Rocket Fuel Podcast

New Episode presented by @BleavNetwork and sponsored by @FDSportsbook Quick reaction to the Rockets' 6th win in a row! youtu.be/P9T5CKULP5w?si…

Harden has been bad in these first two 2nd round games. Only 10 points in the loss

We will be talking to Rafael Stone and Ime Udoka in the next couple of days to get an idea of what direction they are going in. I want to ask you, Rocket fans, now that it's been a couple of days, what do you think the Rockets should do this summer that is REALISTIC to improve the team?

I asked Jabari Smith after Game 6 how much of an adjustment it was for the team this season not having Fred VanVleet for the entire year. Jabari talked the importance of VanVleet. “It was tough we tried to make it work as much as we can. It was time where it looked really good with out him and it was time you were in a game and you are like we needed number 5 out there.”

Reed Sheppard getting ready for Game 6

Reed Sheppard is coming off the best defensive gsme of his career. I asked Ime how different Reed is on the defensive end now compared to his rookie season. Ime said that his defense is “night and day” compared to his rookie season and he likes that Reed is asking to switch instead of getting coverage so he is embracing the defensive challenge.

Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson going through their pregame routine before Game 6.

New episode on 3 reasons the series is heading back to Houston. One of the reasons most people didn't see coming.

3 Reasons the Rockets won game 5 and are 2 wins away from history. youtu.be/hvgyxFYMxKo?si…

Alperen Sengun controlled the Rockets' Game 5 win with his 8 assists, setting guys up with easy baskets all night and beating the Lakers' double team. I talked Sengun and Rockets this morning live with @NateGriffFOX26

The Rockets seem to go to another level when Alperen makes big defensive plays, whether it's a big block or a steal. I asked Alperen how much energy that give him and the team. “ I would say when me and Reed when we have big possessions like that everybody gets hyped and that is what we need.”

Here Alperen talks about how Kevin Durant has encouraged the team while being out. “Him being there for us is important talking to us on the bench giving us motivation is really good.”

Alperen Sengun doesn't always give big speeches; he mostly talks during the game. However, before Game 4, Sengun spoke to the team, and everyone from Amen to Jabari said it showed his leadership, and it helped motivate the entire team.

Yes, no team has come back from 3-0, but at the very least, they didn't get swept at home and live to fight another day. That's all you can ask for at this point.

Both Jabari and Tari talked about the chemistry they have built over the years, and how they went from rebuilding years to playing in playoff games. I asked Alperen Sengun what it means to him to go from winning 17-20 games to playing in the playoffs alongside other young players like Tari and Jabari. “Playing with them is really appreciated it growing up together we have seen the worse I mean I have seen the worse being the worse team in the league and coming out here in 3 years is a big thing for us.”

Here, Alperen talks about the flagrant that got Ayton ejected. He said he didn't expect the officials to eject Ayton and talked about the conversation he had with some Lakers players after the play. Sengun said with a smile. “They were telling me you go to the floor every time, but you didn't go this time. I said I am not going to the floor today.”

Here, Alperen talks about the speech he gave pregame, how he doesn't always talk a alot, and how Smen said it really motivated him. “After the talk, Amen was telling me that it really motivated me, and I was like, was my English good? He said you messed up one point, but I don't care.”

After finally getting some sleep, here are my thoughts on the historic collapse. This game was the Rockets' entire season wrapped into one game. Stay with me here. 1. The Rockets find out that Kevin Durant will not play right before the game. Just like they found out right before the season that Fred VanVleet was going to be out. 2. Coaching decision to put Tate in the game late and set a play to pass the ball in the backcourt toward the opponent's basket to a player struggling to take care of the basketball. Questionable play calls and rotations all season. 3. Benched scored 3 points all game. Had probably the worst bench production all season. 4. Up six points with the basketball with 30 seconds left in a playoff game. No way they lose, right? Wrong, we have seen this script play out all season long with the Rockets collapsing late and making bad, illogical decisions. This game's 3-loss was shocking, but at the same time, it wasn't, because we have seen the same issues that happened in Game 3 all season long. I'll save my bigger-picture thoughts for when this series and season are officially over.

Kevin Durant is listed at Questionable with a left ankle sprain for Game 3

I asked Coach Udoka: With the team struggling to make shots and Durant finishing 4th in shot attempts in Game 2, will we say Durant starts in the midrange more often and less often as the initiator of the offense, making it harder to double-team him? “Yeah I think it's a balance for sure the main things is the turnovers and us not being agressive out of it or converting out if it.”

I asked Alperen Sengun about the Lakers trapping KD and speeding up his shot attempts, and whether he feels he is still getting the shots he wants. Sengun stated he feels like they are still getting the shots they want and doing it the right way. Sengun said it just comes down to making shots.