WEBVTT - Fired Up: The Houston Rockets

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to The Hottest The Hottest. It be a

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<v Speaker 1>podcast out here.

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<v Speaker 2>I said what I said, it's the Heat Check. It's

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<v Speaker 2>just on this episode of The Heat Check. It's Friday.

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<v Speaker 2>I got you loaded up for the weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>Baby.

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<v Speaker 2>You know I'm fired up about something. I'm pretty much

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<v Speaker 2>waking up in the morning fired up. So let's talk

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<v Speaker 2>about the Houston Rockets aka adults email U Dopea's gout.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm playing gritty right now. We gott getting the young

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<v Speaker 2>players on the come up. And then we have a

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<v Speaker 2>special interview with Keith Smith from Spoke Track, and we

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<v Speaker 2>also have another good one with James ham Sage of

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<v Speaker 2>Sacramento Kings, the Lifelong Insiders. He said he was like

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<v Speaker 2>two hundred games below five hundred or something in his

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<v Speaker 2>career with the Sacramento Kings. I think that's what he said.

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<v Speaker 2>That's nuts, jam Pack show. Baby, let's get ready for

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<v Speaker 2>the fucking weekend. Let's get into it. But you drop

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<v Speaker 2>that beat the chigue, John, you don know what I'm

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<v Speaker 2>fired up about. Let's talk about them. Let's let the

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<v Speaker 2>world know. I know it's early, I really do, but

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<v Speaker 2>the Houston Rockets, could they be good? Like is this

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<v Speaker 2>a good team. Is this a playoff team? I think

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<v Speaker 2>it's a playoff team. Let me tell you I sort

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<v Speaker 2>of saw it coming, but didn't see it coming big time.

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<v Speaker 2>Faith in emy Udoka. You know what time it is

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<v Speaker 2>one of the uh and one of the uh. You

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<v Speaker 2>know what I'm saying. From the looks of things, that's

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<v Speaker 2>a callback to the shocker the e may threw up.

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<v Speaker 2>From the looks of things, no one else saw it coming,

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<v Speaker 2>you know what I mean. But this this man, E

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<v Speaker 2>may Udoka did it in Boston, and he turned those

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<v Speaker 2>young pups into straight dogs, turn those golden retriever palma doodles,

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<v Speaker 2>those skits of doodles into straight Rottweilers. In their last

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<v Speaker 2>four games, the Houston Rockets are four and zero with

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<v Speaker 2>an average margin of victory of twenty one and a

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<v Speaker 2>half points. Oh boy, oh boy, e may E may Udoka,

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<v Speaker 2>You slide devil. It doesn't matter where you go. You

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<v Speaker 2>just continue to make teams good. You make moves. He's

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<v Speaker 2>made a lot of teams who passed on him look

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<v Speaker 2>like idiots. Let's break it down. According to Brett Usher

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<v Speaker 2>USh Hush.

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<v Speaker 1>The Rockets are eighth in offensive rating, seventh in defensive rating,

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<v Speaker 1>fifth in net rating, Daddies Home Home Forever.

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<v Speaker 2>You know what time it is. You know what other

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<v Speaker 2>teams are top eight in both offense and defense, Philadelphia

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<v Speaker 2>and Boston. That's who. Wow, that's incredible. What is going on?

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<v Speaker 2>This is the Houston Rockets we're talking about. Remember Steven Silas,

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<v Speaker 2>you remember him. I don't know if you remember the

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<v Speaker 2>moments that I remember where they'd put him up on

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<v Speaker 2>that damn podium and he'd have to say, I don't know,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know why they're so bad. It's like I've

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<v Speaker 2>got the same thing to say every day. They just

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<v Speaker 2>don't listen. Them pups are peeing all over the house.

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<v Speaker 2>Now with email Unoka, What were the Houston Rockets like

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<v Speaker 2>under Steven Silas last year? You would be like that

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<v Speaker 2>Eric Thomas motivational speech where it was like compete, compete.

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<v Speaker 2>Many of you are acting like you are not competing.

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<v Speaker 2>Act like you're playing basketball, act like you're playing football. Compete.

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<v Speaker 2>I need effort. So they add Fred Van Compete, they

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<v Speaker 2>add Dylan Brooks, villain the Dylan, and they have set

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<v Speaker 2>the tone no soft poo poo around here. And we

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<v Speaker 2>slanted those moves, didn't we boy oo. Yes, they are

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<v Speaker 2>so overpaid forty million for a US six to one

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<v Speaker 2>point guard with a bad back. Ew Dylan the villain

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<v Speaker 2>as your key rotation plate piece. Ooh, and they're balling

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<v Speaker 2>out though they really are. They're impacting winning, just not

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<v Speaker 2>in the way that you think they are. For example,

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<v Speaker 2>in the win against the Los Angeles Lakers, the team

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<v Speaker 2>that went to the Western Conference Finals last year. You

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<v Speaker 2>could make minimizing comments all you want about who was

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<v Speaker 2>in the game and who wasn't, but the truth is

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<v Speaker 2>Lebron was and this is a team that went to

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<v Speaker 2>the Western Conference Finals. They outscored the Lake Show by

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<v Speaker 2>six points or more every single quarter in a thirty

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<v Speaker 2>four point route. An embarrassment, a curb stomping like you

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<v Speaker 2>have never seen before. Er Dylan Brooks had five points

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<v Speaker 2>in that game, Fred van Fleet had Fred van Compete

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<v Speaker 2>had nine points. They were a combined plus forty six

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<v Speaker 2>for the game. What does that tell you? Someone needs

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<v Speaker 2>to let Cam Thomas know that you can do more

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<v Speaker 2>on the basketball court to impact winning than just put

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<v Speaker 2>the basketball inside the hoop. Their defense has been ridiculous.

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<v Speaker 2>They combined for eight rebounds and eleven assists. Brooks has

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<v Speaker 2>been all defensive team levels since he got to Houston.

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<v Speaker 2>He's kind of been all defense since he was even

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<v Speaker 2>in Memphis, even when he played for the Oregon quack

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<v Speaker 2>Quack Ducks and Fred Van Fleet. Fred van Compete has

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<v Speaker 2>been the veteran presence that they have always needed but lacked.

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<v Speaker 2>He don't play no games either, Fred van Fleet. He

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<v Speaker 2>was so mad at Scottie Barnes last year. He's like,

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<v Speaker 2>get me the fuck out of this place where they

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<v Speaker 2>eat poutine for breakfast. They are a team that never quits.

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<v Speaker 2>It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how much they're up,

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<v Speaker 2>how much they're down. They are a team that quit

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<v Speaker 2>a lot in the third quarter last year. They just

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<v Speaker 2>let go of the rope. Not with Fred Van Compete

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<v Speaker 2>on the team, No, sir, And guess what the kids

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<v Speaker 2>are following suit As a result, they buy in what

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<v Speaker 2>emi Udoka has to say, buy in to what Emai

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<v Speaker 2>Udoka is preaching. Before they fucked up the Kings, before

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<v Speaker 2>they embarrassed the Lakers. Jalen Green right now playing off ball,

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<v Speaker 2>averaging twenty points per game on forty six percent shooting

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<v Speaker 2>and forty five percent from three. Are you serious? Jabari

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<v Speaker 2>I have no confidence Smith under Steven Silas is now

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<v Speaker 2>averaging fourteen and seven on fifty percent from the field

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<v Speaker 2>and forty percent from the three Alpah and Shangoon, who

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<v Speaker 2>many of us didn't know whether he was going to

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<v Speaker 2>be left out of the rotation. Maybe he's the odd

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<v Speaker 2>man out because he doesn't play any defense. He man

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<v Speaker 2>handled Demonisabonis, by the way, another All NBA player twice,

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<v Speaker 2>Shan Goon is averaging eighteen eight and six on sixty

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<v Speaker 2>percent from the field. And then we got Uncle Jeff,

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<v Speaker 2>Uncle Jeff Green. He's another veteran presence. He's making some

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<v Speaker 2>culture changes in the group. Aaron Holliday played well, Jayshaun

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<v Speaker 2>Tait looks good. They did lose Aman Thompson to injury,

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<v Speaker 2>and you thought maybe that would be some sort of

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<v Speaker 2>a downgrade, but it's not. Cam Whitmore got sent down

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<v Speaker 2>to the G League. But I don't know why. It

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't seem to matter either. This team is solid, even

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<v Speaker 2>if they seem a bit thin. These young boys can

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<v Speaker 2>run and run and run. You want to talk about

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<v Speaker 2>a big three. Brooks, Fred van Fleet, and Shanngoon have

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<v Speaker 2>a net rating of twenty four point three that is

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<v Speaker 2>second in the NBA, behind Kawhi PG in Westbrook, which

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<v Speaker 2>is kind of crazy, and ahead of Tatum Brown and

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<v Speaker 2>Porzingis who. What amazes me, though, is how emi Udoka

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<v Speaker 2>continues to motivate the young Bucks. According to the reports,

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<v Speaker 2>he reminded Jalen Green that, hey, you got passed over

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<v Speaker 2>last year for this man, Austin Reeves. Austin Reeves got

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<v Speaker 2>to go to the Philippines, where your family is from,

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<v Speaker 2>and you play on the raspy ass Team USA Select Team.

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<v Speaker 2>You better let that boy know what time it is.

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<v Speaker 2>Cook that motherfucker cook him, let him know. Team USA

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<v Speaker 2>was super impressed with Jalen, called him dynamic, very confident,

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<v Speaker 2>very impressive, but still left him off that team, didn't

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<v Speaker 2>He still left him off that team. Green has some

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<v Speaker 2>dog in him as well, because he did not forgive

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<v Speaker 2>and forget that slight he murdered Reeves. He became the

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<v Speaker 2>first Rockets player to score twenty eight points in fewer

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<v Speaker 2>than twenty two minutes since John Block. Who is He

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<v Speaker 2>had twenty nine points in twenty one minutes for the

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<v Speaker 2>San Diego Rockets in nineteen seventy. Guess what, Guess what?

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<v Speaker 2>Guess what? Austin Reeves had seven points. Yeah, boy E

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<v Speaker 2>may pick him up. Let him know. Is this Rockets

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<v Speaker 2>team a playoff team or a playing team? After finishing last, last,

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<v Speaker 2>and second to last and three straight years, I wasn't sure,

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<v Speaker 2>but with em Udoka at the helm, if I'm a

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<v Speaker 2>team like the Grizzlies, I am very worried about getting

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<v Speaker 2>the boot out of the standings For a team like

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<v Speaker 2>the Rockets that are coming for that ass every single night.

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<v Speaker 2>Be worried, Memphis, be worried.