January 16, 2025 • 13 mins
In Thursday’s interview segment with Ross Villarreal of SportsTalk 790, our Ben DuBose explains why he thinks Amen Thompson has likely locked up a long-term starting role with the Rockets (27-12). Other topics include encouraging signs from Jalen Green and Cam Whitmore during Houston’s current five-game winning streak, as well as why general manager Rafael Stone shouldn’t be under any pressure to make a move at the NBA’s Feb. 6 in-season trade deadline.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Launchtimers. This is the Matt Thomas Show Power.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Number two of the Matt Thomas Show with Ross Without
Matt Thomas, he is traveling with the Houston Rockets, who
last night defeated the Denver Nuggets. Tonight we'll be on
a back to back taking on the Sacramento Kings. That'll
be a nine o'clock start here on Sports Talk seven
ninety eight o'clock Rockets.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Launch pad as well.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Coming up at noon, we'll have Dan Matthews joining me
in studio. Dan Orlowski will be joining us to talk
to some Chiefs and Texans. But right now, Ben Doubos,
I would say two of the three people on the
show right now all about the Miszoo Tigers.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Ben, thanks for the time. How about them Rockets.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I know this is the most fun it's been to
watch this team in a long time. I know you
can point to, you know, the Jalen Green surge last March,
but that was just scrap to get back to five
hundred and maybe in the back tour of the play
in tournament, to not only have Jalen going off, but
to win games five in a row and consistently beat
(01:08):
good teams. Yeah, this is the most fun it's been
shoot since the James Harden years.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
And so where where are we now? When when do
I buy in and jump in with two feet and
say this is I mean, are we passed the thresholder
where I say this is this real Rockets team? Because
you got the big victories over the Grizzlies. Okay, it
was a short headed Nuggets team, but I haven't seen
a game even against Oklahoma City Thunder. They have lost
some of these games, but a lot of them been close. Like,
(01:34):
this is the real twenty five Rockets.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Isn't it?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Yeah? I think it is. And you know, they do
have a difficult schedule coming up. They've got three games
in a row against the Cavs and Celtics. Towards the
end of this month, you've got a game at Madison
Square Gardens. So it's not that they're just going to
run off and go on and at least I don't
think they are a ten to fifteen game winning streak,
but I think the sample is enough. They actually have
(02:00):
had one of the most difficult schedules in the NBA today.
I think it's pretty real. I think what stood out
to me the most about this ross the last time. Well,
there's two games basically all year that they have been uncompetitive.
Two games. One at the very beginning of November against
Oklahoma City, and they played the Thunder competitively twice since
(02:20):
and beat them once. And then that game in Boston
or at home against Boston a couple of weeks ago,
when you didn't have a Ben Thompson, you didn't have Jabari,
you didn't have Tari. And that's the defending NBA champions.
That's the only game in the last two months that
the Rockets have not at least had a chance to
win in the fourth quarter. So, on top of the
record being legitimate twenty seven and twelve and everything that
(02:43):
comes with that, the fact that they are so competitive
night in, night out, there's not any game where it
looks like they don't belong. That to me, makes it
seem like that that it's.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Pretty real USA.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Today's Rockets wires been Dubo's here on the show, and
of course we cannot have you on the Top Rockets
without talking who you mentioned Amen Thompson. Uh, where is
all this coming from with Amen Thompson?
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And I mean, just.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Do you think he's going to make a probably a
first or second team All Defense. Certainly if he stays
in the starting lineup, which we can get to in
a second, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I think he will. And I do not envy im
Udoka when Javarius Smith Junior comes back, because I just
don't see how they can take him out of the
starting lineup. It's not even so much what he does
for Jalen Green. I know there's been a lot made
of that. It's just he's a really good basketball player, period.
He makes the game easy for everyone because he provides
(03:37):
value in so many different areas. He doesn't have to
have the ball in his hands to be effective. The
heavy lifting he does defensively, I think that's where it
helps Jalen the most. And Jalen identified that after the
game the other night at home against the Grizzlies. A
men is so dynamic defensively. The Rockets have a lot
of good defensive players, amn is the one that's truly great,
(03:58):
and he does so much heavy lifting on that end
that allows someone like Jalen Green to sort of conserve
his energy a little bit and load up for the
high leverage offensive possessions where he can, you know, attack
the rim much more aggressively, draw more free throws, those
types of things. So, yeah, do you not envy Ema
Udoka because you know the politics of a midseason lineup
change if you're winning games, that's always dicey in the NBA.
(04:20):
But a man is so good. I think it's clear
on a per minut basis, he's the best player on
this team already. So I just don't see unless the
team falls off, and I don't expect them to over
the next two or three weeks, I just don't see
how they're going to be able to take him out.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, the chalk pick is a Men Thompson staying in
the starting lineup, Thedn't that begs the question? Who is out?
Is it Jabari Smith Junior? Is it possibly Dylan Brooks.
I've seen some fans say that Fred van Vliet should
be the odd man out, which I don't think there's
any chance of that one. But how do you how
do you think this this starting lineup is constructed? If
a Men Thompson stays.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, it's tough. I tend to think that Jabari will
be the odd man because he's in year three, he's
just twenty one. I don't think there'd be any hurt feelings,
and you know, he's got a guy in his same
draft class, Tory Easton, who's arguably been when healthy, been
a better player than Jabari, and Tari has come off
the bench, so I don't think it would be a
huge shot to Jabari's ego. With that said, Dylan Brooks
(05:18):
has fallen off a little bit over the last few weeks,
so you could make a case for maybe leaving Jabari
in the starting line up and bringing Dylan off the bench.
But given you know, veteran status and the fact that
the team is winning games now with this amend at
power forward Dylan at small forward configuration, I think the
easiest thing for em to do would be to say,
you know what, we're going to stick with what's working,
(05:39):
and we'll figure out everything else in the offseason. Not
a shot at you, Jabari. The other thing that would
be interesting with bringing Jabari off the bench is that
in these games where Alfred Shagon struggles defensively and you
want to play five out be able to switch one
through five, then you can bring Jabari Smith as your
backup five off the bench. It'll be a little trucky
(06:00):
because Steven Adams has played better of late as well.
But I think in these games where the Rockets want
to play smaller, they want to be more agile, bringing
Jabori up the bench might help you in that area
as well.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, it's funny because I mean, just as the team
is constructed now with Jabaris Smith Junior feeling like the
odd man out, I mean the starting five that it
is right now.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You have a dynamic, quick scoring wing.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
You have a big man who can i mean operate
from the elbow, who can operate in the low post.
You have a Swiss army knife do everything defender who
can basket cut and stuff like that, and then the
two veteran guys who set the edge as well. That's
just I mean, it feels like if I was like
conceiving a team, it would be pretty close to what
the Rockets have in the starting five right now.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yeah. Absolutely, And I think to go back to the
earlier point on a men's defense, that's so important because
if he is able to and it's not a shot
at Jabori because he's a good defender, but a men
is a great one. And so because of that, if
you can conserve energy for Jalen Green, so often it
comes down to the efficiency for Jalen I heard you
(07:05):
talking earlier about the free star that's so important. Last
night he was eight for eight. I think the other
night against the Grizzlies he was eleven four eleven. That's
the hack in terms of getting his true shooting percentage
where it needs to be clearly above average, and it
has been in last twenty games, it's been like sixty
one and a half. To get it to that level,
you need to get to the free throw line. What
do you need to get to the free throw line?
That often if you're an undersized guard in the NBA,
(07:26):
you need energy, You need a willingness and ability to
absorb contact on your drive. How do you do that?
You have other guys that do the heavy listing defensively
and give you some possessions off and so when you
have a men Thompson and Dylan Brooks being able to
physically handle and take the pounding that comes from guarding
top shelf win players on the other end of the floor,
then that's truly it's what Jalen Green needs in my opinion,
(07:48):
to really, you know, attack the bucket relentlessly on the
offensive end. And so I think what a men and
Dylan do defensively, and then Fred Vanvlee.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Look.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
One of the really impressive things to me about that
Memphis game. He hit one of the biggest shots, that
three in the fourth quarter. He only shot five times
the entire game. A lot of players around the league
need shots to get in rhythm. The fact that Fred
is so graceful and able to sort of scale down
his role without needing a ton of touches or shot attempts,
and so if Jalen has it going, he's willing and
(08:20):
able to defer without it taking a toll on him. Yeah,
I think that's a pretty perfect backcourt partner for Jalen,
And so because of that, I just, you know, I
feel bad for Jabari, but I just don't see who
you can take out assuming the team k keeps quicking
the way they are.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, going from the starting lineup to the bench. What
are we making of Cam Whitmore? The scoring has been up.
We know, of course, the postgame comments a couple of
weeks ago, Emy addressing those on this show, saying it's
much ado about nothing, especially with the body language stuff
as well, And how are you feeling about Cam Whitmore in.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
The rest of the season, how it's going to go
for him.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Yeah, I've been encouraged. I thought there was a play
at the end of the third quarter in that Memphis
game that showed a lot of growth from him. The
clock was winding down. He pumped fake from three and
he could have gone to the rim, could have pulled
up from mid rage, but he found Aaron Holliday in
the corner for an open three, which Aaron made at
the buzzer. It cut it to five, and from that
point forward it felt like it was competitive. Gave great
crowd and I think Cam's willingness to make the right
(09:18):
read to pass even when everyone in the building would
have understood if he took the shot himself with a
little bit of space and the shot clock running down.
That's why the Rockets have had him on something of
a tight leash. The gifts are there. But while he
can score easily, what's going to be the difference in
him being a good player or a very good player.
It's going to be whether he can do the other things.
(09:39):
And so we know off all awareness defensively, he may
talk about that a lot. You gotta defend, at least
at a capable level to play for Emyu Joka, he's
gotten better on that end, but offensively, the fact that
it's not just his scoring and you know, putting up
shots and putting up numbers, but the fact that he
seems to be seeing the floor a little bit better
in year two at just twenty years old. That's really
(09:59):
an coouraging So I don't think they're going to be
able to take him out of the rotation. It's going
to be tight if and win. Harry Eaton comes back.
I think Cam Whitmore has done enough that this is
a team that needs scoring punch at times, and now
that he's coming along in the other areas of his game,
I think Cam's going to play. I think, barring you know,
a dramatic down turning his performance, I think he's earned
(10:21):
at least something of a role for the rest of
the year.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
All Right, three weeks from today, February sixth is the
trade deadline. How much do you think the Rockets are
itching to make a move in raef Elstone or how
much do you think they just say, hey, we can
improve enough internally and trust the process.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Yeah. I think at this point it's trusting the process.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I think, you.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Know, a month ago when Jalen Green's numbers were below
average efficiency wise. You could wonder about, hey, do you
use his contract as something of a trade ship and
try to upgrade that spot, because that was the clear
deficiency getting a tip of the spear of score. But
look what people forget about this team plan A, if
not trading for a star plan A, is that it
(11:04):
works out organically. And this core seven of first round
prospects that you've drafted the last four draft cycles. Can
enough of them work out that you don't have to
go out and make a big deal for a Devin
Booker or a Donovan Mitchell or whoever it might be.
There were times the last couple of years where it
was fair to wonder if Jalen Green is actually capable
of being that guy. I think at this point the
sample has been long enough. The last twenty games are
(11:24):
what they are, But really, going back to about this
time a year ago, the last eighty games, he's been
above average efficiency wise, scoring about twenty two points per game,
leading scorer on a good Rockets team. He's defending at
a capable of enough level that hemy Jo could trust him.
So if you want to give Jalen Green longer runway,
and I think he's absolutely deserves at least the rest
of this year, if not longer. I don't think you're
going to upgrade that spot. And then beyond that, the
(11:46):
reason I don't think they do anything wrong. Who are
you going to bench to give a new guy minutes?
This team is so deep. We were talking about Cam Whitmore.
The question is how do you keep playing Cam Witmore
enough when Charry Eathan comes back, and it looks like
that's getting pretty close. So I just don't see who
they could bring in. And by the way, we haven't
mentioned Jay Shuntate. He's been good the last three weeks.
So I'm inclined to say the Rockets stay the course
(12:07):
because the biggest weakness was the Jalen Green spot that's
obviously sort of resolved itself the last few weeks. And
then beyond that, where are they going to play? That's
my big question. I'm inclined to say they just stayed
the course. You see what happens the rest of the year,
You see what happens in the playoffs, and if anything
bigger needs to happen, Riphelstone looks at that this summer.
That's my prediction.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Ben Dubous of USA Today's Rockets Wire. Ben, let the
folks know where they can find your stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Yep. Ben Dubo's on Twitter slash Acts, the logger line
the Rockets fire on the same rocketswar dot usc today
dot com for all your daily Houston Rockets meet Look
at this.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
You got this nailed down. Ben, Thanks to the time
as always to talk to you down the road.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Absolutely, thanks for having me, Bud.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
All right, appreciate it. There you go.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Ben Dubou's here on a sports talk seven on he
doing a lot of Rockets talk y'all, getting in with
some Rockets talk.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Let's go seven one three two one two five. Seven
ninety is the phone number. Seven one three two one
two five. I agree with Ben. I think they do
trust the process, stay the course with this team.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Are they better than the thunder? No? But are they
still ahead of schedule? Yes?
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Or do you say maybe you've got some expiring deals
like Fred van Vliet and that might offer some value
to somebody in three weeks when the trade deadline passes
for the twenty twenty five campaign,
Launchtimers. This is the Matt Thomas Show Power.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Number two of the Matt Thomas Show with Ross Without
Matt Thomas, he is traveling with the Houston Rockets, who
last night defeated the Denver Nuggets. Tonight we'll be on
a back to back taking on the Sacramento Kings. That'll
be a nine o'clock start here on Sports Talk seven
ninety eight o'clock Rockets.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Launch pad as well.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Coming up at noon, we'll have Dan Matthews joining me
in studio. Dan Orlowski will be joining us to talk
to some Chiefs and Texans. But right now, Ben Doubos,
I would say two of the three people on the
show right now all about the Miszoo Tigers.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Ben, thanks for the time. How about them Rockets.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I know this is the most fun it's been to
watch this team in a long time. I know you
can point to, you know, the Jalen Green surge last March,
but that was just scrap to get back to five
hundred and maybe in the back tour of the play
in tournament, to not only have Jalen going off, but
to win games five in a row and consistently beat
(01:08):
good teams. Yeah, this is the most fun it's been
shoot since the James Harden years.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
And so where where are we now? When when do
I buy in and jump in with two feet and
say this is I mean, are we passed the thresholder
where I say this is this real Rockets team? Because
you got the big victories over the Grizzlies. Okay, it
was a short headed Nuggets team, but I haven't seen
a game even against Oklahoma City Thunder. They have lost
some of these games, but a lot of them been close. Like,
(01:34):
this is the real twenty five Rockets.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Isn't it?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Yeah? I think it is. And you know, they do
have a difficult schedule coming up. They've got three games
in a row against the Cavs and Celtics. Towards the
end of this month, you've got a game at Madison
Square Gardens. So it's not that they're just going to
run off and go on and at least I don't
think they are a ten to fifteen game winning streak,
but I think the sample is enough. They actually have
(02:00):
had one of the most difficult schedules in the NBA today.
I think it's pretty real. I think what stood out
to me the most about this ross the last time. Well,
there's two games basically all year that they have been uncompetitive.
Two games. One at the very beginning of November against
Oklahoma City, and they played the Thunder competitively twice since
(02:20):
and beat them once. And then that game in Boston
or at home against Boston a couple of weeks ago,
when you didn't have a Ben Thompson, you didn't have Jabari,
you didn't have Tari. And that's the defending NBA champions.
That's the only game in the last two months that
the Rockets have not at least had a chance to
win in the fourth quarter. So, on top of the
record being legitimate twenty seven and twelve and everything that
(02:43):
comes with that, the fact that they are so competitive
night in, night out, there's not any game where it
looks like they don't belong. That to me, makes it
seem like that that it's.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Pretty real USA.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Today's Rockets wires been Dubo's here on the show, and
of course we cannot have you on the Top Rockets
without talking who you mentioned Amen Thompson. Uh, where is
all this coming from with Amen Thompson?
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And I mean, just.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Do you think he's going to make a probably a
first or second team All Defense. Certainly if he stays
in the starting lineup, which we can get to in
a second, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I think he will. And I do not envy im
Udoka when Javarius Smith Junior comes back, because I just
don't see how they can take him out of the
starting lineup. It's not even so much what he does
for Jalen Green. I know there's been a lot made
of that. It's just he's a really good basketball player, period.
He makes the game easy for everyone because he provides
(03:37):
value in so many different areas. He doesn't have to
have the ball in his hands to be effective. The
heavy lifting he does defensively, I think that's where it
helps Jalen the most. And Jalen identified that after the
game the other night at home against the Grizzlies. A
men is so dynamic defensively. The Rockets have a lot
of good defensive players, amn is the one that's truly great,
(03:58):
and he does so much heavy lifting on that end
that allows someone like Jalen Green to sort of conserve
his energy a little bit and load up for the
high leverage offensive possessions where he can, you know, attack
the rim much more aggressively, draw more free throws, those
types of things. So, yeah, do you not envy Ema
Udoka because you know the politics of a midseason lineup
change if you're winning games, that's always dicey in the NBA.
(04:20):
But a man is so good. I think it's clear
on a per minut basis, he's the best player on
this team already. So I just don't see unless the
team falls off, and I don't expect them to over
the next two or three weeks, I just don't see
how they're going to be able to take him out.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, the chalk pick is a Men Thompson staying in
the starting lineup, Thedn't that begs the question? Who is out?
Is it Jabari Smith Junior? Is it possibly Dylan Brooks.
I've seen some fans say that Fred van Vliet should
be the odd man out, which I don't think there's
any chance of that one. But how do you how
do you think this this starting lineup is constructed? If
a Men Thompson stays.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, it's tough. I tend to think that Jabari will
be the odd man because he's in year three, he's
just twenty one. I don't think there'd be any hurt feelings,
and you know, he's got a guy in his same
draft class, Tory Easton, who's arguably been when healthy, been
a better player than Jabari, and Tari has come off
the bench, so I don't think it would be a
huge shot to Jabari's ego. With that said, Dylan Brooks
(05:18):
has fallen off a little bit over the last few weeks,
so you could make a case for maybe leaving Jabari
in the starting line up and bringing Dylan off the bench.
But given you know, veteran status and the fact that
the team is winning games now with this amend at
power forward Dylan at small forward configuration, I think the
easiest thing for em to do would be to say,
you know what, we're going to stick with what's working,
(05:39):
and we'll figure out everything else in the offseason. Not
a shot at you, Jabari. The other thing that would
be interesting with bringing Jabari off the bench is that
in these games where Alfred Shagon struggles defensively and you
want to play five out be able to switch one
through five, then you can bring Jabari Smith as your
backup five off the bench. It'll be a little trucky
(06:00):
because Steven Adams has played better of late as well.
But I think in these games where the Rockets want
to play smaller, they want to be more agile, bringing
Jabori up the bench might help you in that area
as well.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, it's funny because I mean, just as the team
is constructed now with Jabaris Smith Junior feeling like the
odd man out, I mean the starting five that it
is right now.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You have a dynamic, quick scoring wing.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
You have a big man who can i mean operate
from the elbow, who can operate in the low post.
You have a Swiss army knife do everything defender who
can basket cut and stuff like that, and then the
two veteran guys who set the edge as well. That's
just I mean, it feels like if I was like
conceiving a team, it would be pretty close to what
the Rockets have in the starting five right now.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yeah. Absolutely, And I think to go back to the
earlier point on a men's defense, that's so important because
if he is able to and it's not a shot
at Jabori because he's a good defender, but a men
is a great one. And so because of that, if
you can conserve energy for Jalen Green, so often it
comes down to the efficiency for Jalen I heard you
(07:05):
talking earlier about the free star that's so important. Last
night he was eight for eight. I think the other
night against the Grizzlies he was eleven four eleven. That's
the hack in terms of getting his true shooting percentage
where it needs to be clearly above average, and it
has been in last twenty games, it's been like sixty
one and a half. To get it to that level,
you need to get to the free throw line. What
do you need to get to the free throw line?
That often if you're an undersized guard in the NBA,
(07:26):
you need energy, You need a willingness and ability to
absorb contact on your drive. How do you do that?
You have other guys that do the heavy listing defensively
and give you some possessions off and so when you
have a men Thompson and Dylan Brooks being able to
physically handle and take the pounding that comes from guarding
top shelf win players on the other end of the floor,
then that's truly it's what Jalen Green needs in my opinion,
(07:48):
to really, you know, attack the bucket relentlessly on the
offensive end. And so I think what a men and
Dylan do defensively, and then Fred Vanvlee.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Look.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
One of the really impressive things to me about that
Memphis game. He hit one of the biggest shots, that
three in the fourth quarter. He only shot five times
the entire game. A lot of players around the league
need shots to get in rhythm. The fact that Fred
is so graceful and able to sort of scale down
his role without needing a ton of touches or shot attempts,
and so if Jalen has it going, he's willing and
(08:20):
able to defer without it taking a toll on him. Yeah,
I think that's a pretty perfect backcourt partner for Jalen,
And so because of that, I just, you know, I
feel bad for Jabari, but I just don't see who
you can take out assuming the team k keeps quicking
the way they are.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, going from the starting lineup to the bench. What
are we making of Cam Whitmore? The scoring has been up.
We know, of course, the postgame comments a couple of
weeks ago, Emy addressing those on this show, saying it's
much ado about nothing, especially with the body language stuff
as well, And how are you feeling about Cam Whitmore in.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
The rest of the season, how it's going to go
for him.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Yeah, I've been encouraged. I thought there was a play
at the end of the third quarter in that Memphis
game that showed a lot of growth from him. The
clock was winding down. He pumped fake from three and
he could have gone to the rim, could have pulled
up from mid rage, but he found Aaron Holliday in
the corner for an open three, which Aaron made at
the buzzer. It cut it to five, and from that
point forward it felt like it was competitive. Gave great
crowd and I think Cam's willingness to make the right
(09:18):
read to pass even when everyone in the building would
have understood if he took the shot himself with a
little bit of space and the shot clock running down.
That's why the Rockets have had him on something of
a tight leash. The gifts are there. But while he
can score easily, what's going to be the difference in
him being a good player or a very good player.
It's going to be whether he can do the other things.
(09:39):
And so we know off all awareness defensively, he may
talk about that a lot. You gotta defend, at least
at a capable level to play for Emyu Joka, he's
gotten better on that end, but offensively, the fact that
it's not just his scoring and you know, putting up
shots and putting up numbers, but the fact that he
seems to be seeing the floor a little bit better
in year two at just twenty years old. That's really
(09:59):
an coouraging So I don't think they're going to be
able to take him out of the rotation. It's going
to be tight if and win. Harry Eaton comes back.
I think Cam Whitmore has done enough that this is
a team that needs scoring punch at times, and now
that he's coming along in the other areas of his game,
I think Cam's going to play. I think, barring you know,
a dramatic down turning his performance, I think he's earned
(10:21):
at least something of a role for the rest of
the year.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
All Right, three weeks from today, February sixth is the
trade deadline. How much do you think the Rockets are
itching to make a move in raef Elstone or how
much do you think they just say, hey, we can
improve enough internally and trust the process.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Yeah. I think at this point it's trusting the process.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I think, you.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Know, a month ago when Jalen Green's numbers were below
average efficiency wise. You could wonder about, hey, do you
use his contract as something of a trade ship and
try to upgrade that spot, because that was the clear
deficiency getting a tip of the spear of score. But
look what people forget about this team plan A, if
not trading for a star plan A, is that it
(11:04):
works out organically. And this core seven of first round
prospects that you've drafted the last four draft cycles. Can
enough of them work out that you don't have to
go out and make a big deal for a Devin
Booker or a Donovan Mitchell or whoever it might be.
There were times the last couple of years where it
was fair to wonder if Jalen Green is actually capable
of being that guy. I think at this point the
sample has been long enough. The last twenty games are
(11:24):
what they are, But really, going back to about this
time a year ago, the last eighty games, he's been
above average efficiency wise, scoring about twenty two points per game,
leading scorer on a good Rockets team. He's defending at
a capable of enough level that hemy Jo could trust him.
So if you want to give Jalen Green longer runway,
and I think he's absolutely deserves at least the rest
of this year, if not longer. I don't think you're
going to upgrade that spot. And then beyond that, the
(11:46):
reason I don't think they do anything wrong. Who are
you going to bench to give a new guy minutes?
This team is so deep. We were talking about Cam Whitmore.
The question is how do you keep playing Cam Witmore
enough when Charry Eathan comes back, and it looks like
that's getting pretty close. So I just don't see who
they could bring in. And by the way, we haven't
mentioned Jay Shuntate. He's been good the last three weeks.
So I'm inclined to say the Rockets stay the course
(12:07):
because the biggest weakness was the Jalen Green spot that's
obviously sort of resolved itself the last few weeks. And
then beyond that, where are they going to play? That's
my big question. I'm inclined to say they just stayed
the course. You see what happens the rest of the year,
You see what happens in the playoffs, and if anything
bigger needs to happen, Riphelstone looks at that this summer.
That's my prediction.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Ben Dubous of USA Today's Rockets Wire. Ben, let the
folks know where they can find your stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Yep. Ben Dubo's on Twitter slash Acts, the logger line
the Rockets fire on the same rocketswar dot usc today
dot com for all your daily Houston Rockets meet Look
at this.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
You got this nailed down. Ben, Thanks to the time
as always to talk to you down the road.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Absolutely, thanks for having me, Bud.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
All right, appreciate it. There you go.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Ben Dubou's here on a sports talk seven on he
doing a lot of Rockets talk y'all, getting in with
some Rockets talk.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Let's go seven one three two one two five. Seven
ninety is the phone number. Seven one three two one
two five. I agree with Ben. I think they do
trust the process, stay the course with this team.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Are they better than the thunder? No? But are they
still ahead of schedule? Yes?
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Or do you say maybe you've got some expiring deals
like Fred van Vliet and that might offer some value
to somebody in three weeks when the trade deadline passes
for the twenty twenty five campaign,
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