Paulo Alves

And then you have a couple of games after that that you should be able to win.

It's a three-game homestand.

Tonight against the Knicks is the most difficult one.

Then you've got the Bucs on Wednesday, night two of a back-to-back, and the Utah Jazz, the tanking Utah Jazz, on Friday.

So as far as today's show, we're now within two weeks of the playoffs, final eight games of the season.

So we're going to be looking ahead.

What do the Rockets need to get better at as they get ready for a first run series that will start the weekend of April 18th?

But we'll start by looking at the positives.

They do enter today on a two game winning streak and they're

The biggest reason for their recent success is something of a resurgence from Alperen Shingun.

He scored 30 or more points in three of his last four games, but most notably over seven games since coming back from a back injury, a stretch beginning March 18th against the Lakers.

Shingun is averaging 24.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.6 blocks per game, shooting above 62% overall, and almost 67% true shooting.

So the true shooting has improved for a while.

I had heard, if you listen to my Clutch Fans Live post-game shows with Dave Hardesty, I had talked to someone in the organization who said about a week ago that they were noticing some positive signs in terms of his motor, the defensive intensity, the attention to detail.

The results in terms of wins and losses for the team have been mixed.

Basically, the Rockets have had a two-game winning streak followed by a two-game losing streak, and then the same pattern repeated itself.

That's been the case for the last eight games.

So it remains to be seen what it means for the collective and whether they can make some noise in the playoffs.

But even if we just look at it individually, Paolo, you've talked about Shingun a lot this season, his apparent regression from last year.

Even if it doesn't necessarily translate to team success, there is something important to seeing that Alper and Shingun heading into the 2026 offseason can be something of a cornerstone player for your future.