They are Completely Delusional...

On the latest edition of his show, Zach Lowe and guest John Hollinger discussed a little bit about Houston Rockets basketball and something Hollinger said has got Rockets fans in an absolute frenzy. What he just said is absolutely wild and we give you the details of what he said as well as their breakdowns for this Rockets squad next season. I'm your host, Donovan Arcundo for Rockets Digest, where we break down the latest news, rumors, and updates regarding your H-Town team, the Houston Rockets, and as always, thank you so much for tuning in. However, 77.7% of you watching these videos are not yet subscribed. 777, that means if you subscribe today, you will have luck for the rest of your life. That is right, it is scientifically proven. If you subscribe to Rockets Digest, you receive that luck for your lifetime. So go ahead and hit that bell below. Now, we are going to talk about what these two NBA insiders discussed on their show. It started off really well. It started off, you know, talking about a lot of the key aspects that the Houston Rockets have done this offseason. Zack Lowe commended this team's ability to have acquired Kevin Grant, to acquire Dorian Finney-Smith from the Lakers, as well as signing or signing and trading for Clint Capella, who he thinks is a great guy to supplement Stephen Adams whenever Stephen Adams needs to rest, right? The Houston Rockets are clearly investing in a double big lineup with mainly Stephen Adams and Shengun, but of course, you can always insert Clint Capella in there whenever, say, Adams needs a break or say maybe even Shengun needs a break or he needs some time off from the regular season. So he commended a lot about what this team has done in free agency, probably the highest team in free agency making the best move so far, in my opinion, and obviously biased, but at the same time, I think it's absolutely true. As Zack Lowe points out, saying, quote, I don't know if there's such a thing as being too big the way they are this fast and this athletic, as he's talking about the Houston Rockets' roster. Between the Rockets and what the Nuggets did, I think they come in 2 and 3 in the West with a bullet right now. I have no criticism with the Rockets' offseason. I think it's been a home run all the way around, end quote. And quite certainly, there's a lot of people that feel this way. I mean, Shams pointed out the other day, it was like recapping the last 15 days of the Rockets and, you know, signing KD, signing Dorian Pitts, Dorian Finney-Smith, re-signing Steven Adams, all these things that the Rockets did. They're just going to put them to the next level. Now, Zack Lowe asked John Hollinger, he was like, what do you think? What do you think about this roster? He had some good things to say, but there was something that he said that's got a lot of Rockets fans raising their eyebrows as he went on to say this quote right here. He says, quote, I think it's been really good. I do wonder how this actually, how this is actually going to play out on the court. I mean, there are no real wings on this team. And there is one point guard that they trust. No real wings. What is hap, what? No real wings. We probably have the most wings ever at this point, quite frankly. Amin Thompson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Tari Eson. These are all wings. We have the wings. I don't quite understand what John Hollinger is saying here. Now, I'm trying to figure it out, right? What does he mean no wings? I feel like there is probably still a shooting problem, right? Okay. I can see that, but no wings? No wings? That doesn't quite make sense to me. And Zach Lowe questioned on this. He was like, what are you talking about? What about Tari Eson? What about Dorian Finney-Smith? What about Amin Thompson? What about those guys? And then John Hollinger kept going. He kept, he almost doubled down essentially, saying that, quote, if you were building a team from scratch, you would have all three of them at the four. I just, I absolutely disagree. To me, that doesn't make much sense. I understand Amin Thompson's a guy who can go in a lot of positions, but he is not a four. They can play the four. Don't get me wrong. They totally, they totally can. Amin Thompson's very talented. 6'8". Tari Eson, very talented, can also technically be your four by any means, but from scratch, those aren't exactly four guys, right? I don't think that makes a whole lot of sense if you ask me. And Zack Lowe, his reaction was almost a non-reaction, right? He was as soon as John Hollinger was like, oh, I think they're gonna, from scratch, they would all be fours, right? And then Zack Lowe went, okay, not much to say. It's kind of a absurd thing to say, if you ask me. It doesn't really make much sense. I get it from the perspective of, okay, is there still a shooting problem? Is there someone who, you know, there that can be that guy to kind of, you know, get the ball for three, shoot for three, drive, create their own shot? I mean, that's kind of what we got to do. But at the same time, I can kind of get it, right? I can kind of understand where he's coming from, but at least the way he said it, the way it came off, didn't really make much sense to me. I mean, no wings on this team. There's plenty of them. As of right now, Cam Whitmore is on the team. He's a wing. As of right now, Alman Thompson is on the team. He's a wing. Tari Eason, Dorian Finney-Smith. We've got that area. Now, do I still have concerns with shooting? Of course, right. Shooting is going to be, was one of the downfalls of this team last season. Not terrible, but at the same time, could be better. Needs to be better if you want to be a champ L team. Again, that's why you get out and get a guy like Kevin Durant, who is going to do a lot of that scoring for you. But again, with something that Zach Lowe questioned him on, he was saying like, I'll bring up the quote. He said, I'm going to believe in Eason's jumper. I just think that they are so versatile defensively that particularly Eason and Thompson, I almost can't pigeonhole them into a position. And I like how they protect Durant in that regard. And he's absolutely right. This defense from the Houston Rockets is going to be second to none next season. I honestly think they will be the best defensive team in the NBA next season. They are a very long team, very physical. They were already one of the best teams in the NBA last year. I think they were ranked third overall in defensive rating throughout the regular season. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they were absolutely phenomenal the way Emil Odoka has instilled in this Houston Rockets team the importance of defense and how that is going to get them to a championship. And now they just got a whole lot better. Quite frankly, they just got a whole lot better. And I do think that it's going to be the tipping factor in winning and losing playoff games is their consistency in their defense. Because they can guard. Again, these players can guard multiple positions. I look at a guy like Amund Thompson. Zach Lowe says, oh, he's the four and any other. If you're starting from scratch, Amund Thompson's a four. He can also guard the one. If you can guard one through four and he's going to be entering his third year, that is unmatched. That is hard to find in the NBA to have someone do that and do that at the high level that Amund Thompson is able to do that. So I look at the defense and I look at how big this team is and it's a lot to be excited about. Zach Lowe and John Hollinger talked a lot about that as well. They were kind of geeking out about it because you hardly see this in the NBA nowadays. And so Zach Lowe said, I just think they are going to be an absolute monster to deal with. Can you imagine trying to box this team out? And to which John Hollinger replied, it is crazy. They are going to lead the league in loose ball fouls drawn by a mile. By a mile, he says, they are going in. Quite frankly, I cannot disagree with that. I mean, this team, you add Kevin Durant, who is already so impossible to guard. You add Dorian Finney-Smith, who is another very physical player. As well as, you know, you still have Shane Goon, you still have Amund Thompson who are only going to get better who are only going to keep crashing the paint and trying to get those easy layups and posts around the basket. So, I look at this team, and I look at their lineups, and I can't help but get excited. Now, as crazy as the statement that John Hollinger said, right? Shooting is still something that this team needs to, you know, hopefully find and develop next season. I know there's also Reed Shepard, who is a fantastic three-point shooter. And John Hollinger also kind of said, you only have really one point guard you can trust. And that may be on some level true, right? Reed Shepard did not play a lot last year. He is going to step up in that back-up point guard role for this team. And so, it's something that he is going to have to step up to in only a second year in the NBA. But at the same time, right, I do think, you know, head coach Emile Odoka and his coaching staff do trust in him in being that back-up point guard. You drafted him third overall for a reason, right? To fulfill a role, to be in that position to, you know, play in those games and make a difference with whatever that role is. And so, I feel like the plan always was to sign Fred VanVleet and at some point have Reed Shepard take over those reins. Now, I don't think that would be next year by any means, but in three years, four years, Reed Shepard will be that starting point guard. And so, this is just the start of that long journey. So, although we might not have full knowledge and a belief that he will be that guy immediately, no, of course not. That is going to be something that's going to take time, that I knew was going to take time. And this is just the start of that. And so, you have that back-up who has shown a lot of good signs and improvement with himself, with his development, with his coaching staff. You can't help but be a little psyched out about it. I feel like Reed Shepard is a guy to keep. Hopefully, he is not traded away. I know there's a lot of talks about that right now, but at the same time, I do think he is a key piece in developing and could be a great Rockets player for many, many, many years to come. So, that pretty much wraps it up for this episode of Rockets Digest. Let me know in the comments what you think about John Hollinger's statements. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Please tell me you disagree, and let me know there in the comments section, alright? This has been another episode of Rockets Digest. Thank you so much for tuning in if you have not already. Subscribe if you made it to the end of the video. That tells me you're a die-hard Rockets fan. Go ahead, hit that button below. Alright, we'll see you on the next one. Adios.