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Rockets low energy at the start of the half.Sloppy passing and non-existent close outs

Great to have Jabari back. We clearly missed his shooting against Dallas, and having him start allows Tari to be the sparkplug off the bench. With Adams out, we could see some "small-ball" Rockets with Jabari at the 5. Go Rockets!

@bendubose.bsky.social Suppose a team like Charlotte or Washington wants our 2025 pick & Cam Whitmore in exchange for future draft picks 4-5 years later. What would the Rockets consider fair value? An unprotected pick and an unprotected swap? Two lightly protected picks?

Turning into a shootout!

It will be easier for the Rockets to correct their poor shooting, silly turnovers, and misuse of their challenge (which played a huge role in the game!) than it will be for GS to address the rebounding deficit.

Watching this game reminds me that a few years ago, a lot of Rocket fans thought KPJ had All-Star potential. What's worse, I was one of them! #YouAlwaysOverrateYourOwnPlayers

I'm a retired college professor, so, um, he's not exactly speaking to my demographic, but what the fuck, if it wins, it wins. I loved this clever line in regards to the working class: "We built the damn table, so now it is time we had a seat at it." You got my $50, Mr. Sage!

Per Basketball Reference, #Rockets have 84.2 percent probability of winning the #2 seed and a 100 percent probability of making the playoffs.

The average margin of victory during this 5-game win streak is 19.6 #Don'tPlayWithYourFood

You never know, but these are good matchups for the #Rockets: 1. Sac is struggling and Rockets perimeter defense should contain Fox. Sengun > Sabonis 2. GSW is also struggling, and DG is hurt. 3. Rockets handled LAC in Houston, but LAC plays better at home. Interesting game. Knock on wood!

I totally agree with this. Some NBA analysts (see Sam Vecenie's latest podcast) are somewhat skeptical of the Rockets b/c of their poor shooting. I take the opposite view. Despite shots not falling, the team is winning. I'd be more worried if wins came from unsustainably strong shooting.

Jabari Smith, Jr. shot poorly in the OKC win--15 points on 15 shots--but he played winning basketball with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. He was a team best +10 in 40 minutes. Given the struggles of Adams and Landale, he is may well be our backup C as well as starting PF. Enormously valuable player.

Is the East catching up? East is up 7-2 over the last two nights (11/24 and 11/25). Boston wins back-to-back games at home against MN and LAC, while Brooklyn wins two back-to-backs against Sacramento and GS . . . on the road! Impressive.

The Rockets lost at home to Portland. There were extenuating circumstances (it was their fifth game in seven nights), but it was a game the Rockets should have won. Fuck around and find out.

A question for @nbastat.bsky.social Reed Sheppard has played 17 games and 21l total minutes. He has 68 field goal attempts. He has yet to shoot a free throw. Is he close to any records for most games, most minutes and most field goal attempts w/o a free throw? #NBAsky

The BB Reference Playoff Predictor is nearly meaningless this early, but it's bullish on the Rockets, so I love it: *Rox have the third-best chance of winning the title; better odds than BOS (16.9% v. 11.7%) *Rox will finish 7 gms ahead of Mavs, 12 ahead of Denver, and 13 ahead of LAL #NBAsky

Jabari Smith Jr.'s last five games are emblematic of his inconsistent shooting. A switchable, talented defender, he sometimes disappears on offense. For the Rockets to remain at the top of the West, we need Jabari to assert himself every game. He's one of the team's key X-factors going forward.

The Rockets are an unusual team with many statistical quirks, but here is one of the strangest: Reed Sheppard has played in all 16 games, averaging 12 minutes per game (195 total minutes). He has not shot a SINGLE free throw, according to BB Reference. Be more aggressive, Reed!

The 9-4 Houston Rockets: *Nobody averaging 20 pts per game *Nobody in the top 30 in pts per game BUT. . . *7 players averaging double figures *6 different players led the team in scoring Balance & Bench: A new model for NBA team building?#NBA

Questions for @kpelton.bsky.social True or False: Hou will be the first team with two bench players making an All-Defense Team (Eason + Thompson). Related: Hou will be the first team with two players on rookie-scale contracts to make an All-Def Team (both will be eligible next year).