GREAT EXPECTATIONS
How hype around Houston Texans already raising some intriguing questions
Mar 15, 2024, 4:17 pm
Will the Texans catch the Astros in popularity? Composite Getty Image.
Every pro sports city has one team that “owns it.” By “owns it,” we mean the team that dominates the conversation on sports talk radio, has the highest local TV ratings and grab the top headline in the newspaper sports section.
In Los Angeles, for example, that team is the Lakers. The LeBrons’ TV and radio ratings dwarf even the superstar-loaded Dodgers. The Rams and Chargers are comparative after thoughts.
In New York, the keys belong to the legendary Yankees with 27 World Series titles and the ghosts of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig still holding season tickets.
Around the country, usually (I said usually) it’s the NFL team that owns the town. The NFL is bigger than MLB, the NBA and NHL combined. The NFL team has to be really sucky to let the baseball, basketball, or hockey team claim the fans’ NFL passion.
It does happen. In Miami, the NBA Heat are tops with fans. Maybe it’s because the Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since Dan Marino was slinging touchdown passes to the Marks Brothers. In Las Vegas, the hockey Golden Knights are more popular than the Raiders.
Which leads us to …
Who “owns” Houston? Is it the Astros in midstream of seven consecutive ALCS appearances and two World Series victory parades? Or is it, whoa this is sudden, the Texans coming off a winning season, an NFL playoff appearance and a wild card victory, a new respected head coach and maybe the most exciting rookie quarterback to come along in NFL history?
We’re going to put the Rockets aside for the moment, or the past 30 years.
Sure the Astros have “winners” plastered all over the franchise. But winning doesn’t guarantee fan enthusiasm. It’s weird, but winning can become boring. Take the dynasty Atlanta Braves from 1991 to 2005. They won 14 consecutive division titles and still couldn’t sellout some home playoff games. In 2005, riding that incredible streak of division titles, the Braves finished 15th in home attendance.
Here come the Texans. With the arrival of head coach DeMeco Ryans and sensational rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, the Texans are considered favorites to win the AFC South again in 2024 and some dare to whisper Super Bowl. At least they’re in the conversation of who might challenge the Kansas City Chiefs for NFL supremacy.
Remember, the NFL dominates the American sports landscape, and Texas has the reputation for being a football state. But really? The last time a Texas team won the Super Bowl was the 1995 Dallas Cowboys. The Texans have never even played for the AFC championship.
The last two World Series champions have come from Texas: the Astros in 2022 and the Rangers last year. Vegas oddsmakers say the Rangers win was a fluke, but the Astros are the favorites to be American League champion and return to their rightful spot in the World Series.
Who is the brightest sports star in Houston? Is it Jose Altuve on his way to the baseball Hall of Fame? Or is it C.J. Stroud who just won the NFL Rookie of the Year award?
The Astros have more recognizable star players: Altuve is a Houston folk hero, plus Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander. The Astros are cuddly. We hear every time they get engaged or have a baby. They’re the good guys in Houston.
Except for Stroud, how many Texans would you recognize if they were sitting in Chick-fil-A?
So the answer to “who owns Houston?”
It’s the Astros. But the Texans are roaring down the backstretch and could catch the Astros at the wire in 2024.
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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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