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00:00Some news here as the Rockets.
00:04Would you, KD was out, and I want to give an update to KD real quick.
00:11This is what I want you to think.
00:12I'm going to say this, and then we'll get back to this
00:15after I give you the latest KD update.
00:19Do you give the Rockets a pass going into game one without Kevin Durant?
00:24Nope.
00:25Well, I just wanted you to wait.
00:27All right, let's get the question out here, Tyler.
00:30Clearly, Tyler has given his answer, folks.
00:34The rest of you, we'll give you a little time if you want to jump in
00:37and let us know, and we'll discuss on the other side of this Kevin Durant update.
00:43Do you give them a pass?
00:45Kevin Durant, obviously, is this team's best player, their leading scorer,
00:49their player with the most experience.
00:51It feels like the offense is built around him.
00:53Do you give them a pass with Kevin Durant out?
00:57Now, the latest with Kevin Durant, we'll get to that conversation a bit.
01:03According to Vanessa Richardson,
01:07she says that Kevin Durant participated in about half of today's practice.
01:13As we know, they'll get game two in L.A. tomorrow.
01:16He participated in about half of today's practice.
01:19This email, Udoka, tells Vanessa Richardson that Durant's status will be a game-time decision.
01:26Do we know who he bumped knees with?
01:30No, but I've been very curious.
01:31Who's heavy knees ass did he bump knees with that's taking him out?
01:34Who is it?
01:35They won't let that leak out.
01:36You've got to be Amen Thompson.
01:38Listen, I was thinking Clint Capella.
01:41Clint Capella looks like he's got some heavy ass knees.
01:43Clint might get cut if he gets that close to KD and play a day before the first playoff.
01:47Stephen A. was calling for that person to get cut.
01:50Stephen A. was calling for that person.
01:51I'm thinking about saying, well, what if it was Shane Goon, Stephen A.?
01:53Should he go down too?
01:55I don't know what the hell is going on in each town.
01:57You take a look at that roster, 7-1-3-5-7-2-4-16.
02:00You've got to think he was working with the starters, so it has to be.
02:03It could have happened in five-on-five.
02:05It could have happened when they were on the same blood, making it worse,
02:08if it was Amen or even Tari.
02:10Amen and Tari seem like, too, that would be just physical by just walking by you.
02:14Just walking by you.
02:15They're the guys that they pat you on the back.
02:17There's got to be somebody that's just going hard all the damn tests.
02:19That person that just, it probably was just a complete accident.
02:23Who in the hell was it?
02:24I just, oh boy.
02:27Josh Okoge, he's a candidate.
02:29No question.
02:30Jason, Jason Tate.
02:32Jason, you're not allowed to get technicals, and you got one.
02:36And he, yeah, he's like, he's trying to fight.
02:38Wasn't Jeff Green.
02:39Jeff Green knows what time it is.
02:41Doreen Finnis-Smith knows what time it is in practice.
02:44And let's just get on through this.
02:46I know it better not have been J.D. Davis.
02:48I don't know who that is, but it better not have been J.D. Davis.
02:51I remember from the preseason.
02:53I was reporting on preseason rocket games.
02:55I know.
02:56It better not have been J.D.
02:57Or we'd have heard of this.
02:59But, but as I said, and I see some people texting in, someone texting, I do because nobody acknowledges the
03:07fact that the Lakers played great defense.
03:10Are the, are the Rockets truly building around a future superstar on this roster right now?
03:17Or are they still missing that one cornerstone piece?
03:21Again, do you give them a pass?
03:24All right.
03:24They did.
03:24I mean, they, who knows when they knew K.D., you know, was in jeopardy of not playing.
03:30Obviously, he tried to give it a go before the game and couldn't go.
03:34And, and, and I think I heard an analyst who has covered K.D. said, K.D.'s not a guy
03:42that just misses games, right?
03:43Like this is, he is not, this is not a Kawhi Leonard situation.
03:46He doesn't just miss games.
03:48He's hurt.
03:48He's really hurt, especially for a playoff game.
03:51Do you give him a pass at all?
03:53Hell no.
03:54I ain't giving Joe Spada a pass.
03:57I ain't giving the Astros a pass.
03:58No.
03:59I ain't giving him a doker a pass.
04:01No.
04:01And I ain't giving them damn Rockets a pass.
04:02That was a crying ass shame.
04:04And, and, and look, we don't need to go no further.
04:07If you just watched the halftime show and the post game show.
04:10I mean, them cats were at a loss, at a loss for words.
04:13It was so bad.
04:15I mean, what we've been talking about all year long of like, what are they trying to accomplish
04:19offensively?
04:20Like there is, it is criminal how bad they are offensively because not only the jacking up
04:27shots, whoever it is.
04:28I mean, it doesn't matter.
04:29Just jacking up shots early and early in the shot clock, no matter what the situation is.
04:34It doesn't matter which player it is.
04:35When that, when they're not in transit, like when they don't, when they don't, there's not
04:40a, a, a run out or there's not a, an immediate shot by somebody that probably shouldn't be
04:46shooting it.
04:47They're confused.
04:48They're looking at each other like, Hey, who's going to come set the screen?
04:51But you knew that would be, who's going to do this?
04:53Who's going to do this?
04:53Like the simple, the simple things that, that you've been doing in basketball since you were
04:59knee high to a grasshopper.
05:01They're looking around each other like, Hey man, you can come set the screen.
05:03Hey, who wants the ball?
05:04Who's going to shoot it?
05:05What are we going to do?
05:06I mean, so it's just, but you knew that going in and you knew that'd be, I didn't know it
05:09was
05:09going to be that bad.
05:09You know, it'd be made worse without KD, but, but I, I didn't, I didn't know.
05:13I mean, yeah, look, here's the thing with both Astros and the Rockets for me, like these
05:18are the times when we should, we should be critical of management of coaching.
05:24Like the, it's easy to coach when KD is on a scorcher and the other team can't hold him.
05:29Hell, it's easy to coach.
05:31It's easy to coach when you roll out three or four starters out there that are, that are
05:34nails and you got to line up at scoring as many runs as anybody.
05:36It's easy to coach in, but when, when, when you don't have your, your stud, what does
05:41your offense look like?
05:42Right?
05:42Hell, what does your defense look like?
05:45Right?
05:46I mean, it was pissy poor.
05:47So I like that is that for me, Clint is why I can't give a pass that your calling card
05:53is supposed to be the defense.
05:54And you would think maybe, maybe that gets enhanced with KD out.
05:59Right?
06:00I think KD is a good defender, but I, but when he, but he's more of a, like when the
06:04moment calls for it, you would think they would have been a little bit more aggressive
06:09defensively, especially against that team.
06:12That's the part that team wasn't uncomfortable.
06:14The Lakers weren't uncomfortable one time in that game.
06:16Guys, the Lakers are missing Luca and, and, and Austin Reeves.
06:22Right?
06:23And yes, you're missing KD.
06:24You still have more talent than they do.
06:26There's still the overall talent more than they do.
06:31LeBron didn't have to be great.
06:33That Joker had 10 points going into the, to the fourth quarter, 10.
06:36I know he had 10 assists, but he had 10 points going to the fourth quarter.
06:40It was not a cause for him to have to come out and, and be spectacular.
06:44He was able to kind of coast and pace himself through that first game when he knows that they're
06:50going to need him deeper in games like that.
06:54That, that happened.
06:56LeBron didn't have to be great.
06:58And the Lakers still shot 61% from the field, 53% from the, from, from the three-point line
07:06and turn the ball over 20 times.
07:08And they were in control of the whole way, the whole way.
07:12Like that, like you don't get, that's one thing.
07:14Your defense cannot let Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, DeAndre Ayton, Rui Hachimura,
07:24hell, they let Vanderbilt hit a three.
07:26I mean, I mean, you can't, you cannot allow that group.
07:31Now this, this was Luke and Reeves.
07:33I got you.
07:34I got you.
07:35But this was, this was the Luke Kennard game, the game of his life.
07:40I mean, it was, it was, I mean, it was like, all right, man.
07:44Hey man, he's on the heater guys.
07:45Maybe he's three for three here.
07:46Maybe somebody jump out on him.
07:48Nah.
07:48Like that's the part.
07:49That's why it's hard for me to give him a pass.
07:51I can understand the offense would struggle without KD, but damn, man.
07:54But you get wrong.
07:55Like there's no, like either end of the floor, man.
07:58LeBron, LeBron's had workouts that are worse than what he went through that night.
08:01I mean, he, he, he didn't even have to, he didn't even have to try hard.
08:04Like it, it was, and, and now you've wasted one of a handful of opportunities to, if this
08:09thing goes to six or seven and you get a, you get a, a LeBron that's already emptied
08:14his tank is, is your, is your hope.
08:16That's your parachute at the end of this thing, right?
08:18Is hope LeBron runs out of gas.
08:19Well, hell they're up one Oh, and he, he, at least he got a full tank.
08:23Right.
08:23And then you look on the flip, the flip side of it.
08:26You, you did that.
08:26Not one time.
08:27Um, did you make anybody on uncomfortable on the, on the defensive end of the floor
08:32for, for LA?
08:33I'm talking about you on offensive.
08:34Like you, like you didn't even try, you didn't even try to hone in.
08:38You mentioned going in on, you're going to have Marcus smart and you're going to have
08:41a Bronny Jack.
08:42You got all these guys on the floor.
08:43Like not one time.
08:44Did you ever try to even go after them?
08:46There was never, there was never other than, other than, other than whoever had the ball.
08:50Yeah.
08:50It was one on one.
08:51Yeah.
08:51I mean, it was just, I mean, they didn't have to work at all.
08:55It was, it was, that was awful.
08:56That, that was as disheartening as Joe Espada pulling Parades and putting Bryce in the game.
09:03Text line coming to the Lakers, turn the ball over 20 times and only got three offensive
09:07rebounds the whole game and still one.
09:09Just think about that.
09:10And not just that they still won.
09:12Win comfortably.
09:13Yeah.
09:14They were like, at what point did you, like there was that little run at the end of the
09:19half that they got it to a two point game in the half.
09:22And then they came out and I believe Jabari or somebody hit a three to give them a one
09:27point lead.
09:28And it was a little tight there a little bit before the Lakers had that kick, which kind
09:32of gave them some distance.
09:33There was never a point where you were, you were sitting there and watching it and you
09:36were like, I know who's, who the players are, but if you just watched it, the team and
09:44the gold were the better team.
09:45Like the whole, like you, you felt like that team's going to win.
09:48They're getting better shots.
09:49Again, they got 27 more shots.
09:51The Rockets did.
09:52And that game was that you just, for me, mid third quarter, I never thought the Rockets
09:57were going to win.
09:58Like I clearly, if clearly, and I'm just sitting there thinking, wow, man, LeBron doesn't even
10:02have to go off yet.
10:03Yeah.
10:03Well, look, Ron, here's the, I think to, to put this game one Rockets Lakers in a nutshell,
10:09LeBron was the smartest cat on the floor, including the coaches and number one, number
10:19two, the supporting cast for LeBron, as you mentioned, minus two very, very key players.
10:26They were significantly better than the Rockets starting five.
10:30And he got them involved early.
10:32And, and he and JJ Reddick got them involved early and who knew what got him easy looks.
10:38I mean, it was just, it was just like you, you talk about, we sit around and talk about
10:45Rui Hachimura or whatever the hell his name is.
10:47I mean, he was comfortable knocking down elbow, just jumpers from the elbows.
10:50You mentioned no boy in the corner, knocking down a couple of threes.
10:53I mean, bone booty naked.
10:54I mean, just, I mean, sitting out there all by himself.
10:57I think I may, I may have been able to knock one of them down, set shot, never had any
11:01team at jump.
11:02I mean, it just, those are the two things though, to me that really stuck out was, was
11:07it's clear LeBron's the smartest guy on the floor, including the coaches.
11:13And then there, there there's like, usually you made that list of eight, the top eight
11:17players in this, in this game.
11:19And what were two of them were Lakers.
11:20Yep.
11:21And that just was not the case.
11:23I think Luke Kennard was not on the list.
11:28I promise you he was not on the list.
11:29I just, I, and listen, I know Tyler, we're about 15 minutes into this segment.
11:36And if you thought I was going to let you walk past here, Alfred Shigun, I wasn't going
11:41to mention your ass.
11:43See, one thing can't happen.
11:45DeAndre Ayton cannot outplay Shigun.
11:48I don't care if Kevin's there.
11:49I don't care if Luca's there.
11:51I don't care if they're not.
11:52I don't care who's on the floor.
11:54The Rockets have to win the center position.
11:57They got to win the center matchup.
11:59They have to.
12:01DeAndre Ayton outplayed Alfred Shigun.
12:06He had 19 and 11, had him a couple of assists.
12:10Hell, he doesn't have the ball long enough to pass it to anybody, but he still found his
12:13way to two assists.
12:14Couple of blocks in that game.
12:16He was eight of 10 from the field.
12:19I don't know.
12:20I had lost count on Alfred Shigun.
12:22I know he was three for 13 at some point.
12:24I think he ended up being like six for 16, something like that from the field.
12:29But he got severely outplayed in that game by DeAndre Ayton, and that cannot occur for
12:36the Rockets to win this series.
12:38And that's with him being there.
12:40That can't be it.
12:4119, eight rebounds, six of 19 from the field.
12:45Did you think there was, and this is a question, I'm not steering it anywhere.
12:49Did you think that he was put in position to dominate a game or even have an impact, a
12:55bigger impact on the game with no Kevin Durant?
12:57I mean, obviously, I think their coaching staff could have put him in a better spot, but still
13:03within that.
13:03I mean, I'm sorry.
13:05Like, you can't.
13:06I mean, you can't.
13:07He was a part of allowing some of that 19.
13:11I mean, it was, yeah, that just can't happen.
13:14They have to win that position.
13:16I mean, you got one guy, you got one guy, you got one guy, you got one guy that's a
13:21two-time All-Star, including this year in Shingun, and you got another guy who, game
13:29to game, the Lakers don't know if he's committed.
13:32I don't know if he's able.
13:34I mean, he looks early 40s.
13:36He looks older than LeBron.
13:37The way he moves, the way he moves, man.
13:39He's a little tired up there.
13:40He looks like both of his knees are hurting every step he takes.
13:42No, he's talented, I mean, but he's just not committed all the time.
13:46Like, he could come out tomorrow and just, he could run you out there a good six and four.
13:54I mean, you're a completely different guy, but that can't happen.
14:00Shingun will not be ashamed of himself.
14:03Should be ashamed of himself.
14:04Does this make you nervous, Tyler?
14:06Game time decision?
14:07You think Udoka is, you think this is gamesmanship, or you think, like, there's real danger that
14:14he may not play?
14:15I mean, there might be some gamesmanship, but I mean, given, you know, him missing game
14:19one and everything, I mean, if you're a Rockets fan, you better be twiddling your thumbs nervous
14:22as hell right now.
14:25That offense ain't it.
14:27Am I wrong?
14:27They should still, they should still beat that team.
14:32Even if it's...
14:32Oh, hell yeah, they should.
14:33At least be in the game.
14:35Yeah.
14:35At least be in the game.
14:37God, I just, I'm out there watching, I'm like, is that Luke Kennard?
14:42By the way, boy, Luke, is that Luke wide open?
14:45Luke's got 19 months.
14:47What, that hair?
14:48Hair.
14:48I knew, I knew.
14:50Advanced hair restoration.
14:51He could turn that way.
14:53He could turn that route.
14:54He could, but, I mean, good guy to mind.
14:57You think he ought to just peel it off, huh?
15:00Well, you're right.
15:01I think he is still in the space where the advanced hair could work.
15:07But, I mean, but he, if he gives it another offseason, Clint,
15:10sleeps on it wrong a couple of times, that could, wears a hat, that could,
15:14that could get away from him.
15:15I think I've got eight months.
15:17All right.
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