KEEPING IT RAHEEL
Raheel Ramzanali: 7 (maybe 6) answers from the Twitter mailbag
Aug 21, 2018, 7:00 am
It is time to play ask Raheel... Courtesy photo
I am a man of the people and every once in a while I like to open up the Twitter Mailbag to see how I can give back by answering some questions from my most passionate fans. So, without further ado, here is the Twitter Mailbag:
Okay I lied, first I have to post the best quote I’ve ever seen explaining a person that I couldn’t describe before when trying to explain why I do or don’t like him. This comes from CBSSports and their annual dry snitching Coaches questionnaire. One coach perfectly summed up Lane Kiffin: "I'm probably a little jealous [of Lane Kiffin]. If you're born on third base, that's great, but don't think you hit a triple."
Can we move Steve (Francis) to the 2? -@Migunderscore | The funny thing is that in today’s NBA where point guards are allowed to be prolific scorer, Steve would have fit right in. Now he would have had to improve his shot a bit, but man, Steve in today’s NBA with more possessions and celebrating of scoring would have killed it.
How do you like your eggs? Are you a fan of player only trips to Bahamas? -@ChrisMartin21 | I love this Bahamas trip for the Houston Rockets players. As I grow older, the one thing I miss about my teenage years is hanging out with my friends at basketball tournaments. Some of my favorite memories are from being in a city with my friends and battling it out on the court AND sharing tons of laughs off it. Team chemistry and bonding is something that is sometimes overlooked in pro sports, but a group of guys that are close can do some amazing things. I like my eggs sunny side up with a side of hashbrowns. Also, please stop putting eggs on every damn thing. Eggs don’t belong on a burger.
What 90’s RomCom would still be enjoyed by millennials today and why? Also, do you spread jelly before PB or PB before Jelly? -@JustinVanSant | A double banger of questions! The right answer is 10 Things I Hate About You. Want a lifehack? Spread your PB and jelly in any order, but instead of eating it, give it a quick fry on a pan and melt the PB plus add a nice toast to the bread. MAGIC!
Which Texas school has the best record after this college football season? -@ChaseHernandez | Easy, the Longhorns. Hook em.
Which Houston athlete has the best hair? -@BSmith713rd | My top three are: Gerald Green, Clowney, and the winner is the Piña himself, Yuli Gurriel.
Why is baseball so boring? -@Fro_Not_Banned | I don’t think baseball is boring, but it isn’t the most exciting of all the sports I watch. I will say, when your team is making a run and is in the World Series, the drama is second to none. There is something beautiful about baseball players making huge plays with limited opportunities. Look, football and basketball players have so many chances to impact the game. A position player will get 3-4 at-bats and maybe less than 10 to 5 chances to make an impact on defense. That is wild.
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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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