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Chapter 1: What was the outcome of the Rockets vs. Suns game?
Welcome in, everybody, to the postgame. Rockets hosting the Phoenix Suns tonight and get a huge 100-97 win on an incredibly clutch triple by Kevin Durant with 1.1 seconds left. Tons of things to discuss from this game, but what a thrilling back and forth. I don't know if it was all wonderful, but it was certainly... Interesting.
Chapter 2: How did Kevin Durant perform in the clutch moments?
Probably one of the games this year that I've been the most invested in as far as just the way it went back and forth and how crazy it was. But Rockets escape 197 over the Suns. I'm here with Ben Dubose. You can read his stuff at Rockets Wire and on Clutch Fans and follow him on Twitter at Ben Dubose. Ben, you were at the game, correct? I mean, your reaction to this win tonight.
It's good to have Kevin Durant. It's that simple. And for once, it's so fulfilling to be on this side because after last year, when it felt like the Rockets got every last drop they could out of that team, but there were just certain limitations. And this game was sort of the inverse of that. in that it was very frustrating for a large portion of those 48 minutes.
Yet when it mattered most, there was a gear they had with Kevin Durant and to an extent with Amin Thompson as well, who had a really nice drive to tie the game with a couple of minutes left. But it felt like a game that was very much in contrast to a year ago when they did all the little things right.
But when it came down to winning time, they just didn't have that guy who you could trust to go out and make a play. Now they do.
Chapter 3: What were the key defensive lapses in the first half?
He did tonight. I mean, it's what a Hall of Famer does, so tip your hat to him. But more than tonight, it's one of those wins that gives you hope in the grand scheme because you're not going to play – all that well in every game throughout the season and even in every game throughout a playoff run. You've got to have an ability to dig deep, steal games that maybe you didn't deserve to win.
One of the frustrating things about this team the first couple of months of the year is that they had such a poor record in so-called clutch games. this feels like sort of getting a break back. Those games you let slip away, the Pelicans, the Kings, those games we've been so despondent about over the first couple of months.
Tonight, it sort of feels like you get one back because you're down 13 in the second half against a Suns team. I know they're on night two of a back-to-back, but they're playing well right now.
Chapter 4: How did the Rockets adjust their defense in the second half?
They beat the Thunder last night. It's a good team, even if the roster, it feels like they're playing above their heads. They're playing well right now. The Rockets were down 13. They found a way. I think a lot of what happened down the stretch, they expended so much energy in the comeback going from down 13 to up seven that they were on fumes by the end.
But in the final two minutes, a man and then most notably KD just found a way. And it's not saying that this team is head and shoulders above last year's team, but it does have a gear that last year's team doesn't have, most notably Kevin Durant.
Yeah. I mean, he, to me is the, just a guy you got to get the ball to down the stretch. As a matter of fact, you and I were talking in real time at the moment when they had, I think five seconds left when they, you know, it was tie game. And it's just like, just get the ball to KD. It's either going to be, he's going to win it or he's going to go to, we're going to go to overtime.
And he may actually said that something similar in post game said, basically it has nothing to do with the defense. He's either going to make it or he's going to miss it.
Chapter 5: What impact did Steven Adams have on the game?
He's going to get that shot off. And, you know, that's basically just had a lot of praise for Kevin Durant. And he's one for 11 from three in this game. Couldn't buy a triple. That's actually another story. Rockets 24% from three on a fairly high volume in the Dallas game. Do the same again tonight. But to me, I mean, and Kevin Durant is the story.
No question hitting that shot and just, you know, the vibes and everything in that arena. You were there. just, you know, the MVP chance and everything for KD, all deserved. But it's the second half defensive effort to me that was the difference because the first half, the defensive effort was absolutely awful.
I mean, Phoenix was getting open looks, pulling up from four or five feet behind three-point line, taking advantage of just about every switch or screen, you know, and basically getting off threes and nailing them. They hit 10 of their first 18 triples into, you know, mid-late second quarter, and then things turned.
Rockets held them from the rest of the game, four of 23 from three, and also been to that defensive effort, which you can see. I test will show you the defensive effort in the second half was significantly better than the first, but 23 fast break points for the Phoenix Suns in this game. all in the first half, zero in the second half. And that was big too.
So they shut down the transition play from Phoenix and they shut down the threes. And the Rockets offense was not good today. I mean, obviously they're missing Shangoon, Shangoon being out. The offense wasn't good, but their defense was good enough to set that shot up.
Yeah, the defense is what flipped the game from down 13 to up 7. It felt like midway through the fourth quarter, it was a little ominous when Imei pulled three of the five at about the six-minute mark when they were playing so well, because I thought that was a pretty clear tell that these guys must be running on fumes. So... The moral of the story, don't fall down by 13 points.
I think early in the game especially, the turnovers combined with Phoenix making an ungodly chunk of their threes in the first half sort of put the Rockets behind the eight ball.
And so I think, you know, I'm less bothered, you know, when we look at it from a macro perspective, I'm less bothered by the Rockets letting the seven-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter than I am them falling behind by 13 over the first 30 minutes of the game. Because I think the first 30 minutes of the game, that's where they did a lot of just very sloppy and uncharacteristic things.
It felt like with no Shingun, there were a lot of the turnovers that were guys just being indecisive. Like when Shingun's out there, you know, he soaks up a lot of the playmaking reps. And so when he's not up there and the ball's not functioning through him in the high post or in the low block, then guys aren't as clear in their roles.
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Chapter 6: How will the Rockets cope without Alperen Sengun?
It just felt like a lot of indecision, a lot of guys being tentative. And I think that that comes down to
without Shingun the offense isn't as simplified as it typically is there's a lot more unpredictability and the Suns I thought they overplayed the passing lanes they sort of made it a little more chaotic they sped the Rockets up and that's where I think the Rockets can adjust when they when they view it on on film I suspect those guys are just going to you know have their head in their hands a lot looking at some of those turnovers to me that's what the Rockets really need to fix I think what happened in the fourth quarter was just a fatigued team that went on a
you know, a big run to flip the game by 20 points in about a quarter and then was just on fumes getting to the finish line. I thought a couple of other things I wanted to note from the final minute since, you know, really that's all people want to talk about tonight. Besides KD just being one of those dudes, it didn't even matter that he was one of 11. You want Kevin Durant taking that shot.
Of course, of course. It feels so good to have one of those guys. It doesn't even matter if he's hot or he's not. It's KD. Give him the ball. And I feel like everybody in Toyota Center, when that ball left his hands, felt like it was going to go in. A couple of interesting things from Imei Ujoka. I really liked that they had Jabari Smith inbounding the ball to KD.
Because we've seen a couple of times this year, it's been either Shingun or Amin. And this is not a shot at Shingun or Amin. But when those are the side inbounders and you get it to KD at that spot just inside of half court, what's going to happen? The side inbounder is going to trap on KD because they don't respect Shingun or Amin's ability to hit the three from the wing or the corner.
Whereas Jabari, I forget who it was that was on him, but he went with Jabari just a little bit into the corner because Jabari did hit some big shots in the second half during that comeback. They didn't want to leave Jabari with a wide open corner three for the win. And that moment of indecision was all KD needed to have a one-on-one and he gets that look.
And please don't take that as a shot at Shingun or a man who overall are better players than Jabari. Of course they are. But in that specific situation, I think it can help Jabari to be the inbounder.
If you're wanting KD to be the guy that gets the ball, you know, closest to the inbounder on that side of the court, then yeah, having a spacer inbound the ball can really help because when he goes to the corner, he's going to take that defender with him, at least to some extent.
And so it gave the Suns a little bit more to account for, as opposed to those earlier season possessions in the Shingun or Amin. It felt like there was a very quick double when KD got the ball, and those teams just were not going to let KD beat them. The other thing I liked in the final minute of that game, just one more I wanted to get to, the stop they had on Devin Booker.
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Chapter 7: What role do Reed Shepard and other players need to play?
He had some decisions tonight that were questionable. But defensively, when it mattered most, boy, did he step up.
Yeah, no, all deserved for sure. Great defensive effort by Atari. I will take a couple of mild shots. One was a men in that situation. You're right. He maybe in a minute or two before coming out of a timeout one point game tried to they were inbound in the ball to KD and he threw it right to a double team. immediate turnover, which I was just, my jaw was on the floor.
And Tari, just before that defensive effort, with just the craziest drive and double pump shot that even Ime Odoka in the postgame said, you know, we were able to cut down some of the bad shots. Then he said, you know, we had the one with Tari. Yeah. And I was like, wow. Yeah. I mean, it was bad.
And so he came up and totally redeemed himself with that defensive effort setting, setting up a Katie for the game winner. So yeah, Tari's, you know, he's got the mitts, he's got the, the energy and the effort he wants to, to take on those challenges. He's a great defensive player.
you know put into an on-ball situation so that was a I think really impressive there were just some plays in this game that drove me nuts and again Ben is well aware of some of those things that you know happened the inability to get that rebound on Booker's free throw when you have a it's a four-point game I believe and Booker misses the free throw popped right back out to Booker hits the three that that just drove me uh insane a man missing a lefty layup in the final minute where he cleared he had the space and missed that layup I was just like wow
There was just some of those plays in this game. We got to talk about Reed Shepard as well. I mean, I know I can see the chat full of Reed Shepard comments and I totally get it. You're going to be either he should be there or he shouldn't. I just know how coaches like Eme Odoka think. I think you would agree with this, Ben.
Those turnovers in the first quarter, and I think they were into the second quarter as well, the live ball ones. I think just drove Ime just to the point where he's like, I don't know if I can totally trust him in this game. He played briefly in the third. Then he got some run in the fourth. I thought he played pretty well.
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Chapter 8: What does this win mean for the Rockets moving forward?
Did not close out. I think we saw more Holiday, more Kogi. I don't know your thoughts on Reed Shepard in this game.
Not great. I think there's a reason he got a look early in the first half. It was the earliest I've seen Imei Yudoka make a switch like that. It was the nine and a half minute mark of the first quarter.
So Imei is typically a guy, even when games start slowly, he'll take a timeout, but then he'll stick with the same group because he wants them to learn from their mistakes to go read over a man that quickly. felt telling, but yeah, it just comes down to the fact that he's got to make more shots.
He did hit one big bucket that finally gave the Rockets the lead in the fourth quarter, but you're just asking for way too much of his model if he's going to even be an okay shooter. Like, I'm not saying he shot the ball terribly the last few games, but I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I feel like the last 10 games he's been, I'd say, in the 30s rather than the 40s.
At least at this point in his career, for him to play super high leverage minutes he's got to be in the 40s because there's just too many other warts to his game. When I say 30s and 40s, I'm talking from three-point range. He's got to be a marksman when he gets those open looks just because if it's not, it's going to be so easy.
It's fascinating for me, actually, to see how much Ime Udoka trusts Aaron Holiday in that Aaron cannot play an entire game, and it feels like Ime has no hesitation to put him in with, like, six minutes left in a tie game, basically. So... With that as the insurance policy, someone that he may trust in every circumstance, the bar is pretty high for Reed.
It's not to say that everything is Reed's fault because he is a better pure point guard than the man Thompson is. He's better at controlling the pace. He's got a better handle. So it's not to try and pile on him. But I guess where I go back to the shooting is that if he's not shooting a super high level –
if you're just wanting Reed out there to have another ball handler and sort of raise the floor, well, Aaron holiday can give you a lot of that while being more trustworthy defensively. That's the thing. So it's not so much that like Reed played a terrible game. It's more, um, He didn't do enough to distinguish himself relative to Aaron holiday. That's the bottom line for me.
And so that's the challenge going forward. Like if he hits threes at volume, the way he has done and will do in the future, at some point, he's going to get hot again, then this is going to take care of itself. The defensive floor is low enough right now that if he has these stretches like we've seen the last couple of games, E-May is going to turn back to Aaron Holiday.
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