Before I realized how injured
07:02Dorian Finney-Smith was
07:03I thought he could even be a fifth starter
07:06But for a while now
07:07I've been pretty consistent on
07:09Reed Shepard should be the starter
07:10But what I think that they're doing is
07:12Since what they want to establish
07:13With that first unit anyway
07:15Is Kevin Durant and Alpern Shingun
07:18They want to come out with their best defensive lineup
07:20Tari Eason still helps them stretch the floor
07:22As one of the better three-point shooters in the league
07:24And the offense is really
07:27Shingun, Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant, Shingun
07:29To start the game
07:30And then the second unit
07:32Can be led by Reed Shepard
07:34And then of course the closing unit
07:36Can have Reed Shepard
07:37As the primary ball handler
07:38So I think that's the logic of it
07:40Brandon Scott here with this Rockets report
07:43Brandon what was your reaction
07:44When the trade deadline came and went by
07:47And the Rockets didn't really make any move
07:49Yeah I wasn't surprised
07:50Just based off of what we were hearing
07:52Leading up to it
07:54Based off of the limitations
07:55That they had with their roster
07:56Like for the Rockets to have made a move
08:00So like the cost-benefit
08:01That they would have had to do there
08:03The cost would have been
08:04Much greater than the benefit
08:05Unless you were talking about
08:07Blowing the team up
08:08Which was an option
08:09But I don't think they were ever going to do that
08:12But like a meaningful trade
08:14Would have meant getting rid of a starter
08:16Whether that be Fred Van Vliet
08:18Whether that had been one of these young stars
08:20That we're talking about
08:21Kevin Durant's the only guy
08:22That they absolutely would not trade
08:24Right
08:24But Alpern Shingun
08:26A men Thompson
08:27Tari Eason
08:28A starter for them
08:29Whether you like it or not
08:30Fred Van Vliet
08:32These are the type of pieces
08:33That they would have had to give up
08:35To get something significant
08:36And then their other tradable contracts
08:38Were not
08:39Did not have to be that tradable
08:41Like who wants
08:43Doring and Finney Smith
08:44At his contract
08:45Who wants
08:46He's barely playing
08:47Clint Capella
08:48At his contract
08:48Who by the way
08:49Now you need
08:50Because Steven Adams is hurt
08:52That was the thing
08:52I thought they might add
08:53Some depth there
08:54But those were their pieces to trade
08:56Like their realistic pieces to trade
08:58To do something along the margins
08:59The realistic salaries
09:01That they had to deal
09:02Would have been
09:03Punting on DFS early
09:04Or trading Clint Capella
09:06Turns out
09:07Don't nobody want DFS
09:09At that contract
09:09And Clint Capella
09:10You actually need him now
09:11What is
09:13What is the recipe
09:14For a championship
09:15I mean
09:15Like you said
09:16The trade deadline's gone
09:17You're sitting a tier below
09:18The top two teams
09:19Maybe even more
09:20In the West
09:21And it's similar
09:22To what I asked you
09:23While I go
09:23In a sense of like
09:24I mean
09:25Is this a
09:26Reed Shepard
09:27Has to take a
09:28A humongous step
09:29Is this a
09:30I mean
09:30Thompson has to be
09:31More consistent and better
09:32Is this a
09:33Like what is
09:34What
09:35Give me one thing
09:36That you say
09:37If this right here happens
09:38They've got a much better shot
09:40Versus the powers
09:41In the West
09:41To make it plain Clint
09:42It is a massive
09:44Step up
09:45From those guys
09:46That I talked about
09:47Earlier
09:48Like
09:48Like
09:48The combination
09:50Of
09:50Because think about it
09:51I mentioned the stars
09:52We know who the stars are
09:53But the guys who are going to
09:55Play the most minutes
09:56Okay
09:56No Fred VanVleet
09:58No Dylan Brooks
09:59Okay
09:59The guys that are going to
10:00Play the most minutes
10:01Are Jabari Smith Jr.
10:03Amen Thompson
10:04Reed Shepard
10:05These are young guys
10:06Jabari Smith Jr.
10:07Is a guy who we talked about
10:08Being underutilized
10:09My favorite in a whole bunch
10:10Yeah
10:10And he's been up and down
10:12Right
10:12He had a
10:13He had a really poor January
10:14And has played really well
10:15Over the last eight games
10:16We're going to talk about
10:17That intensity
10:18Guys who don't need that
10:20Jabari Smith Jr.
10:21Is one of those guys
10:21That brings that
10:22Night in and night out
10:23Even when he's not playing well
10:24Yeah
10:24So
10:25So
10:25They're going to need him
10:27To play more like
10:28He's played over the last
10:29Eight games
10:29As opposed to how
10:30He played in January
10:31They're going to need
10:32What they've seen from
10:32Reed Shepard
10:33Over the last two games
10:34As opposed to what
10:35They had seen from him
10:36From the previous
10:37Seven or eight games
10:38When you say that
10:39B Scott
10:39What is that?
10:40What is that?
10:41Reed Shepard
10:41With the last couple of games
10:42Versus what you saw before
10:43The command
10:44So I asked Kevin Durant
10:46Reed Shepard
10:46All of them about this
10:47Last night
10:47What are you seeing more
10:48From Amin Thompson
10:49And Reed Shepard
10:50Specifically
10:50As facilitators
10:52And playmakers
10:53It's the patience
10:54It's the ability
10:55To be able to get them
10:56In and out of sets
10:57Like the
10:58The Amin Thompson
10:59The Amin Thompson
11:00Paint touches
11:01Not turning into turnovers
11:02But instead
11:03It turns into them
11:04Moving the ball
11:05Around the perimeter
11:06And it puts the defense
11:08On
11:08You know
11:09At an imbalance
11:10That sort of thing
11:11Reed Shepard
11:11In the pick and roll
11:12With the Alper
11:13And that chemistry
11:14Starting to form
11:15And their two man game
11:16Actually becoming deadly
11:17These are the things
11:18That haven't necessarily
11:20Been incorporated
11:21In their game
11:22That we're seeing
11:23More hints of
11:23Over the last couple of games
11:25And that they gotta build on
11:26Going into the playoffs
11:28Alright
11:29That's Brandon Scott
11:30As he joins us
11:32Every single week
11:33Every Wednesday
11:34440 Rockets Report
11:36You'll be out
11:36You'll be out there tonight
11:37I'll be out there tonight man
11:38Competitive basketball man
11:40That is what I'm looking forward to
11:42Last week we had stinkers
11:43Y'all saw what they did
11:44Against the Celtics
11:45And the Hornets
11:46So these last couple of games
11:48Have been like
11:49You know
11:49Kind of right and wrong
11:50Ancient daddy's hornets
11:52No more now
11:52The hornets
11:53They're fun
11:54They're fun
11:54They are fun
11:55Brandon Miller's figured it out
11:57The con can nipple
11:58Yeah
11:59That's a theme
12:01They'll fight
12:02Y'all talking about
12:03Can nipples and hornets
12:04Man and daddies
12:05I don't know what y'all
12:06Talking about
12:06They got a nice little thing
12:08They got a nice little thing going
12:09But they should
12:10They should take care of
12:11The Clippers
12:12Who just
12:13About let it go
12:14I can't believe
12:15Did Kawhi play
12:17He's not playing both
12:17They did a good job
12:18I gotta give them credit
12:19I know Kawhi's all they got
12:20But they did a good job
12:21Of defending Kawhi
12:22The defense
12:23That's something that's been
12:23Up and down
12:24But when it's good
12:25And they did a good job
12:26Of defending him
12:27We'll see what that looks like
12:28Bye-bye
12:28contribuPaul
12:28I feel like that's also good
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