How Stephen A. Smith's charged Texans comments should be a wake-up call on credibility

APOLOGY COMING?

The Houston Texans are back in the playoffs after several disappointing seasons that led to three head coaching hires in three straight years.

The Texans fired David Culley and Lovie Smith both after one season, before hiring DeMeco Ryans to lead the team in 2023. Texans ownership took a lot of criticism from the national media for firing African American coaches two years in a row. Many believed that these coaches weren't given a reasonable amount of time to turnaround a franchise in such bad shape.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith was one of the most vocal media members, even going so far as to suggest African American coaches need not apply for the coaching vacancy with the Texans.

How quickly things can change in a year. DeMeco Ryans accepted the Texans head coach position and already has the team hosting a home playoff game after winning the AFC South with a 10-7 record. It's a good thing for Texans fans that DeMeco didn't follow Smith's advice.

Which has many people on social media clamoring for an apology from Smith for his take on the Texans' ownership.

Does Stephen A. owe Texans ownership an apology, or was he right to express his opinion considering the state of the organization at the time?

Don't miss the video above for the full conversation!

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Jalen Green helped the Rockets even the series! Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Jalen Green made eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 109-94 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in a testy matchup to even the first-round Western Conference series at one game apiece.

The seventh-seeded Warriors never led and played short-handed for most of the night after Jimmy Butler left with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter.

Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, rebounded from a flop in his playoff debut, when he scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, with a dominant Game 2.

His eight 3-pointers were two more than the No. 2-seeded Rockets made on 6-of-29 shooting in a 95-85 Game 1 loss.

Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets. Tari Eason had 14 points off the bench.

Game 2 is Saturday night at Golden State.

Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors and become the 11th player in NBA history to reach 4,000 career playoff points with 4,017.

Houston led by 20 with about 10 minutes left before the Warriors used a 9-0 run, with two 3s from Quinten Post, run to get within 11. Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green at the end of that run after he flailed an arm into his face.

The Rockets then used an 8-0 spurt, highlighted by a step-back 3 from Green, to extend the lead to 99-80 with 5 ½ minutes remaining. Draymond Green received a technical foul in that stretch for arguing with officials and Eason received one for throwing a towel in an “unsportsmanlike manner.”

The loss of Butler, acquired from Miami in a February trade, was a huge blow to the Warriors after he had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the series opener. On top of Butler’s injury, the Warriors were also hampered by Brandin Podziemski’s stomach ailment.

He missed most of the first half dealing with the problem and was scoreless in 14 minutes after scoring 14 points in Game 1.

Final Thoughts

Vanessa Richardson was joined by Sengun after the big win!

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