Fred VanVleet is EXACTLY What the Rockets Were Missing

We gotta talk about the Rockets.

5-0 to start the season.

Ahmed Thompson had maybe the best defensive play.

I've seen it in a long time.

I've seen it in a long time.

Yeah, he's a dog, man.

He's a swatting away Victor Wambayama.

Victor, we got at a later show like if the Spurs had lost on Wednesday night, I would have added the Spurs to this topic, but they found a way to come back and beat the Jazz, who had one of the most, had an epic implosion in overtime of that game.

Um, but Amman Thompson, elite defensive play.

They've got 2 wins over Atlanta, 1 over San Antonio, beat Milwaukee, uh, the other night.

So not that the toughest schedule necessarily in the world, but 3 of those wins have come on the road.

They are 2nd in the NBA in offensive rating.

They are 9th in the NBA in defensive rating.

So if you're top 10 in both categories, you are by definition, a championship contender.

What do you think of Houston?

Like, uh, is this real?

Like, are, are we buying the Houston Rockets as maybe more of a contender than people thought coming into the season?

Yeah, 1000, I think it's definitely real.

And even when you brought up they're 2nd in the, in the, in the league in offensive rating, they're 20th in pace.

So that's just telling you they're getting down, uh, they're not, they're not rushing things, but they're getting efficient quality shots and they, and they're moving the ball around as well.

And I think that's a sign of a good team, especially early on.

But the most important thing is their depth and their size and physicality.

They're just big as hell .

Like they're able to get it in the, in the people.

They have a lot of experience and like You know, Marcus Smart has missed 4 games, Steven Adams has missed a couple of games, but you're going on the bench and you're pulling out Bodar Bogdanovich, that's your 8th or 9th man.

Like there's some elite players here.

When you're looking with, you know, familiarity of size and skill, uh, and the defensive intensity that they have is, is going to be tenacious.

But I think the one thing that's a cheat code is like, yo, we got everything, but the one thing that you forget in the last 5 minutes, we have a closer, a legendary scorer that can get us over that hurdle.

We have a Uh, a point guard that can make big-time shots.

We have Iman Thompson that can lock up anybody, and we have Alpern Seguon that is literally downhill coming at your neck and taking it to the next level.

So, I think they're serious.

I think they're gonna be tough.

I think even that game in San Antonio when they played, it, it kind of showed where, where they can be at and, and that was on the road.

I, I think they're going to be a tough, dangerous team.

And if, and if it comes down to KD closing you out with a bunch of weapons around them, that's, that's good luck.

Yeah, KD averaging a nice tidy, efficient 22.4 points per game, shooting 55% from the floor, 50% from three.

Shengoon, looking at his numbers, 58% from the floor, 66.7% from three.

This is a small sample size, by the way, 2.3 attempts per game.

So the stars are showing up, but you know, coming into this year, I, I was preaching that Fred VanVleet's gonna matter.

Like Fred Van Vleet is gonna matter.

Like forget the numbers.

Like he's not.

Last couple of years, he has not been a high efficiency guy.

Look, he's still not a high efficiency guy.

Less than 40% from the floor, mid-30s from 3-point range, but he is a steady, reliable guy out there.

He's going to give you 30-ish minutes per game and be able to initiate the offense.

And him being there, and I've heard Kevin Durant talk about that.

It kind of allows everybody else to slot back into their usual positions.

Like Aman Thompson doesn't need to be the point guard on this team.

Reed Shepherd doesn't need to be the starting point guard on this team.

Kevin Durant doesn't need to have the ball in his hands initiating some of the offense.

It just allows everybody to be themselves, and that's been a huge difference maker.

Uh, for the Rockets this season, the steady, reliable presence of, of, uh, of, of Fred VanVleet, and look, they're not even playing up to their, their level yet.

Like Reed Shepherd's shooting like, it's like 28% from 3, and he's shooting like 8 of them per game, 28.1% from 3.

That number is gonna go way up.

Like that's gonna, Reed Shepherd is too good.

The shooter to shoot 28% from 3.

If he gets into the mid to high 30s, that offense, that already potent offense is gonna be really, really good.

So I, I, I think the Rockets are the real deal.

I knew they'd be really good defensively because all Ime Udoka teams are good defensively, but their efficiency offensively has been a game-changer.

And one other thing, ET.

They're one of those teams out there that you gotta watch for the deadline.

Like you gotta watch them.

They, like, Rafael Stone has done an excellent job of doing the deals that he has, most notably the Durant deal, but not getting rid of all his assets.

He's still got some draft picks he can deal.

He's still got some very interesting young players that might be attractive to teams.

You got Jabbar.

Ari Smith, who's having a heck of a start to the season.

You got Shepherd, uh, who is a really good player, uh, former top, former 3rd overall draft pick.

Um, like, you know, we, we keep hearing the name Kyrie Irving that's out there , and I think Kyrie will be out there.

Could you imagine Kyrie Irving with this team, like somebody of that ilk with this team that could upgrade maybe the point guard position, uh, a little bit more.

I, I, I think they, they've got, they've got a move to make, a potential move to make.

They are a team to watch before the deadline because they're a strong team now , but I think there's a, a, a, a window where they could get a lot stronger.

Yeah, 100%.

I think they're dangerous either or.

You, you add Kyrie, you add obviously a level that takes it to superstardom, championship contender, media, and everything else.

What do you What do you think that does to the overall camaraderie?

Do, do you go from like a, a, a team that's in-depth, uh, uh, that has 1010, 10 hard-nosed blue-collar guys that we're gonna be into you, or does it switch over where Kyrie's gonna play 32 minutes and now we're kind of going to a finesse brand of basketball that sometimes I feel as though might dal back because Fred VanVleet, his background is tough.

Wichita State, I'm getting out the mud, is gritty.

We've seen somewhat of a Kyrie KD duo where you sits still and it's like, will they be mature enough to hold each other accountable to get over the the hump and keep that championship tenacity.

That's all I'm saying, you know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah, I do .

Um, I think Kyrie, it's a separate topic.

I think he's gonna be the most in-demand player at the trade deadline because he's not on the Mavericks' timeline.

And we talked about Houston.

I think Detroit's on the team that will be salivating over getting Kyrie Irving.

They're off to a great start.

Wow, yeah, damn, I mean, I, I think the Mavericks have a chance to get some real assets back in return for a player that's been good for them, great locker room guy for them.

He's, he's really turned around, uh, turned himself around in Dallas from his previous stops.

But, uh, you have a chance to, to, to really replenish the draft picks, uh, in a deal for Kyrie Irving.

before we get out of here, um.

Do you ever notice they always just, they try to find a LeBron build and just throw Kyrie with them and they're like, yo, you might make the championship.

Like, cause it's LeBron, Kyrie, and then they threw Luca, Kyrie together and it's like, you know, Cade is one of those people that only done what, only people that done what Cade has done is Kyrie and LeBron.

And you see that big 6'7, 68, do it all 0.4 and then you just see a killer score right next to him.

Do you think that's what certain dudes are like, hey bro, this is, this might work one more time?

Yeah, look, I think 5 years from now, um, Dallas is gonna be looking for the next Kyrie Irving, someone that can play opposite Cooper once they hopefully, uh, ascend to, to a different level.

I watched the Pistons some, like, you know, when, when Jalen Duran is your secondary scorer, like that's fine for some regular season games.

In the playoffs, you're gonna get beat, um, and you put Kyrie next to Cade, who is Kyrie that elite of a 1B?

Like it's damn near like, oh, I think so.

I mean, he's a shot maker.

Yeah, yeah, I'm just saying like when you sit there like, hey, you might be able to bring this guy over, bring that guy, but like when it comes to 1 B, he's going to do some, he's more, most guaranteed to do some 1A shit.

Is, is that how it's read?

I think so.

I think so.

I thought it was interesting watching some of these Dallas games.

I watched the Dallas Miami game the other night, like down the stretch, usually when Kyrie would have the ball to kind of do Kyrie things, they put the ball in Cooper's hands.

Cooper was making plays, man.

Cooper was making some plays.

Hey, I was skeptical, bro.

Cooper's hey, Cooper's, and he could have had 40 something.

He literally was getting his guys and like.

That, hey, that's a bad boy, bro.

Like, I don't even wanna say bad way.

That's a, I, when I saw it, I said, man, he was better than Giannis, and Giannis is an old school attack mode, and Cooper was on some chill.

I, I know how to win tight.

Like, did you feel that?

He was almost like, wait, I know, I know how to win.

I know how to fight.

I'm, he, he literally turned it on like, and he was going at Wiggins, then taking into the paint on Giannis and be like he, he was being nice that night.

He should have had a 40 point triple that, that, that white boy coat, he's here.

Am I, am I tripping?

No, he had an up and under on Bam.

Like Bam went up to challenge him thinking Cooper was gonna go for the dunk, and Cooper just kind of like floated underneath the rim and got a reverse layup.

His bag is deep, and he's starting to make threes now too, bro.

And then and low key , bro, it looked like, correct me if I'm wrong, it looked like he hooping with his little bros .

Like it looked like he's hooping on a smaller rim.

It looked like, am I bugging?

No, like he , he kind of, he kind of looking at big ass dudes.

It's like watch out little bro like it kind of looked crazy and he only like he still.

He kind of man he moving different it's real it's real.

The leap is real like and I figured it would be like he, he's the kind of kid and I, and I've profiled him in the past for, for SI like his um.

Like his improvements year after year, like getting to high school, getting to Duke, first year in the pro, like he gets better every single year historically he gets better, and I think he's gonna be, I mean, you, you gotta win really to be kind of an all-star contention.

I'm not sure the Mavs will win enough games, uh, but he's gonna be an all-star level player this year, no doubt, uh, he's he's dominant.

He, he's, he's a man.

He's a man out there.

He's 19, bro.

He's dominant, bro.

That shit looked crazy.

Shout out to Cooper.