Wake up, sheeple!
ESPN host floats wild anti-Houston conspiracy about Rockets draft
Feb 23, 2023, 5:48 pm
Is this actually a thing? Composite image by Brandon Strange.
There are 99,999 reasons why the Houston Rockets are stupifyingly awful this season. Leave it to ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser to find the one reason why not.
Earlier this week on Pardon the Interruption, Kornheiser was pondering where sensational French teenager Victor Wembanyama might play next year in the NBA. Kornheiser said if NBA commissioner Adam Silver has his way, Wembanyama won’t be taking his talents to Houston.
“I don’t think he (Silver) wants him in a place like Houston where the owner doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing,” Kornheiser said.
Huh? Is Kornheiser suggesting that it’s Fertitta’s fault that the Rockets are a disastrous 13-45 and destined to finish with the worst record in the NBA for the third consecutive season?
If you’re looking for reasons why the Rockets are flopping, there are culprits a’plenty, starting with the roster. You want to know why the Rockets seem to lose night after night? You see when the Rockets take the court for the opening tip? The players in the other color uniform are better than the Rockets. That’s why the Rockets lose.
The Rockets are young – the second-youngest team in the league. Their average age is 23.58. The bad news is, the only younger team is the Thunder, which racks up points against the Rockets like they’re playing a video game set on “easy.” The Rockets three core players are Jalen Green (21, second year), Alperen Sengun (20, second year), and Jabari Smith Jr. (19, rookie).
It could be the coach. Now in his third season, Stephen Silas has one of the worst career won-loss records (50-162) in NBA history. His defenders will say, “he’s a young coach who can relate to young players, which is what this team needs.” Silas is not a young coach. Silas will be 50 years old in a few months. He is older than the coach of the Celtics, the Grizzlies, Jazz, Thunder, Pelicans, Blazers, Clippers, Nets, Wizards … I could go on.
You can blame NBA superstars who collude to demand trades so they can play amongst themselves and freeze out have-not teams in less desirable markets. The Rockets in their present state can’t attract big name stars. The idea that Texas teams are appealing to star players because of no state income tax simply isn’t true.
I asked a Rockets insider, does Kornheiser know something we don’t? Is Fertitta the reason the Rockets struggle? Is it true that Fertitta doesn’t know what he’s doing?
The insider said, “Tony Kornheiser doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ll bet he hasn’t watched one Rockets game this year and couldn’t name three players on the team. It’s easy for these national guys to look at the standings and blame the owner.”
Fertitta has been somewhat successful in his careers (plural). His Landry’s restaurant empire is expanding like a kielbasa in a microwave. Forbes calls him the richest restaurateur in the world. He is chairman of the board of regents for the University of Houston, home of the No. 1-ranked college basketball team. His name is on the UH basketball arena. He was the star of Billion Dollar Buyer on CNBC. His net worth is estimated at $7.6 billion.
Yeah, I’d say that Fertitta knows what he’s doing.
The Rockets are in a down cycle, but the team is still drawing fans. The marketing department, under Fertitta’s guidance, has come up with some pretty creative promotions (Undertaker bobbleheads, bargain beer and tacos) to occupy the seats. Toyota Center is clean, the food is upscale, and Bruce Springsteen just rocked the roof off the place.
The insider: “Fertitta gives fans a quality experience. He can’t control the final score. The fact that the Rockets still have strong attendance shows that Fertitta is delivering an attractive product despite the team’s record. The NBA isn’t like the restaurant business, where you can turn a loser into a winner by changing the menu. Larry David thought he could run a successful restaurant simply by adding scones to the menu on Curb Your Enthusiasm. That’s a TV show. The NBA is real life.”
This isn’t the first time a national media type dumped on a Houston good guy and missed the target. Remember a couple of years ago when radio talk host Clay Travis went after Mattress Mack?
Travis said, “I find myself rooting for this Mattress Mack guy to lose all of his money because I’m tired of hearing about him. Marketing genius, but I want this guy to go bankrupt. I wish he would lose $100 million.”
Oops. First, and most important, Travis picked on the wrong guy in Houston. He heard from Mack’s supporters loud and clear. And while I don’t have access to Mack’s books, I’m pretty sure he could lose $100 million and not go bankrupt.
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The Texans make just their third ever visit to Lambeau Field Sunday. It’s a dandy matchup as the Texans try to run their record to 6-1 at the expense of the 4-2 Green Bay Packers. The Texans have one win and one loss in Wisconsin. In 2008 the gameday high temperature was 13 degrees. Kris Brown kicked a 40 yard field goal as time expired to give the Texans a 24-21 win over a Packers team that struggled to a 6-10 record under first-year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Texans posted their second consecutive 8-8 finish that year. In 2016 the mercury reached a balmy high of 34 degrees as the Texans fell 21-13 at Lambeau. Inexplicably, Rodgers somehow managed to win the quarterback matchup with Brock Osweiler. The Texans and Packers each won their division that year. Both Texans’ trips to “America’s Dairyland” occurred in December. No risk of frozen tundra this time around. The forecast for Green Bay Sunday calls for a high of 75 degrees! That’s almost 20 degrees warmer than normal there for October 20.
It’s a dynamic QB matchup with C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love sharing the field. Love broke out in a huge way in 2023 after serving a two-year apprenticeship under Rodgers. After a stumbling 3-6 start to their season the Packers went 6-2 the rest of the way to snag a playoff spot. They obliterated the Cowboys in a Wild Card game in Arlington (before everyone obliterated the Cowboys in Arlington...) then led at the 49ers with under 90 seconds to go before San Francisco scored to win 24-21. The Packers made crystal clear their belief in Love by signing him to a four-year 220 million dollar contract extension in July. That’s 55 mil per season. Stroud becomes extension-eligible after next season. Anyone think he won’t be in position to command at least 65 mil per season?
Stroud sure looks to be the guy to finally give the Texans the long-term stability and excellence they have never had at the most important position in the sport. The Pack is all in on Love continuing its unreal long-term QB stability and excellence. Love took the reins after Rodgers helmed the offense for 15 seasons. Rodgers took the reins after Brett Favre’s 16-year tenure. So if Love makes it for nine years as the starter, that’s three primary QBs in 40 years. Absolutely amazing.
After missing two games because of a sprained knee ligament suffered in the final seconds of the Packers’ season opening loss to the Eagles in Brazil, Love has thrown 10 touchdown passes in three games. But he has only completed 59 percent of his passes, and has thrown at least one interception per game.
The Texans’ first trip to the NFC North this season went brutally badly, the 34-7 beatdown from Minnesota. The Vikings beat the Packers 31-29 in week four of the season. That was Love’s first game back, he threw four touchdown passes and three picks. One defensive weapon the Texans will have against the Pack they did not have against the Vikes is Denico Autry. The 34-year-old Autry returns from his six-game banned substance suspension. That happens as one of the fill-ins for him, Mario Edwards, starts his own four-game substance abuse suspension. That should be a net improvement for the Texans.
X-factors
The single biggest variable in swinging the outcome of football games is turnovers. So far this season the Packers have been a takeaway machine. Last season the Packers generated just 18 turnovers over their 17 regular season games, only six teams took the ball away less often. Through just six games this season the Packers already have 17 takeaways. No other NFL team has more than 13, the Texans have just seven. The Packers have produced exactly three turnovers in five of their six games, and got two in the other. Every defense preaches turnovers, so it’s not as if first-year Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has introduced radical concepts that are yielding magical results. But the results are what they are.
If the Texans take care of the ball, they have a terrific chance to win. Having Joe Mixon back aids the cause on two fronts. One, Mixon is obviously the Texans’ best running back. Two, Mixon last fumbled in 2021. The Texans probably best plan to score 25 or more points to win this one because the Packers figure to score a bit. In Love’s four starts the Pack has lit the scoreboard for 29, 29, 24, and 34 points. On the other hand, the Texans’ D has been pretty stout, allowing the third-fewest yards per game (Green Bay rates 18th). It’s a strength vs. strength battle. The Texans have allowed no opponent more than 313 yards in total offense. The Packers have amassed at least 378 yards in five of their six games, and managed 328 in their worst performance.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
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