Ben DuBose

The last game he played, the last win on the front end of that Clippers back-to-back.

And if he gets healthier, if he uses this time off to get a little recharge and he can build on what he did against the Clippers, I mean, the Rockets are 9-0 this season when they hold opponents below 100 points.

And five of those games have come since January 1st.

So there's a lot of evidence that they are getting better defensively.

Dorian Finney-Smith getting anywhere close to healthy would only help with that, be like a midseason roster addition, given what little we've had from him so far.

And so in theory, the fix is pretty simple.

The defense is looking better defensively.

It's just, can you get the offense, maybe not all the way back to when they were just like a juggernaut early in the year, just get them back to like last year to where they're, you know, middle of the pack.

And some of this, you know, no Steven Adams, so you don't have the offensive rebounding superpower, so you do have to execute more.

But on the other hand, you have Kevin Durant.

But I think on paper, there's precedent for Emei Udoka teams getting better after the All-Star break.

And the fix, look, the defense is better.

The offense shouldn't be bottom 10 the way it's been since January 1st.

And now they should have their legs back.

I mean, on paper, you get the offense even to just a pretty good level, let alone great.

Just be like 10 to 15.

And this team, especially against this schedule, I guess to me it's a fascinating juxtaposition, Paolo, and I'll hand it off to you here because I know my rant has been extended, but for all the negativity, the frustration of that last Clippers loss when they blew the lead, now the All-Star break with all the KD comments, the inactive trade deadline...

For all the negativity, on paper, like, there are reasons to think that, you know, maybe the Rockets don't get to, like, a title contending level, but they can be a lot better than the 20 and 16 that they've been in the last 36 games.

I guess that's my outlook going into Final 29.

What's your perspective as far as just overall, Paolo, your mindset heading into this final stretch?