STOOTS ON TEXANS
Texans OTAs: 11 observations you need to know about from Texans first June practice
Jun 1, 2022, 9:27 pm
File photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
The Houston Texans had another open practice as the early stages of their 2022 campaign get off the ground. Here are 11 observations about the first practice of June.
1. We start at the end of practice. The Houston Texans wore orange shirts with a message of support for the victims in the tragic shooting of Uvalde. Lovie Smith opened his post-practice press conference speaking on the violence in our country. Smith said the Texans' players organized a donation of $200,000 which the McNair family will match.
2. Derek Stingley Jr. did very little work today with the team. I would characterize it as a mental rep day as he participated in walkthroughs. Lovie Smith spoke glowingly after the practice about his defensive back room and said he expects Stingley Jr. to play in training camp. I would not be concerned with Stingley Jr.'s load management at this point.
3. Speaking of the new defensive backs, Steven Nelson showed up big in the workout. Nelson had a diving pass breakup and was constantly around the play as the veteran outside cornerback. He was covering well underneath and deep all day. He is ahead of where previous veteran corners have been in this defense.
4. Desmond King is flying around the field. King darted into a nearly completed pass and batted it away. It was as clean as clean could be from a timing standpoint. It will be interesting to see how King develops with an additional year in Lovie Smith's defense.
5. It wasn't a great day for the wideouts. There were a few drops, and no deep completions seemed to materialize. Brandin Cooks is quick in finding space and being available for a pass. No other wideouts stood out today.
6. Rookie wide receiver John Metchie's recovery is hard to pinpoint. He doesn't stretch with the team in team stretch and hardly does anything resembling a drill. Metchie though is not working out on other fields with players working back from injury. He does catch balls from time to time though. Lovie Smith simply said the expectation is for Metchie to improve each day and he's doing well in that regard. The head coach refused to put a timetable on Metchie's workout debut but did praise players who amassed mental reps when they couldn't work out.
7. Veteran wideout Chris Conley had a ball bounce off his hands for a near interception. The near interception was almost made by rookie linebacker Christian Harris. Harris was distraught that he couldn't reel in the ball, but it was fun to see the linebacker cover a wide receiver.
8. While the wideouts didn't stand out today, the tight ends did, but in a bad way. I will have to go look, and maybe I am being too harsh through just two practices, but this is one of the more unimpressive tight end groups in recent memory for the Texans.
9. The offensive linemen had a few rough moments. Rookie Austin Deculus had multiple "welcome to the NFL moments" when speed and what contact is allowed forced him to miss some blocks. Maliek Collins, who was absent last week from the open workout, diced through the line for what would have been a massive negative play. Rasheem Green had a nice play that would have been a big tackle for a loss in a live rep. Charlie Heck played some left tackle today. Tytus Howard was out today as he and his wife welcomed a son into the world. Laremy Tunsil is still not at the optional portion of the preseason.
10. Dameon Pierce should excite fans of the team. The fourth-round rookie flashed a few times in this workout. Once he beat a linebacker to the sidelines, planted, and turned around for an easy catch and nice gain. Later in running drills, Pierce's rep looked among the most successful in gaining yards. Pierce is fighting for opportunities, but fighting for more chances with the ball in his hand is a great sign for the future of the rushing attack.
11. Rex Burkhead was asked about Pep Hamilton's offensive system and somehow morphed his answer into praise of starting quarterback Davis Mills. "I think Davis (Mills) has done a great job making sure that we're all in the right place. He's so comfortable this year and in the spring and really with the playbook." Burkhead went on to detail how Mills was instructing players where to be on newly installed plays and called that "pretty awesome" for a second-year quarterback.
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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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