Paulo Alves

Some of this is just natural, you know, ebbs and flows of an NBA season.

Get Steven back to his sixth, seventh man role, and you can pair him with Reid and

You know, maybe that helps Reed get back in the rhythm that he was at prior to the holidays.

But in terms of what's happened the last few weeks, look, Jabari has cost them the last couple of games, the subpar shooting, and he's frustrated.

And I get why in year four, it's easy to say, you know, it's easy sort of to make Jabari Smith Jr.

this year what Jalen Green was last year.

But that's not what the Rockets are asking from Jabari as a player.

It's simply not.

It's Reed Shepard, especially when, and this is not Reed's fault, but his archetype as a player became even more important to this year's team when Fred and Fleet went out.

And so the fact that that archetype suddenly isn't working as well anymore, you already lost Fred, gone on for almost 10 games, that is much more worrisome.

I don't think it means anything in the grand scheme, but in terms of why this team has lost games at a little bit of a greater rate lately...

I would say it has a lot more to do with Reed Shepard than Jabari Smith Jr., even though it feels like, at least on my timeline, the majority of the outrage, so to speak, is being directed at Jabari.

Paolo, what do you think as far as those individual storylines?

And, you know, if you had to blame someone for why the Rockets have shown this downturn in form, who would you pick?

On social media, there's always someone to blame, Paolo.

Come on.

He's the head trainer, so it starts with Jason Biles.

Let's blame him.

Okay.

I'm joking.