Jabari Smith Jr & Amen Thompson Impress At Team USA Practice, Houston Rockets Playoff Chances & More

Jabari Smith Jr & Amen Thompson Impress At Team USA Practice, Houston Rockets Playoff Chances & More

on today’s show Jabari Smith Jr and Amin Thompson absolutely showing out at the Team USA scrimmages this offseason plus we get to part two of our Rockets mailbag am men’s future as the point guard of this Houston Rockets team how do the Rockets stack up with the rest of the Western Conference and so much more it’s all coming up on today’s locked on Rockets this is Mission Control Houston ignition sequence start 6 5 4 3 2 one what’s up and welcome to another edition of locked on Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball as always I’m your host Jackson Gatlin native houstonian and credential media member I’m also the host of locked on NBA Mondays be sure to follow along wherever you listen to your podcast or on YouTube just search lockon Rockets be sure to like comment and subscribe that’s the best way that you can help our sh is to go comment anything below the YouTube video just do a driveby and say go Rockets it helps us out a ton now today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account use code locked on NBA for $20 off of your first purchase terms apply and as always thank you so much for making lockdown Rockets part of your day every single day whether it’s on your way to work on your lunch break in the gym thank you for being an everyday lot to get to on today’s episode apologize for the delay on the release of this episode uh because now I know what feels like to get pump faked by an energy company like I’m sure many of you listening to this podcast watching whatever uh I’m sure there are frustrations with CenterPoint Energy out there and uh thankfully this podcast is not sponsored by CenterPoint Energy but uh you know didn’t have power for you know day day and a half whatever at the start of the storm got power back was able to put out our last episode and I thought everything was back to normal up and running whatever and then I lost power again like early Tuesday evening and went something like you know 12 14 more hours with no power uh and now we’re back up and running so you know hope hopefully knock on wood everything stays uh stays normal moving forward I hope everybody out there is doing okay I hope you’re doing okay uh with with power safety all of that it’s the storm was kind of crazy uh but a lot to get to in today’s episode we’re get to get we’re going to get to the next half of our mailbag topics questions all that stuff uh in segments two and three of this episode want to been the first segment here though talking about uh Jabari Smith Jr and amen Thompson who have been two of the standout performers uh at the Team USA uh scrimmages in Las Vegas so so OB the the uh USA select team versus the uh USA olympic team right so the Olympic team is all the the top name players right KD Lebron Steph all them and then the select team are tend to be the younger players right the the hungry guys who come in there and they they want a really good practice squad for the actual Olympic team to play against and we we get clips and little you know views from the scrimmages and we get to see how these players are doing and amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr have absolutely been two of the standout performers from uh this you know Team USA SC from the Team USA practices scrimmages so far just from a you know first off the fact that that Jabari and am men both got the nod to go to to to join the US select team is fantastic right that shows that they’re two of the upand cominging exciting players in the league that’s that tends to be uh the way that they select those players just they pick some of the more exciting younger guys so it’s a little you know notch on their resume that they got the nod in the first place but just just the experience right playing alongside some of their fellow peers right other young players like themselves but then to go up against literally the best of the best in the NBA right all of these future Hall of Famers that they get to practice daily that they get to learn from that they get to share experiences with all that stuff is going to be Monumental for their training for their growth for the development all that just kind of you know getting to getting to you know pick the brains of of elite players like LeBron like KD like Steph like ad like embiid like bam just you know the list goes on and on and on for all the players that they’re competing against and then to actually see some of the stuff that they’re doing out in the court uh amen Thompson has had some you know has a few little highlights out there right there’s one where he basically just completely casually Euro steps right around Drew holiday who is a really good Defender so seeing you know aen have a little bit more polish in his game a little bit more of something in his bag around the rim that’ll be fun he had a couple nice dishes to Cooper flag as well who uh also received the uh USA select team nod as a 17-year-old which is kind of crazy I think he’s the first non likee collegiate NBA player or whatever to receive to receive the honor so it’s kind of crazy that he got uh added to the team but he looks every bit at home uh with these other NBA caliber players and there’s a reason that he’s projected to go number one overall but the the couple little passes from a men Thompson to Cooper flag he had one where he dropped it down you know kind of dropped it off to him on the low block he turned around for a jumper he had another one where he drove in on the right kind of from the right wing and had a nice little one-handed uh kind of skip pass off to the opposite corner and Cooper flag just elevated drained a corner three-pointer like it was nothing some nice little plays from A Min Thompson and then from Jabari Smith Jr he had the one that’s doing the rounds for Jabari he caught a pass and absolutely hammered it on top of Joel embiid just put embiid on a poster and that’s the kind of like there were points last season where it felt like Jabari did a really good job of getting big right playing big playing strong down low dunking on guys going up hard for rebounds all that stuff and playing like a legit big man playing like a seven-footer and seeing that moment with him just you know hammering one home on embiid that was really cool a great moment from him but what really stands out is uh apparently their defense uh so uh Jamal Mosley the head coach of the Orlando Magic who is one of the coaches at USA training camp uh basically said that they stood out most on the defensive end uh that and Mosley went on to say this is uh by way of Jonathan Fagan from the Houston Chronicle who is there in attendance and was reporting on this um coach Mosley was putting Amin Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr on some of the toughest assignments uh throughout the scrimmages there were moments in the final 10 or so minutes of uh one of their scrimmages where uh they where Jabari specifically matched up with uh Lebron James uh and then amen Thompson matched up with Steph Curry and they both excelled they both did a great job guarding those two players so it just speaks volumes about their hunger their desire their intensity on the defensive end again we know that both of these guys have a defensive Edge to their respective games but it feels like both of them over the course of last season really leveled up as far as Defenders and I’m incredibly excited to see what this experience does for each of them and what they bring back and and just kind of how each of them will level up this next season with the Rockets it’s just some really fun exciting stuff to think about uh the futures of both of those guys two incredibly young talented pieces for the Rockets but coming up I want to get into our other mailbag questions a big one that I teased at the end of last episode uh have the Rockets given up on a men’s future being the point guard of this team by drafting Reed Shepard and a few other topics that we’re going to get to we’re going to get there in just one moment first today’s episode is brought to you by game time game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer that it gets to first pitch they’ve got killer last minute deals all in prices views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee look I don’t know about you but when I’m buying tickets could be to go to a game you know but is basketball game baseball game whatever could be to a concert a theater event whatever it is I absolutely despise when I’m going through the process and at the very end they like price gou you at the end they’re like oh here’s the the service fee or the digital handling fee or the digital whatever fee all the fees that they try to throw at you last minute and by then you’re just like oh fine I’ll just go ahead and pay for it you don’t get that with game time they give you 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potential future with the team he’s a hedge on Jaylen green he’s a hedge on cam Whitmore like Reed Shepard is just kind of like a Swiss army knife of where you want to put him right whether you want to play him off ball as more of a scoring threat whether you want to play him on ball as more of a a primary facilitator all that and TBD on what he actually looks like once he starts getting real NBA reps and which of those roles he maybe excels in a little bit further but I do not think that drafting Reed Shepard means the Rockets don’t Envision a men as a future point guard they drafted him because they were really high on his ability to create at a high level his court Vision all of that but the way that we’ve seen him deployed so far throughout his rookie season was that of more of a wing type presence right where he played a lot more of his minutes on the wing he played out of the dunker spot we really didn’t see that many opportunities for a men to really run the offense now some of that is because he just wasn’t ready for it right like the you know the handle’s not as tight as it needs to be uh obviously the the glaring weakness in his game is his inability to hit outside shots which makes it a little bit easier to defend him especially in the half court when you can just sag off of him and give him all that space so he gets kind of the the the Ben Simmons the Russell Westbrook treatment a little bit offensively which is why the Rockets found it easier to place him in the dunker spot and play him out of that rather than putting the ball in his hands and letting him conduct the offense but I’ve talked about this quite a bit on the show at various points one of the things that I’m most looking forward to this next season is for hopefully internally right that the Rockets across the board have better shooting from from all their guys from from Jay from shingun from Jabar that that everybody across the board increases their their output as far as shooting is concerned and they become a better overall shooting team because one of the easy recipes for success for a Min Thompson is to put him on the floor put him on the floor put the ball in his hands and to put four Shooters around him he wasn’t really afforded the opportunity much at all if ever last season to really do that I think that with the addition of Reed Shepard with the the return of tar een with the uh continued emergence of Jabari Smith Jr with the return of Jeff Green like hopefully with you know Alper and shenon developing a better more consistent outside shot same thing goes for Jaylen green like if the team is able to level up across the board I really do hope and I and I actually not even hope I expect that this next season we will see some stretches where Amin Thompson is afforded the opportunity to run the offense and we’ll see a little bit of both right we’ll see points where Reed Shepard is running the offense we’ll see points where Amin Thompson is running the offense but I actually think if you’re talking about just like a match made in heaven Reed Shepard is the perfect complimentary guard to place next to am Min Thompson if you want that as like the the future of the Rockets backcourt potentially because Reed Shepard can play on and off ball he can be a guy that can help set up a Min Thompson in the half court he can be a running mate for him in transition and then if you want to put the ball in a men’s hands then guess what Reed Shepard and his incredible you know shooting gravity can help open things up even further for a men Thompson so no I I don’t think that drafting Reed Shepard means that the Rockets are giving up on a men’s ability to play point guard but at the same time maybe a men’s true role is never as you know a true point guard on a team maybe his role is more so as a as a point forward where you have players alongside him that can kind of complement him with certain skill sets right like envisioning a one two3 lineup of Reed Shepard cam Whitmore and Amin Thompson or Reed Shepard uh Jaylen green amen Thompson whatever where amen Thompson is effectively your three or your small forward on the court as long as you have shooting around him at the other four positions he can be your point guard or your floor General and you can put the ball in his hands as long as the other guys have ways of being effective without the basketball so I do think he’s got the he’s got the great Court vision he’s got the passing ability he’s got the great feel for the game it’s going to be about him rounding out the other aspects of the of his game right adding a little bit of a floater package or a mid-range package to go to working on that outside shot and then again the Rockets putting him in positions where he can be successful with full-blown five out spacing with four legitimately good Shooters around him to really open things up because then if a Min Thompson gets going downhill it’s it’s curtains for whoever he’s guarding they’re going to have to foul him or you send or they collapse the defense send it double team and then he kicks it out for the open shot it’s a tale of Soul’s time we’ve seen so many different teams run that heliocentric style of offense the Rockets can replicate that same setup with a Min Thompson uh next question I got here for us uh let’s see who steps up to replace the bowon Vibes oh man I don’t I don’t know who to credit this one to I didn’t I didn’t sign this off with a name I’m so sorry if you ask this question thank you because I love it um The bowon Vibes are very clearly going to be replaced by Stephen Adams Steven Adams is exactly the same type of uh really positive locker room presence that you were kind of getting out of bobon um but in an actual serviceable center right a guy that you can use as part of your core rotation so he’ll actually be getting you know routine minutes on a night toight basis as opposed to just very Niche minutes in garbage time or very situational minutes here and there against very specific matchups uh one thing that I want to note guys I have this uh I have this glorious soundboard over here oh my and I desperately need some Steph Adams audio to put on the soundboard so if you can find me a quote or two from Stephen Adams or a sound bite things that you think would be right at home over here on the soundboard I need you to find some Stephen Adams audio bits and and send them my way hit me up on Twitter uh tag me in a comment on YouTube whatever whatever the easiest way is for you to send them to me send them my way so that I can load up the soundboard because by season’s end I want to have a mountain of Stephen Adams audio bites to choose from on the soundboard because I feel like he is going to be not even feel like I know he is going to be a diamond of a quote so I’m sure I’ll find some good ones throughout the course of this next season but before then I’m sure he’s got some quotes from his Memphis days from his OKC days so we can sift through those I just haven’t had a chance to yet so Bo or Ban’s uh Good Vibes are clearly going to be replaced by Steven Adams wanted to tackle that one cuz that’s a bit of a fun one um let’s get into this next one the potential of the the Houston Rockets offense with an actual knockdown shooter and how it will affect the spacing from Big Houston guy well we I mean we kind of talked about this a little bit with the amend Thompson question but I do think that we’re going to see this team take a significant like level up considerably this next season right they were 23rd in three-point percentage this past season uh they were not a good three-point shooting team it really took until post All-Star break for them to kind of change their off offensive Dynamic to where they started prioritizing more outside shots playing with more Tempo uh and really working to get you know those those three-point looks that we’ve known this Rockets team for years to prioritize so I think some of that is a Personnel issue the Rockets didn’t have many uh quick Shooters they didn’t have many volume three-point Shooters this past season a lot of it was you know overly reliant on Fred vanet and Jaylen green to be hoisting anywhere from 6 to 8 to 10 three-pointers a game because we just didn’t have players who could shoot that much you know shoot that good shoot well from distance on volume I should say last season so adding Reed Shepard certainly helps but again Reed Shepard’s not going to be getting 20 25 30 minutes a night right out of the gate but adding another legitimate threat from three having that you know having a guy who hopefully there’s not much of a fall off from Fred vanet to Reed Shepard as far as just stylistically some of the things that they’re able to do on the floor and then you want to see again continued improvement from guys like Jaylen green who need to Pi him a better outside shooter alperin shenon needs to become a better outside shooter jabarus M junr if he can level up again as an outside shooter and get closer to you know 38 39 40% from three this next season that would be huge for him tar een is a respectable outside shooter uh Jeff Green hopefully not him you know having him not play the full-time backup fan minutes means have fresher legs and be able to be you know a more consistent outside threat instead of his three-point percentage you know being in the tank uh after like the first month of the Season where he was had a really strong first month and it was just really really bad after that not you know bad in general but just the the shooting percentage numbers were kind of all over the place for Jeff Green so uh and then just more consistent minutes for cam Whitmore in the rotation right that’ll be a big one and then Dylan Brooks hopefully he can keep the shooting up so I do think across the board we’re going to see a better Rockets team with an offense that’s a bit you know more properly spaced out teams that have to really uh teams that really have to hone in on the rocket Shooters and again that will hopefully be opening things up quite a bit more for guys like alperin shingon and Jaylen green we already know that those two guys are the two guys on the roster that can routinely command a double team Jaylen the way that he was playing to end the season and alprin shingun the way that he played pretty much all year up until his injury so if you can get both of those two guys back in the mix and playing the way that they were at separate times last year and getting and playing at the same way together then it’s going to be really tough for teams to defend the Rockets this next season coming up want to get into the last few of our mailbag questions here the big one how do the Rockets stack up in the Western Conference compared to all the other teams in this blood bath of a western conference plus a couple more questions we’re going to get there in just one moment and final segment here at lock on Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball all right we’re going to get to another couple smaller ones um before we get to the Western Conference standings kind of question because a lot of people asked that question in some degree shape or form was you know how did the rocket stack up to the rest of the Western Conference and we’re probably going to you know unpack that in a bigger you know more fully FL out episode in the future maybe with some crossovers for some from some other hosts um but uh we’re going to we’re going to tackle that a little bit further down the line let’s get into uh this next question what do you expect from tar coming off of a Lost season from injury from Tom Thumper appreciate the question Tom uh from tar I mean you know T’s such a such a peculiar piece of the Rockets young core because I feel like at times s myself and others have kind of boxed him into this role where he’s just you a tar you’re just you’re a three Indie Wing that’s what you’re going to be and I think there’s maybe a little bit more under the surface to his game maybe he’s capable of a little bit more tar is also the type of player that he he just he’s good at what he does he stays in his Lane he doesn’t overstep his you know he doesn’t o uh over OV exert himself or try to do too much when he’s on the floor right he he rebounds at a high level he defends at a high level he knocks down open shots he makes the right simple pass to his teammates he drive it in and finish at The Rim very simple things does t is tar ever going to be a superstar probably not but at the same time I am curious to see is there more to tari E’s game right what more do the Rockets coaching staff what more does em Oka think that he can get out of tar een as a player is he just a three and D Wing or does he have a you know another gear that he can get into does he have a level up that we’re going to see that obviously we didn’t get a chance to see here this past season played you know 21 games uh so for all intense and purposes he’s basic he’s still kind of in you know a sophomore essentially um so at the end of the day I just want to first off first and foremost I want to see tar have a healthy season obviously it was kind of a freak injury with the the tumor on his leg all that stuff I I just want to see him have a healthy season we know how impactful he is when he is healthy so that’s the main thing that I want out of tar een um um is just a healthy season and at the end of the day I think from an impact perspective and a sheer Talent perspective uh I would love to see Tara e take over the starting small forward spot by season’s end uh I think it would probably require and I mentioned this in our last episode it would probably require uh a Dylan Brooks trade to facilitate because I I doubt that there’s a world where Dylan Brooks gets moved to the bench in favor of starting tar een or potentially another name like a men Thompson or something uh Eden is happy about that change uh but if that’s the case if the Rockets feel comfortable enough to move Dylan Brooks because they’re ready to give tar e that starting small forward spot more power to him I’d love to see it I think he’s ready for it right now there’s just a bit of a log Jam uh at the wing spot for the Rockets uh next question we got which of the Vets on the roster will be here long term with the Rockets uh paying all of the young players from uh y yriel uh I think that of all the vets that the Rockets have on the roster I’ve talked about it a couple times now I think Dylan Brooks is is very unlikely to play out the entirety of his contract as a Houston Rocket um he’s got a sizable contract it’s probably going to be used as salary filler in a trade down the line or again the Rockets could potentially look to just offload Dylan Brooks uh and receive back you know a late first rounder or something to that effect uh if they feel good enough about their wing rotation with tari Jabari and potentially AJ Griffin getting into the mix here in Houston so that’s a distinct possibility I think of all the Vets on the roster Fred Van vet’s future is the most interesting to me because obviously he’s getting paid out the Wazoo right now the Rockets have a chance though this upcoming off season where they could decline his third-year team option uh for 40 some odd million whatever it is and they could renegotiate a new deal with Fred vanet where he stays on for less money yearly but for a longer term right so in so the rockets declin that final year of his option maybe they resign him to something like 3 years you know 75 million four years 100 million whatever and he gets less average annual value but he gets to stick with the team maybe he slowly transitions from a starting rle into a bench roll I could very easily see Fred Van vet play you know and potentially retire as a Houston Rocket I know that he loves it here in Houston he’s really attached to this team he loves EMA DOA and he’s really embraced this role with this Rockets young group of being that veteran leader and I think that as he ages and as the rest of the young Corp kind of come into their own and grow and Blossom into the players that we hope that they can become Fred would love potentially you know be open to the idea of transitioning into that Reserve role where he can still be a part of this Rockets team as they’re on the upswing as they’re potentially vying for titles down the line and what better way than like to witness all the young guys that you helped grow and develop and Coach up and what and helping still guide them to a championship albeit in a potentially slightly lesser role down the line so I I think of all the Vets I think Fred is the most likely to be here long term if he’s willing to at you know at the end of this current contract renegotiate for More Money More long-term money but less money on a year-to-year basis um and that’s also kind of dependent on if there’s another team out there that’s willing to offer Fred like the bag to come be their starting point guard which TBD cuz the NBA is always constantly shaking up so we’ll see what happens next summer summer 2025 uh and what the Rockets ultimately decide to do with his contract but uh final question here uh how do the Rockets stack up uh as it as it compares to the rest of the Western Conference I don’t even have a specific question here because a lot of people ask this question uh about how things look when you look out west and we talked about this a little bit recently but I think it’s it it’s worth going over again and repeating but you look up and down the Western Conference and of the five teams that did not make the playoffs this past season right the Rockets right there at 41- 41 then you got the Jazz the Grizzlies the Spurs and the Blazers of all those five teams the Blazers are the only one that are not going to have a chance in hell to sniff the playoffs so that’s one team out but those four other teams the Rockets want to make the postseason the Grizzlies are getting jaw Morant back in a reloaded roster they want to make the postseason the Utah Jazz have been shopping low marinin TBD on whether they actually move on from him I won’t say that pardon me I won’t say that the Jazz will not like definitively will not make the postseason but this past year they did win 31 games right so like there’s a chance if they decide to like not move on from Lowry Markin and maybe make a trade or two mid season maybe the Jazz make a late push for the play in tournament we’ll see what they’re ultimately I you know what for now I’m going to table Jazz as just above the Portland Trail baders so we’re going to go Blazers 15th in the west Jazz at 14th in the west the Spurs have clearly made some moves where they’re ready to start winning now now whether or not they make the jump from 22 and 60 all the way to a playin team that’s a pretty massive jump to try and make in one season but they do have wimy they added Chris Paul they added Harrison Barnes they’ve added some veteran pieces they’ve added more young Talent they have Stefan Castle now they’ve the rest of their young talent that they already had like there’s a very realistic pathway for the Spurs to make some noise in the Western Conference this next season and maybe make a a push towards the playin tournament so I I’ll have the Spurs kind of right above the the Blazers and the Jazz as kind of the 13th team in the west the Grizzlies and the rockets are going to be the party crashers right those are the teams the Grizzlies are are you know one season removed from being the number two seed in the Western Conference they want to get back to that level of contention uh with John Morant hopefully healthy and in toe the Rockets obviously want to make the jump and get back to the playoffs they just missed out this past season fell a little bit short of the Golden State Warriors but then you start looking up and down the Western Conference and we’ll make this hopefully kind of quick but the OKC Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks they both got better right the Thunder added Caruso and hartenstein the Mavericks added Klay Thompson nji Marshall um and I’m blanking I feel like they added they added somebody else didn’t they and I’m blanking on who it is um the Mavericks got better though the Mavericks oh and uh Quinton Grimes there we go uh traded uh Tim Hardway Jr for Quinton Grimes so the Mavericks across the board they got better they found pieces that that fit with what they do um and I think those two teams clearly got better that was the one seed OKC Thunder the fifth seed Dallas Mavericks they clearly got better the Timberwolves kind of maintained status quo they did add Rob Dillingham they lost Kyle Anderson uh so TBD on the Timberwolves the Nuggets got worse losing kyp though they haven’t really you know answered any of their depth issues and their starting lineup clearly got weaker the Clippers losing Paul George they literally lost a star caliber player and kawh Leonard’s knee is potentially toast right like he was he was with Team USA for all of like five days of practice time and then had to pull out and say I I can’t do this anymore the Clippers were concerned about his knee his knee is cooked they they yeah they kept James Harden yeah they added Kevin Porter Jr uh they added Derrick Jones J from the Mavs poached him the Clippers I think are are poised for a tail spin and potentially going to sink quite a bit down the Western Conference standings the Suns complete Powder Keg like that situation could be ready to blow at any moment uh one significant Injury One blowup one trade demand whatever the Suns they yeah they finished the six seed but they like limped their way to the sixth seed in the west this past season the Lakers didn’t get better they didn’t add anything of consequence uh the Kings I think did get better adding Demar de rozan will be big for them uh even though the fit is kind of funky next to dear and fox and damont sabonis I do fully believe the Kings got better and they also dealt with a lot of injuries this past season so them just being healthy and adding Demar to Rosen should see them uh back to where they or back to closer to where they were when they finished as the third seed a couple seasons ago uh I I fully expect the Kings to finish top six in the Western Conference and the Warriors got worse like the Warriors lost Klay Thompson and he was a big part of what they did and yeah they added buddy hee and Kyle Anderson and the Anthony Melton like unless the Warriors pull off a massive trade for Lowry marinin I’m kind of ready to write the Warriors off we know that Steph Curry cannot carry that Team all by himself um and they just do not have the offensive push that they’re going to need to be able to survive in the Western Conference I just don’t see it so I think there’s a bunch of teams that got worse in the western conf oh and then the Pelicans they still don’t have a center uh TBD on what the Pelicans ultimately do uh but Deon Murray they added him and you know I think Deon Murray still has this reputation as being a quote unquote good Defender when he was a train wreck defensively for the Atlanta Hawks maybe things change if he has teammates like herb Jones and Trey Murphy who are bought in defensively and are bought into a defensive identity under Willie Green possibly uh but the jury’s still out there and they they don’t have a big man they literally don’t have a center they’re still kind of stuck in Brandon Ingram limbo trying to figure out what happens there so I really think that there’s a chance for the Rockets to Leap Frog a few of those teams I could see the Warriors completely missing the Playoffs I could see the Pelicans potentially imploding and having a disappointing season also I hate to be the bearer of bad news for any potential Pelicans fans who are listening to this but Zion Williamson’s injury history is not great and one significant gap of time for Zion one stretch of the Season missed for him and the Pelicans could see themselves plummet in the standings Lakers very similar situation there one major injury to LeBron or ad and then suddenly they plummet uh and even if those guys are healthy like the Lakers just didn’t get better they just didn’t make any important Acquisitions they didn’t pick up anybody of relevance like yeah Dalton connect will help them a little bit but they struck out on every major name that they wanted to get their hands on this past off season and then the Clippers got worse and the Nuggets yes they’ve still got the three-time MVP and and yes they’re still uh one-ear removed from their Championship run but they are a weaker overall team we know that they struggled with some injuries last season and they’re one of the teams that I I fully expect to kind of Coast throughout the regular season and not put too much effort into chasing a top seed especially given how it impacted them this past season right they went chasing for that one seed and they kind of ran out of gas as the playoffs showed up so I don’t expect them to go pedal to the metal throughout the regular season I there’s probably still a lock for a top six seed or a top four seed in the west without much fuss because joic is is just insane but I do expect them to regress a little bit across the board so I think from from all the the the teams that have the most significant chance to drop out the Warriors the Lakers um and the Clippers potentially all dropping considerably in the standings and then you you paint the Rockets as a team that could potentially just from the Acquisitions that they made right adding Steven Adams getting tar e healthy not you know having Alper and shingon back not not missing a quarter of the Season hopefully Jaylen green starts out the year on a much stronger note than what he did last season adding Reed Shepard another year of growth and development I think you’re at least talking about the Rockets adding five anywhere from five to 10 wins this next season let’s say that puts him at 40 anywhere from 46 to 50 wins that would be good enough for at a minimum uh you know the back end of the play in tournament based on last year standings but if they cracked 50 wins then they’d be a top six seed so I think that’s kind of this this team’s ceiling as like the fifth or sixth seed in the west this next season if things break kind of favorably for them I think at worst we’re looking at the Rockets being the ninth or possibly 10th seed depending on what other teams take a step forward this next year so with that that’s going to wrap up our mailbag if I didn’t get to one of your questions I do apologize thank you for everybody that submitted them there were a few questions in there that I want to kind of flesh out and do as full-blown show a little bit further down the line some of the the salary cap related questions and things like that we’re going to revisit those in future episodes but as always thank you so much for checking out the show if you hav haven’t done so yet please consider subscribing wherever you’re listen to your podcast or on YouTube just search locked on Rockets like comment subscribe all that good stuff share your thoughts on everything we talked about in today’s episode how are you feeling about Jabari Smith Jr and am Min Thompson and some of the clips that you’ve seen out of the uh Team USA scrimmages let me know in the YouTube comments uh and if you’re also if you’re listening on podcast five star review helps out a ton but as always thank you so much for watching thank you so much for listening and we look forward to having you back right here at locked on Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball [Music]

Jabari Smith Jr & Amen Thompson Impress At Team USA Practice, Houston Rockets Playoff Chances & More

Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) discusses Houston Rockets young core members Jabari Smith Jr. & Amen Thompson reportedly “impressing” at Team USA practice and how important the experience will be for those two competing against greats like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, then Jackson dives into part two of a Rockets mailbag with topics like Amen’s future role on the team, expectations for Tari Eason coming off injury, which veteran is most likely to stick long-term, and how do the Rockets stack up against the rest of the Western Conference.

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