BUCKS BEAT ROCKETS
Critical takeaways from Rockets' 123-114 loss to Bucks
Dec 11, 2021, 4:03 pm
Rockets winning streak comes to an end. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
As of Friday night, the Houston Rockets seven-game winning streak is over, as they fought a hard battle against the previous NBA champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. The Rockets did have steady control throughout the game because of Alperen Sengun, Christian Wood (21 points and 47 percent from the field), Garrison Mathews, and Armoni Brooks' terrific effort on the court. But Giannis Antetokounmpo who is a two-time MVP dominated each quarter of basketball. He finished with 41 points, 17 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.
The Rockets shot the ball well Friday night, as they have within these eight games. While having Mathews and Brooks on the floor, the spacing for the Rockets becomes better. It allows more cutting and slipping towards the rim. Friday night, the Rockets finished with 41 percent shooting versus the Bucks. Mathews has a quick and easy release when shooting the basketball and elevation off his jump-shot too. He has become a reliable shooter for the Rockets. Within eight games, Mathews is shooting 46.4 percent from three while averaging 17.0 points per contest and has a 73.8 true shooting percentage.
Brooks and Mathews have catapulted the Rockets to fifth in the NBA in three-point shooting inside eight games. Seeing Brooks becoming more aggressive in his driving is impressive. It allows Brooks to not be stagnate on the court, which keeps the opposing team’s defenses off balance. Brooks has shown he can put the ball on the floor and score, as he did versus the Bucks. He shot 71 percent from the field with four made threes and 21 points. Brooks has already shown his catch-and-shoot skills and off-the-screen shooting, but putting the ball on the floor at a bigger sample will make him a more versatile offensive player.
Sengun had great battles against Bobby Portis and Antetokounmpo. He impressed Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton with his footwork inside the paint Friday night.
“He is physical and has good footwork,” said Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton when I asked about Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun play on Friday night. #Rockets #LightTheFuse #Sarge @alperennsengun pic.twitter.com/4m7JubYMtn
— BIG SARGE MEDIA LLC (@BigSargeSportz) December 11, 2021
“He’s a good player,” Antetokounmpo said. “Takes his time; nothing can speed him up. He might be slow in the post, but he’s effective. He’s playing well. He’s playing a lot of minutes off the bench, gives energy to his teammates. He rebounds the ball well. He’s being aggressive, sets good screens. I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
Jae'Sean Tate was also impressed with Sengun. “When you talk about footwork, there’s not anybody that moves like he does… His ability to score around the rim and pass the ball is something you can’t teach,” Tate said. “He’s going to continue to get better and be a problem.”
Sengun is in the 60th percentile in post-ups per Synergy. Friday night, Sengun had 15 points and 5.0 rebounds and a plus 11 from the field against the defending champs. Sengun will become more lethal if he can stay out of foul trouble, as most rookie big men struggle with. His footwork, patience, and skill will accelerate his pace in the NBA.
My biggest note for Christian Wood: IS BECOME AGGRESSIVE IN ALL FOUR QUARTERS!
Wood is playing better basketball now, which is good. He is becoming a better finisher at the rim and over defenders. Wood’s rebounding is very impressive this season, as he is fourth in the NBA in defensive rebounding. He has increased his rebound total towards 11.4 per game, which puts him at 7th in the NBA. Hopefully, Wood got a great look at Antetokounmpo, as he scored 41 points easily. The Rockets are considering offers for Wood on the trade market too.
Although the streak is over, Silas mentioned how he was pleased with the Rockets' effort versus the Bucks.
“My message is they should be so proud of what [we've] done,” Silas said. “They should be proud that we went toe to toe with the champs and it took Giannis going for 41 to beat us.”
Up next: The Rockets face the Grizzlies on Saturday night.
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Texas' Quinn Ewers and Clemson's Cade Klubnik already have a championship history between them.
Both quarterbacks hail from Texas, and in January 2021 they were two of the highest-rated junior recruits in the nation when they met on the biggest stage of high school football in the the country: the Texas Class 6A state championship.
Klubnik got the best of Ewers that day, leading Austin Westlake to a 52-34 win over Southlake Carroll. They meet again Saturday when No. 12 seed Clemson (10-3) and No. 5 seed Texas (11-2) clash in the first round of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
For Klubnik, the first step toward leading Clemson back to a national title begins in his hometown just a few miles from where he grew up and played at a high school that produced NFL quarterbacks Drew Brees, Nick Foles and Sam Ehlinger.
And it promises to be an emotional return. When the Tigers and Longhorns were announced as first-round opponents, a camera quickly found Klubnik with a stunned look on his face as Tigers coach Dabo Swinney hugged him.
Then it was talk of the rematch with Ewers, with even bigger goals at stake this time.
“You know, Quinn and I go way back. We played each other in seventh or eighth grade and so on. My junior year in the state championship game was definitely a very high profile game," Klubnik said.
It was more than “high profile.”
Because of the two star quarterbacks and the pedigrees of their programs, their championship game against each other holds legendary status in a state that has produced too many great college players and games to count.
Klubnik and Westlake had won the state championship the previous year. The 2020 season was delayed by the pandemic, pushing the championship game into 2021. Ewers was the top-rated junior QB in the country, had already committed to Ohio State. Klubnik was ranked the No. 2 QB in Texas right behind him, but was still uncommitted.
Ewers passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Klubnik was just as good, with 18-of-20 passing for 220 yards and a touchdown, and another 97 yards rushing.
“That ain't fun when the fastest guy on the field is touching the ball 100% of the time,” Southlake Carroll coach Riley Dodge said that day.
Klubnik's Westlake teammates included Michael Taaffe, who is now a Texas safety, and Ethan Burke and Colton Vasek, who are now Longhorns defensive linemen.
Taaffe this week described Klubnik as his “best friend” that season at Westlake. He noted the school and social disruptions of the COVID season before the championship game.
“There was nothing we could do but throw the football around," Taaffe said. “We had nothing to do but become best friends. We were trying to win a state championship.”
Taaffe did his part in the state championship game, intercepting a pass from Ewers in the second half. He'd love to do the same to Klubnik. And Taaffe and won't pull any punches if he gets a chance for a sack or big hit on his old friend.
“My job is my to take my opponent's soul," Taaffe said. “It doesn't matter if it's my best friend or the guy I hate the most on this planet.
"Cade does everything it takes to try to win. He's going to do whatever it takes. I don't assume there's going to be a lot of sliding out of Cade come Saturday. I don't think there's going to be a lot of stepping out of bounds. Especially if he sees (me). He's definitely going to try to lower his shoulder on me and tell me about it, too," Taaffe said.
After that 2021 state title game, Klubnik and Westlake followed it up with another state championship the next season. Some recruiting outlets rated Klubnik the No. 1 quarterback in the country in 2022.
He became Clemson's regular starter last season. His 33 touchdown passes this season helped revive Clemson after an ugly 34-3 season-opening loss to Georgia. Klubnik had four TD pass as the Tigers won the ACC championship to earn their playoff berth, the program's first since 2020.
Ewers left high school early after that state championship game loss. He declared for college that spring and enrolled at Ohio State. His freshman season of 2021 was spent deep on the Buckeyes bench before transferring to Texas, where he led a Longhorns rejuvenation.
Texas won the Big 12 title last season and made the four-team playoff for the first time. The Longhorns reached No. 1 this season for the first time since 2008 and narrowly lost the SEC championship to Georgia in Texas' first year in the league.
As for facing Klubnik again, Ewers called it “cool.” Back in high school, Ewers had a swashbuckling mullet haircut that flowed from under his helmet. Now the most radical thing about him might be a slightly scraggly beard.
“Me and Cade have a good relationship,” Ewers said. “It's definitely cool to get to play each other again, come full circle.”