THE PALLILOG
Charlie Pallilo: On the Rockets, NFL draft, bad people and no-hitters
Apr 27, 2018, 6:36 am
Baker Mayfield went No. 1. Good luck with that. Brett Deering/Getty Images
Rockets-Utah Jazz makes for an interesting second round matchup. That is unless the Jazz doesn’t recover from gagging on its 25 point lead Wednesday night and failing to close out Oklahoma City. In which case Rockets-Thunder makes for an interesting second round matchup. Either way, the Rockets should play their way into the Western Conference Final.
The Rockets 4-1 series win over Minnesota was pretty easy, the Timberwolves are a lousy defensive team. When center Rudy Gobert is on the court the Jazz is the best defensive team in the NBA. Things can go askew in a playoff series, but Utah lacks the offense to keep up with the Rockets over seven games. If it turned out to be OKC, while not inconceivable that Russell Westbrook and Paul George could combine to outplay Chris Paul and James Harden, and despite beating the Rockets two out of three regular season meetings, the Thunder lacks the bench and consistency to pick over the Rockets.
So much for that
So the brash, sometimes punk, often fantastic Baker Mayfield goes No. 1 in the NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns. I’ll bet the under on the Browns’ hope that they finally nailed it at quarterback. Mayfield carries character questions, is slight of build, is slow for running round and freelancing, and worst of all….the Browns took him.
How delightfully pathetic that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s tried to squelch booing of his Draft opening remarks by using Dallas Cowboy greats Troy Aikman, Jason Witten, and Roger Staubach as props alongside him at AT&T Stadium in Arlington? It didn’t work. There was one cool thing about it. The three players each threw a ball into the crowd. Roger the Dodger fired a spiral maybe 30-40 yards. Staubach is 76 years old. I might take him today over Brandon Weeden as Deshaun Watson’s backup.
Not feeling the draft
Speaking of the Texans, they as we know did nothing in round one. A bummer for them considering they could have reeeeeeeeally used guard Quenton Nelson or cornerback Denzel Ward, both of whom were on the board at pick number four. But if Watson’s ACLs (and other body parts) stay healthy, there is no doubt you would move up in the first round one year and give up the fourth overall pick the next year to secure a quarterback of Watson’s talents.
The Texans having no second rounder should cause agita. They had to give that away to unload Brock Osweiler, costing them the ability to draft a significant prospect with the third selection in the second round. The deal saved Bob McNair 16 million dollars. To this point that is 16 million dollars in additional profits for McNair. In fairness, unused salary cap space rolls over from year to year so that money can functionally be spent in the future, but they haven’t used it this offseason. With three third rounders new Texans General manager Brian Gaine has to take at least one offensive lineman.
As will be the case every year from now until the end of time, congratulations to all the NFL “insiders” and experts for getting at least 75 percent of their 1st round draft pick calls wrong. Brad Ausmus hit for a better average.
Friends in low places
If you haven’t seen the latest Sports Illustrated story about why Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is basically being forced to sell his franchise, it pretty much confirms Richardson behaved as a despicable human being. It also makes Bob McNair look like less than a class act or sharp tack.
Hit charade
Astros and A’s play this weekend in what could be the last weekend of open roof baseball this season at Minute Maid Park. I hope not, but we know that five months of blast furnace conditions are bearing down on us. A presumably non-dramatic element of the series opener has the Astros taking their swings against Oakland pitcher Sean Manaea, who pitched a no-hitter last Saturday against Boston.
80 years ago Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Vander Meer became the first guy ever to throw back-to-back no-hitters. Since then 189 pitchers have made a start following a no-hitter, nobody has matched Vander Meer’s feat. The closest bid came in 1947 when Ewell Blackwell followed a no-hitter by taking one into the ninth inning of his next start. Nolan Ryan had seven cracks at making a start after throwing a no-hitter. Closest Nolan came was the eighth inning, when career .228 hitter Mark Belanger broke it up. I doubt Johnny V is spinning with worry in his grave over Manaea’s chances. Nowadays a team might consider building a statue for a pitcher who throws back-to-back complete games.
Buzzer Beaters
1. UTSA had a player drafted in the first round. 2. UT and A&M did not. 3. Best shellfish: Bronze-oysters Silver-lobster Gold-crab
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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