The Rockets are CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS…

The Rockets are CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS…

The Houston Rockets have taken the leap. They are officially NBA championship contenders because they’ve added one of the most gifted scorers in the history of the league. Kevin Durant, the 7 foot sniper, is coming over from Phoenix to Houston to join a team that was elite defensively. They just needed a guy that could go get a bucket to put them over the top. And now they have that with KD leading the offense, guys like Amen Thompson, Tory Een leading the defense, Fred Van Vleet still running point. We get to see Jabari Smith Jr. run with KD some try and you know find some development there and then also the number three overall pick from last year’s draft. Reed Shepard should be getting a lot more minutes this season. Now everybody knows that the Rockets lost to the Warriors last year in the playoffs. And taking a deep dive into that, the Rockets only averaged 104 points per game. The Warriors absolutely shut these dudes down. They needed that highlevel score in Kevin Durant and they’ve brought him in. But 104 points per game in a playoff series. The Rockets last year were about middle of the pack when it comes to points per game, finishing 17th with an average of3 12 points per game per night. However, they’re 104 points per game in the playoffs would put them 30th out of 30 NBA teams. Yes, they would be so bad at scoring the ball. They would be ranked behind my Charlotte Hornets who are so unserious that we have the Kmart version of Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown and Daycoin Jeff and Isaiah Wong out there on the wing. We’re just a dumpster fire. And the Rockets couldn’t score more points per game than us. Somehow Eric Collins still has his sanity, but the Rockets front office was clearly getting fed up because they went out and they added some major scoring pop. Clint Capella. No, I’m trolling. He He’s an addition, but he’s he’s not the offensive pop they wanted. It’s Kevin Durant. Of course, we’ve said it four times already in this video. You’re probably sick of me saying it, but he is really going to be the differencemaker here in Houston. We talked about it. They are elite defensively. Now, you’re adding a forward that is pretty much unguardable when he’s hot. Averaging 26.6 points per game, six rebounds, 4.2 assist on 53% shooting from the field and 43% from three on six attempts a game. Still able to cross Wimi, shake him, and get to the rim. still able to run the court and get some big time dunks. Even though he, yes, he is 37. They’re working on a two-year extension right now to where Kevin Durant can sign on. And this can finally be the final destination of his NBA career. And with Kevin Durant, they are no doubt NBA championship contenders. They were the two seed last year without him. Now you turn Jaylen Green essentially into Kevin Durant. Plug him in at that three spot. Jabari Smith Jr. will start. That’s already been confirmed by the Rockets. A man at the two. Fred Benble Vleet at the one and Shingun at the five. This is a really fun lineup because he complements Shingun very well. So does Jabari Smith Jr. two wings that can play on the perimeter, but they got three guys that are 610. And with Cam Whitmore and Jaylen Green going, I will really expect to see a lot more out of Jabari Smith Jr. and a lot more out of Reed Shepard as a ton of new shots have opened up. Field goal attempts, three-point attempts, everything. There’s a lot open right now. And KD at 6’11 with that 75 wingspan really compares favorably to Jabari Smith Jr. with at 610 with that 7’1 in wingspan. He is a guy that can kind of tutor Jabari Smith Jr. a little bit, work with him, mentor him, and get him better, get him to the spot where the Rockets want him to be. He was not at that spot last year. And that’s safe to say because he only averaged 12.2 points, seven rebounds, 1.1 assists, and.7 steals in 30 minutes a game, shooting 44% from the field and 35% from three on five attempts. That is not fantastic whatsoever. And adding Kevin Durant to Jabar Smith Jr. hopefully this will get him better. And also he’s got to pay off this rookie extension because the Rockets signed him for 5 years 122 million. I still have all the confidence in the world in Jabari. He’s still got all the shotmaking ability that he had coming out of Auburn. We’ll see though if he pays up to that contract because if not that’s going to look bad in a couple years. Reed Shepard, the other guy that I think will get a lot more touches this year. He should be a significant piece to this rotation. Probably going to be the backup point guard or the backup two depending on where they play Aaron Holiday and if they play Aaron Holiday. But last year he averaged 4.5 points a game, 1.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and.7 steals in 12 minutes per game, shooting 35% from the field and 34% from three. Not fantastic, but like we said, he’s a rookie trying to get minutes on a team that’s contending for a championship. Now, even though he’s 6’3 with only a 6-3 wingspan, he plays bigger than that because he’s very athletic, contrary to what you might think just by looking at him. And at Kentucky, he was an absolute beast. 12.5 points a game, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.5 steals, and shot 52% from three on 4.6 attempts a game. He’s definitely a guy that can come in and contribute eventually, just not in his rookie season. Now, in his sophomore season, I’m looking for a big time step for Reed Shepard. And if he does take that big time step, maybe that’s the piece that gets them over the hump and gets them to the finals, beating OKC. Now, taking a look at the wing depth, we already talked about JSJ and KD, but you got a man in Thompson, Tari E, and Dorian Finny Smith, who they just resigned. Almost completely forgot him, but we do have him in the video. Amen. Thompson is going to be a guy much like Reed Shepard. They need to take that next step. Now, a men did take a step this year. He’ll be just 22 next year, 6’7 with a seven foot wingspan and is coming off a season where he took a big leap forward. Now they need him to take another one. Right. The reason for that is he shoots just 27% from three on three-pointers on 1.3 attempts a game. And teams really don’t even have to guard him out on the perimeter. So in the modern NBA, you can’t have that. He’s got to be able to at least hit 34 35% of his threes. He averaged 14.2 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 eight assist and then almost three stocks while shooting 57% from the field. Yes, he’s a great cutter off the ball. Yes, he’s very athletic. Yes, he’s one of the best defenders in the league. I need that three-point shot to develop a little bit if I’m the Rockets. And then the other half of the Terror Twins, Tory Een coming off the bench at 6’8 with a 7 foot wingspan. He just comes in and simply causes chaos. That’s his job and that’s what he does. Crashing the glass right there for the putback dunk. 12 points per game, 6.4 four rebounds, 1.7 steals, an assist, and a block per game while shooting 49% from the field and 34% from three. I think he is a guy that next year can take another step. They have a lot of guys that can take another step. And like I said, he just creates chaos, causing turnovers, and then getting coast to coast in a hurry to finish layups, to finish dunks right here. Once again, causing a turnover at half court and then it’s showtime. He and Amin Thompson are one of the best clamp duos off the bench last year until Amen started starting. Now he’s got Dorian Finny Smith coming off the bench with him as well. So that should be another fun addition. DFS at 68 with a 7 foot wingspan. Really good start. Depending on how well Jabari Smith Jr. plays, DFS could end up in the starting lineup. But if Jabari Smith Jr. plays as well as they think he’s going to play, then DFS will come off the bench. Averaging nine points a game, four rebounds, 1.4 four assist and a steal in 29 minutes per game last year in La La Land. 45% shooting from the field, 41% from three. And I don’t know how the Lakers let him get away. He was a crucial piece to their lineup. Can hit the three ball. Really can defend. Signed a 4-year, $54 million deal with the Houston Rockets. And the Rockets are really going allin on this roster right now alongside of KD trying to go get a chip before he has to retire. and DFS. Yes, they bring him in because he can hit the three ball, but really it’s because of that defense. He is fantastic on that side of the court, both on the ball, off the ball, rotating over. He’s just great. Now, looking at this lineup, I think depthwise this is championship caler with Fred Van Vleet at the point, Amin Thompson at the two, KD at the three, Jabari Smith Jr. at the four, and then Shingun at the five with Reed Shepard, Tori E, Dorian Finny Smith, Capella, and Steven Adams. Maybe they need one more guard. They can go get a bucket off the bench. But and we haven’t even got to talk about Alpurn Shingun, who the whole thing will be run through next year. He’s going to be an absolute stud. I think he’s going to take another step forward, prove himself as one of the best bigs in the league. Yeah, this Rockets team is really, really good. They could be championship contenders. With that being said, that’s going to be it for today’s video. Thanks so much for watching. Make sure the like button, leave me a comment down below, and hit that subscribe button if you did enjoy any point. And with that being said, thanks so much for watching today’s video.

This video looks at the Houston Rockets and how they are nba championship contenders this year after trading for Kevin Durant and signing Dorian Finney Smith to pair with Alpren Sengun and Amen Thompson
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