A new season is almost upon us, and for that I am very grateful. The Rockets held their 2026-7 season Media Day on Wednesday. It’s fun, you get to see the players, see the new uniforms (a welcome return to a a modified Catsup and Mustard!), and hear what the coaches, management and players have to say about the upcoming season.
I’m going to go through some selected comments and “Agree, Disagree, Nod Wisely, or Sigh in Despair”
Let’s start with some fun stuff:
Steven Adams: Predicts Significant Drop
In NBA, NFL Performance In November
Adams: “I will say, you guys should anticipate November. The performance of the league…league wide. GTA is dropping. So look at NFL, look at all the leagues and watch them plummet, mate. Just for the month of November performance is gonna go down.”
GTA V was released 13 years ago, and anticipation of GTA VI (set in “Vice City”) is very high, to say the least.
Verdict: Agree.
Modern players are generally pretty dull compared to some of the wild men of the past, and spend a lot of time at home, or in hotel rooms playing video games. Most of us know how time can easily get away from you playing video games, costing anything from a night’s sleep, to a career, marriage and more.
Kevin Durant: Not Interested In Reduced Minutes
When asked what he thought about both Stone and Udoka saying they’d like to reduce Durant’s minutes, KD had this to say:
“”Why? I’m better on the court. The team is better when I’m on the court. If we handle business in the first three quarters or earlier, then maybe. But just for the sake of my minutes because I’m older or played a lot of minutes … that’s what I’m supposed to be training for, to play 48 minutes a night. I get the concern. But if the game needs me out there, I want to be out there.”
Verdict: Nod Wisely.
Durant definitely shouldn’t play 48 minutes a game, but my suspicion is Durant is here to chase regular season numbers, and that generally helps the Rockets. If he’s not getting to do that, I expect he’ll make trouble. I’m not sure the game will always need him as much as he needs the game. A player Durant’s age though, probably DOES need to play fewer minutes. Does Udoka have the cojones to bench Durant to keep his minutes down? Not based on last season.
Ime Udoka: Disappointed in everyone else.
“I don’t think anybody met our expectations. Expectations were to take some big steps last year, and I feel in the three years I’ve been here now going into the fourth year, we somewhat plateaued at a point last year. Decent regular season due to the circumstances, but it could have been a lot better. We’re not here to just make the first round. We want to make some real noise, and I think everybody’s hungry for that.”
Verdict: Sigh, in despair.
First of all, he’s not wrong. Second of all, sure, Ime, it’s everyone else’s fault, and none of your own. (If you listen to the remarks, this seems very clear.) As always. Good to know you’ve got your own back. If they’d all Just Be Better, like you told them to be, they’d make some noise. Anyway, you’ve got nothing to do with any of it, right? Stuff just happens, and the coach plays no role.
Maybe some of you read that differently. That’s fine. I’m pretty sure you’re wrong, but I’d never throw you under the bus over it.
Rafael Stone: Gotta Have Adams
Rafael Stone talked about the importance of having Steven Adams, his immaculate screening on offense, and his offensive rebounding. Noting that offensive rebounding often holds up in the playoffs, too.
Verdict: Nod wisely.
This is all true. The only problem being Steven Adams has played in roughly 50% of available games, and the same in terms of post season games. He’s a great player. He cannot be counted upon due to injury. If your strategy relies on Steven Adams being healthy, it seems like an unwise strategy, as he carries a far higher than average injury risk.
Reed Sheppard: Ready for the 1976-1977 Season
Verdict: Agree (with myself)
Reed Sheppard is ready for the far more physical NBA of 1976. You can see how much muscle he’s put on, and this isn’t surprising for an NBA player at age 22.
Tari Eason: Yes, My Not Signing A Contract Last Year Definitely Had An Effect
Tari Eason described his off season as “the most diligent” of his career. When asked “what spurred the new focus” he said “New Money.”
Verdict: Nod, wisely.
Players are motivated by different things. Tari seems to be motivated most by money. He looks to be stronger and lighter than last season and apparently worked on his shooting and handle the most this summer. Great news. If you thought Tari was messed up a bit after not “getting bag” at the start of last season, these remarks suggest you were right.
Clint Capela: Losing Weight Will Help
Clint Capela said he lost about 4% of his body fat (this is a pretty high amount for an athlete of any sort) and thought it had made him quicker and more explosive. “It feels great to have some abs looking good.”
Verdict: Agree
Clint did appear a bit round last season, and it appears he felt it hurt his game (which still held up in many ways, at least statistically). So the Rockets front court, health willing, of Sengun, Adams and Capela could really get back to the dominant offensive rebounding of early last season.
There’s plenty more to talk about, but I’ll leave it there, with some of the things that seemed most interesting to me. Marcus Smart, Jabari Smith, Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun, Bruce Thornton, all said the right things.
