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Chapter 1: What recent performance trends are the Rockets experiencing?
Rockets fans, welcome to the Rockets LaunchPod, an exclusive podcast from the home of the Rockets. Sports Talk 790. Red Nation, get ready. The Rockets LaunchPod starts now. Welcome aboard.
We'll be right back. All that good stuff. Anyway, jumping into today's show. It is Tuesday, the 31st of March, the final day of the month. Rockets back in action tonight against the New York Knicks.
Chapter 2: How has Alperen Sengun's play improved recently?
Nationally televised game on NBC. A rematch of that game from Madison Square Garden right after the All-Star break. Perhaps the most brutal loss of the season. I say perhaps because the Rockets might have outdone themselves last week with the 13-point collapse in overtime against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the biggest blown overtime lead in modern NBA history.
So it's a shame that we have to make that comparison. But regardless, it is an opportunity for the Rockets to get some redemption against a good team. Rockets are 45-29, tied for fifth in the West. So in terms of the race for potentially having home court advantage in the first round, Top four seeds get that.
Chapter 3: What lineup changes are expected for the Rockets as playoffs approach?
It's a game they probably need to win. Rockets are 25-10 at home this season, but just 20-19 on the road. I think more than any standings implications, where even with the recent losses, they're still right in the mix. Spots between number three and number six in the Western Conference standings are all tightly compact at this point.
I think the Rockets just need to see themselves go out and have a good game against a quality opponent, and that's what tonight represents an opportunity to get. 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.
Chapter 4: Which teams should the Rockets prefer to face in the playoffs?
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.
Chapter 5: How does home-court advantage impact the Rockets' playoff chances?
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. He is still just 23 years old.
and a two-time All-Star. So, Paolo, let's start there in terms of what the Rockets can potentially do in the playoffs and also what it means for your outlook on Shingun entering the offseason.
If this continues, if you get something close to this version of Shingun the rest of the way, how much does it change your assessment of Shingun relative to when we last potted a couple of weeks ago and you were still pretty down on him?
Yeah, as far as the outcome of this team, or kind of the chances looking into the playoffs of this team, Alperen Shingun being a cornerstone piece, at least on offense, is a bit of a game-changer.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of the Rockets' recent investment in the team?
I don't think it turns them into a championship contender. We've talked ad nauseum about what we thought the limitations were for this team and where they sit at the moment. They still don't strike me as... a team that can just catch lightning in a bottle.
But Shingun being a lot better on offense does solve half of the equation of, you know, typically with the types of center there are for Shingun is you typically want, he has to be such a great force on offense that it outweighs, you know, his defensive limitations.
And of course, I do think that within the type of offensive hub that Shingun is, he is better defensively than you would expect, which gives him some slack on offense.
But if he's able to be a bona fide offensive star, which is what he has been since he came back from those two games that he didn't play, and that was part of the argument when he was playing poorly, when he was having issues with his touch. that he was playing through injury, and he's been tough in playing through injury at multiple periods in his career.
If that two-game break truly was him getting over the hump from an injury perspective, and we had heard over the week prior that the effort had been ramping up with Shingun, if that's something that's trending upwards and it's sort of blipping the radar and it's something that he can build upon,
I do think that that helps the Rockets massively, because now all of a sudden you're not depending on KD and his decision-making and his turnovers.
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Chapter 7: What are the potential challenges for the Rockets in the playoffs?
As great as he is offensively at pure scoring, you now have someone who can reliably take pressure off him. And... Like it or not, KD is an all-time great, but he does need someone like that. And we've seen time and time again throughout the season that when that's not happening, the team struggles mightily.
And we, I think, can pretty safely assume at this point that this team is not going to flip a corner or it's not going to turn the corner defensively. So perhaps their easiest path to a good playoff run is just getting hard offensively and just trying to run teams over on that end.
So Shingun being better or being this much better is definitely something that made Shingun out going into the playoffs. I still don't think it makes them a threat to a team like the Thunder. Or in my case, the Spurs, who I do think are a tier above as well, just because of the impact that Wemby has. But it does trend upwards, not only for this season, but for next season as well.
Chapter 8: How does the return of the Houston Comets affect the Rockets' future?
And I think the biggest thing, obviously the shooting numbers are really important. And we've kind of taken those for granted going into the beginning of last season with Shang-Un. And then he had this, you know, elongated slump that had some weeks where it looked to be getting better, but then eventually regressed again.
To me, the biggest deal, especially for this stretch, is the turnover issues, right? And when you look at it, yes, he's had one five turnover game, which is rough against Minnesota. But him limiting turnovers is that important on a team that can't...
kind of win the possession battle as heavily as they used to back when they were the best offensive rebounding team and back when they were just a terrific defensive team. If that's not the case anymore, then you've got to take better care of the ball. And I think he's been doing that the last few games. And so that's to address how this impacts...
going into the playoffs, going into next season. I'm not sure how much it impacts it because I've said in previous spots that I do believe that if Fred's fully ready to go and everybody is able to be on the same page and then we get Steven Adams back,
Then, you know, I think the best path is probably to run it back with those two extra pieces, because whatever changes are going to make, they're probably not going to be as high impact as just getting two bona fide startups who are taking up, what, 35, 37 million of your cap space. you know, back onto the team. Like, those are two huge upgrades that the Drogas can get in the offseason.
So, Kingun playing better, I guess, makes it less likely that you pursue a move such as a possible Yana's trade. But that was really far down the pecking order of outcomes, at least as far as my eyes looking at it. Beyond that, I do think that Shingun playing better and looking better going into the offseason maybe makes you look at, you know, if the chemistry is totally not there.
And, you know, I think there was some overreaction to it, but that clip with Ari Eason... It struck me as just a tiny bit of shade towards KD. I know Shang-Goon's not a native English speaker, right? But it didn't seem like they were fully, you know, it doesn't seem to me like they're fully a cohesive unit. Obviously, you can grab whatever highlights you want out of the games.
And there are moments where it looks like they are. But it might have impact going into the offseason if you want to retool around the core without KD and you want to spend assets with KD or try to kind of reorganize the team like that if you believe that what... kind of zap the mojo out of this team was in part at least KVR.
If you don't think that those relationships are mendable or if you think that they're just, you know, kind of trying to weather the storm until the offseason comes. I do think that Sengun playing better makes it more likely that they may pursue a different type of team building approach. But as I said before, you know, just running it back with Fred being back
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