Houston Rockets Season Preview!

@brandonkscott joins the show to discuss:

Opening night

Which Rocket is under the most pressure

What makes this a successful season?

Season-win prediction and more!

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The Houston Rockets today announced they exercised their fourth-year option for guard Reed Sheppard.

Across five games, Kevin Durant is playing fewer minutes than last season and is taking a career-low 12.6 FGA per game, and the Rockets are still 5-0.

Less dependence on Durant is exactly what the Rockets need this season to possibly bring home a title for the first time in 31 LY5j6r04

The one part that has stood out to me this season hasn't been on the offensive end but on defense and specifically from Kevin Durant.

From day one as a Rocket Durant has been great on defense as a helper and shot blocker. It hasn't been talked about enough.

The effort he has ve and he has 7 blocks in the last two games.

Here are all three from last night and I slow them down so you can see how Durant is playing position defense perfectly.

Alperen Sengun is off to the best start of his career with career high numbers across the board.

I spoke with @NateGriffFOX26 about the Rockets center live this morning

Is this team a better version of what it would have been last season if Fred VanVleet had been healthy, and if so, how many wins will that translate to? @brandonkscott shares his thoughts.

Full episode: youtu.be/ZiOyPrT6c9g?is…

Latest episode just dropped!
@brandonkscott, join the show to discuss:

Opening night
Rocket under the most pressure
What it will take this season to keep everyone off the hot seat
Win/loss predictions

Next @RocketFuelPod drops tomorrow at 9 am!

@brandonkscott and I previewed the opening-night game, discussed what makes a successful season for the Rockets, and which player is under the most pressure.

In this clip, @brandonkscott discusses how Reed Sheppard is under pressure this season.

Make sure to check out tomorrow's @RocketFuelPod, presented by @BleavNetwork, when @brandonkscott and I preview the season opener, discuss who has the most pressure on them this season, and give our season win predictions.

Dropping tomorrow at 9 am

Chip Engelland giving instructions to Tari and Amen during today's practice

Even with Fred back and the addition of Marcus Smart I asked Ime if Reeds shooting makes it a necessity that he is still part of the rotation.

“Yes, Reed will be a huge part of what we do.”

Ime also said Fred and Steven will not be under any minutes restrictions but they will have to be cautious with back to backs

It is always good to see guys who have to get to the league the hard way see that hard work pays off.

Isaiah Crawford went undrafted in 2024 and worked his way from two-way G League contract to a standard 4-year deal this past summer.

I asked Crawford how much it meant to him Being in this position now I am super grateful and just happy they believed in me.

Ime said he would like to have a 10 man rotation to start the season.

Bogdan is exactly what the Rockets need off the bench. They have not had a microwave scorer off the bench since Eric Gordon.

There were plenty of high-profile trades and signings this offseason, but the Rockets' under-the-radar move to bring in Marcus Smart may turn out to be one of the best.

thedreamshake.com/rockets-analys…

3 Takeaways from the Rockets' dominant win over the Mavericks. @BleavNetwork
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📺youtu.be/dkD6fOfbrT8

Alperen Sengun putting in work.
Training camp starts Wednesday.

Via Chris Brickley Instagram

The Rockets are hoping that a healthy roster and veteran additions will finally help them get over the hump this season.

Having VanVleet and Adam’s back does help but they also need to improve in these 3 areas including not having Kevin Durant finish top 2 in minutes again this dC4EDtYeK

Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanović back together as teammates on the Rockets after playing together on the Atlanta Hawks for five seasons.

Here is a great article written back in 2021 on how close of friends they have become over the years.

nytimes.com/athletic/29743…

Written by @ChrisKirschner