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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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.