Paulo Alves

ambassador...

I think for the Rockets, that's a good thing because it gives even more power to Patrick, his son, who lives and breathes basketball.

So if your fear was meddling from a guy who has a million other things going on besides basketball and might not understand all the implications...

Tillman's now got a full-blown job, and he's half a world away from the Rockets most of the time.

So he has no choice but to trust Patrick, a guy who lives and breathes basketball.

He's the alternate governor, and with Tillman literally not here, alternate governor means you are the governor.

You are the owner.

So the fact that this is truly Patrick Pertitta's franchise and that basically, for the most part, Tillman's going to go on what Patrick tells him

then that's ultimately for the betterment of the team.

Because I promise you, Patrick really, really cares.

He's got a competitive streak.

He is looking at things through strictly a basketball lens.

That doesn't mean we're always going to agree.

It doesn't mean that he's going to make every decision along the same lines as what Rockets Twitter or Rockets Blue Sky would prefer.

But I think in terms of is it about basketball or is it about business, the fact that it's now even more Patrick Fertitta in charge from an ownership perspective, that should make you confident that it's about the basketball and the recent investments reflect that.

Yeah, I just wanted to briefly touch on the Fertitta angle because I saw at least one post last week when the vibes were at their lowest, I think, amid those Chicago and Minnesota losses, comparing...

the Houston ownership situation to teams like the Bulls and the Kings that don't spend much.

And our reaction was, what the hell are we doing?

It's fair to critique the roster and its development or lack thereof.

It's fair to critique Emei Udoka.