The Rockets’ post-mortem press conference provided some clarity about the team’s direction.

The operative word there is “some”.

From what we can gather, Rafael Stone thinks Reed Sheppard is Steve Nash, and Ime Udoka thinks he’s Steve Kerr. We could settle on Mark Price or Mahmoud Abdul-Raof

It seems like the intention is to “run it back”. It was mere days ago that I wrote a piece suggesting that running it back was the worst possible decision. There’s an adage in this industry:

No take-backsies.

Still, there is some room for optimism. Whatever the Rockets do, their situation is not as disastrous as some would suggest. None of these young guys has emerged as a franchise-caliber talent. That’s the harsh reality:

But, they’re still pretty good!

Seriously. The Rockets (if you’re willing to include Tari Eason, who’s in contract purgatory) roster four players under 25 who are locks to be, at a minimum, long-term starting-caliber players. Then there’s Reed Sheppard, who can’t claim the same secure floor but may have the highest offensive ceiling of the group.

They also have one of the better collections of future first-round draft capital in the NBA. So no, this is not an impending catastrophe. The feeling that it is likely comes from accepting the sad reality that the Rockets are also not in one of the NBA’s premier situations, which many of us thought they were until recently. There’s plenty to salvage here:

Arguably, it starts with the 2027 NBA Draft.

Rockets have a pair of picks in next summer’s draft

Yes, this draft is considered weak. Let’s look at some other drafts that were considered weak.

The 2020 draft was weak. Anthony Edwards preferred football. LaMelo Ball was a bit too silly. James Wiseman was solid, but an unlikely star.

Right. Seems like Edwards digs basketball. Ball is a bit too silly, but so is his talent level. Wiseman’s trajectory was unfortunate, but Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, and Deni Avdija were lying in wait.

How about 2013? Anthony Bennett was picked first. Yikes. The Cavaliers probably should have gone with the 15th overall pick, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even if they’d settled on the 27th overall, Rudy Gobert, it would be remembered reasonably well. The Magic grabbed Victor Oladipo right after Bennett, who at least has a single number one caliber season under his belt.

Here’s a fun fact: No draft in NBA history has produced 0 All-Stars. The 2000 draft comes pretty close, with only Kenyon Martin and Jamal Magloire, arguably two of the worst All-Stars in All-Star history, making the annual exhibition. Sure, but that’s the literal worst draft ever. The 2027 draft is, just by virtue of probability, unlikely to match it in sheer badness.

There will be gems in this class: It’s just a matter of finding them. Frankly, a good general manager should be salivating over this type of class. It’s fun! It’s a challenge. Although Rafael Stone may not be feeling so fancy free about it:

It could make or break his career.

The Rockets have to nail the 2027 draft

Let’s talk about Stone’s record in the draft.

It’s mixed. In terms of lottery picks, he’s largely been untested. Every general manager in the NBA was taking Jabari Smith Jr. third in 2022. It’s outrageously illogical to suggest that Stone should have gone with Jalen Williams. Of course he should have! “Hey dingus, you should have done the genius thing that no other person in the world was going to do” isn’t a fair bar for evaluating anyone’s job performance.

Amen Thompson was the right pick at four. Reed Sheppard is TBD. The only egregious high lottery error of his tenure is Jalen Green over Evan Mobley. That’s an article in itself. Let’s just punctuate this with another tremendous yikes.

He’s done poorly with picks in the 20s. That’s a reality. It’s fair to point out that most picks in the 20s don’t pan out. That’s true. Still, to have walked away with Josh Christopher, Usman Garuba, TyTy Washington, and Cam Whitmore with four picks in the 20s qualifies as poor.

Were they all bad choices? It depends on who you ask. I was thirstier than a mountain biker in a Sprite commercial for Garuba. I was wrong, and so was Stone. I would have had a voluntary root canal before drafting Christopher, I was entirely indifferent to Washington, and Whitmore was a necessary evil at 20th. This section of the draft is a crapshoot, but it’s reasonable to say that Stone should have walked away with one (just one) decent NBA player.

In the middle of the draft, he’s thrived with Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason. So…yeah. His overall record qualifies as strong, but unexceptional. If he’s careful and thorough in his research, he can change the Rockets’ fortunes in the 2027 draft.

Who’s going to be available?

Rockets will have intriguing options in the 2027 draft

Let’s keep this (relatively) brief. It’s early in the draft cycle, the order is inevitably going to change in a year, and this article is running long.

The presumptive number one at this juncture is Kansas’ Tyran Stokes. Frankly, I don’t see it. He’s a 6’7″, 230-pound wing. Stokes looks like a transition demon who may have limited utility in the halfcourt. I see shades of Miles Bridges, but he’s got a year to prove me wrong.

By contrast, I love Duke’s Cameron Williams. This is your standard Evan Mobley / Alex Sarr model. To my eye, he’s got a bit more offensive upside than either, even if he’s a bit less prodigous on defense than should-be-a-Rocket Mobley.

There are many more guys to cover, but I’ll focus on the ones I’ve taken an interest in. Maryland’s Baba Oladotun has garnered comparisons to Kevin Durant. Obviously, it’s exceedingly unlikely that he’ll be as good as Kevin Durant, but Oladotun is a 6’10” wing with a strong handle, excellent footwork, and smooth shot mechanics. So far, he’s hyperefficient from midrange, but needs to improve his three-point efficiency.

Remember when Luka Doncic was picked third? Nobody would let a 6’7″ Slovenian playmaker slip again, right? We’ll see. Stefan Joksimovic is of that general archetype. He’s a bit more scoring-minded. He’s more athletic, and less brilliant. Joksimovic may be a combo guard, but he is a strong passer, crafty driver, and developing shooter.

Those are lottery options. The Rockets have two picks (via the Suns, and a swap with the Nets), and it’s hard to say where either will land. Florida’s Thomas Haugh is a high-energy combo forward who can hit threes. Michigan’s Moustafa Thiam has the potential to be the elusive 3-and-D big man. There are many other names to consider, and it’s entirely possible that the best player in this class isn’t on anyone’s radar yet.

Rafael Stone had better search for him like his job depends on it.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have played some of their best and ugliest basketball with Dean Wade on the court in the playoffs.

Offensively, the floor has looked far too cramped, as defenders can cheat away from Wade, making it difficult for Cleveland’s backcourt to find driving lanes. Defensively, Wade has been their best player. He’s made it difficult for Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and now Cade Cunningham to get to their spots on the floor. Limiting their offensive impact and the team’s as a whole.

On one hand, the Cavs can’t live without Wade. On the other hand, they can’t live with him.

Wade is limited offensively. He’s a good rebounder and a serviceable outside shooter, but those are the only skills he brings on that end.

Things can fall apart when the outside shot isn’t falling. Once he loses confidence, he becomes far too hesitant to take threes. This allows his defender to cheat off him entirely, disrupting the spacing on an already cramped court when he’s playing alongside two centers in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. This is one of the factors that has led to the high volume of turnovers we’ve seen.

Below is a good example of that. Tobias Harris — his defender — is standing in the paint, even though Wade is on the wing. This gums up Donovan Mitchell’s driving lane and forces an Evan Mobley three. Shots like that are wins for the defense every day of the week.

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The issue isn’t necessarily that Wade isn’t a capable shooter. He’s a career 36.7% outside shooter, which is good, even if he’s run into a cold spell in the postseason. The problem is the lack of attempts.

Wade is taking just 5.3 shots per playoff game in 25 minutes of play. This translates to a 9.5 usage rate, which is the lowest for anyone in the playoffs at his position. If you aren’t a threat to beat the opponent with any facet of your offensive game, there’s no point in actually covering you.

The lack of shooting was an issue in the first-round series. This caused head coach Kenny Atkinson to start Max Strus — who’s more than willing to take the outside shot — in Wade’s place. This move helped the offense, as the Cavs have scored 6.2 more points per 100 possessions offensively in the playoffs with Strus on the floor. However, it was still a net negative because of the defensive ramifications.

Wade is the only Cavalier who has the size, strength, and speed to hang with premier wings in the league, which is important considering most contenders have elite wings. He does this extraordinarily well, which makes him the perfect player to guard Cunningham with.

Here’s a great example of what Wade brings as an individual defender. Here, he stays with Cunningham through a screen, remains connected on the drive, and uses his active hands to force a turnover.

You don’t stop a player as skilled as Cunningham with one defender. It takes a team effort, but it’s easier to pull off when you’re strong at the point of attack.

Cleveland made it difficult for Cunningham to catch the ball in Game 1, and once he did, they were funneling him toward the bigs.

Wade executed that game plan well, as seen here. He makes Cunningham work for the ball, momentarily pokes it away, which disrupts the timing enough for Mobley to put a clean contest on the drive.

Plays like this are why the Cavs are much better defensively with Wade on the floor. However, how much better they are points to a much wider issue.

The Cavs have needed Wade to be on the floor in the postseason to be passable. Through eight games, they’ve registered a dreadful 116.2 defensive rating when he’s on the bench (22nd percentile).

Playing Mobley and Allen together doesn’t help those numbers; it actually makes it worse. The Cavs have a 134.1 defensive rating (0th percentile) when Mobley and Allen are playing without Wade in 84 possessions. There’s no situation you can win when the defense is that bad.

The eye test backs this up. When there isn’t someone who can easily stay in front of their opponent’s best wings, the whole defense can get caught in rotation, leading to far too many openings to attack the basket and hit open threes.

In the end, the Cavs are left at the mercy of whether Wade is hitting or even willing to take his outside shots.

The Cavaliers built the most expensive roster in the league, but have done so while allocating surprisingly little capital on the wing. They’re overly reliant on an imperfect role player who has a somewhat limited offensive skillset. And have even more imperfect options to replace him if he doesn’t have his outside shot going.

This isn’t how it should be.

How do you replace 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in the middle of a playoff series?

The Knicks may need to find an answer to that question.

Late in their Game 2 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, OG Anunoby suffered a leg injury. He left the court with 2:31 to play and the Knicks up by six.

He did not return. That fact alone tells you that Anunoby was in discomfort. The Knicks would obviously want Anunoby on the floor late in a close game -- even if he was limited by injury.

They closed the game without Anunoby, beating the Sixers to take a 2-0 lead. But after the game, Anunoby was not available to reporters. Knicks head coach Mike Brown had no update when he spoke to reporters after the game. There is no point in speculating about Anunoby’s injury.

But if he is indeed sidelined for Game 3 and beyond, Miles McBride is comfortable taking on a larger role.

“Extremely comfortable. I feel like the coaching staff trusts me, I know my teammates trust me and I trust myself overall. So if that happens, I know I’ll be ready,” McBride said after Game 2.

McBride was on the floor to close the game. If Anunoby has to miss time, it’s fair to assume McBride’s minutes/responsibilities would increase. Maybe Brown inserts Landry Shamet into the rotation?

No matter who takes his place, the Knicks will certainly miss Anunoby (if he has to miss time).

Anunoby wasn’t just putting up great numbers in the playoffs (as referenced above), he was doing so efficiently. He made 60 of his 97 field goal attempts in the playoffs (61.2 percent), including 52.8 percent of his threes (39 attempts).

The Knicks were outscoring opponents by an average of 14.75 points per game with Anunoby on the floor.  

“He’s one of the best two-way players in the league so it’s tough to replace that but you don’t replace him with one guy,” McBride said. “Everyone is going to have to step up.”

BUILDING MORE BRIDGES

Make that three in a row for Mikal Bridges. For the third straight game, Bridges had his fingerprints all over a Knicks win.

In Game 2, he had 18 points, five rebounds and two assists. He hit a step-back jumper from 20 feet to give the Knicks a six-point lead with three minutes to play.

Bridges also helped limit Tyrese Maxey to seven points on nine shots and three turnovers in the second half. Maxey went off in the first half with 19 points and four assists. He said after the game that he suffered a finger injury in the second quarter.

Even if that impacted him in the second half, Bridges and the rest of the Knicks deserve credit for their defense in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia shot 4-for-19 in the final period; Maxey and Paul George combined to shoot 2-for-12 in the fourth.

“You’re not stopping Tyrese Maxey. Tyrese, he had a great game. He had 26 points. But Mikal tried to make him work, especially in the second half, for every point he got,” Brown said after the game. “… You’re gonna have to keep working and give multiple efforts and the team defense behind him is gonna have to be great in order to even think you’re gonna slow him down, because he’s a great player.

“But Mikal did what he could, as well as everybody else behind him. And then on top of that, Mikal hit some big shots for us down the stretch, especially when we looked a little discombobulated offensively. He got to his spot and knocked down some big shots. So great game on both ends of the floor for Mikal.”

Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 90 points in Game 2. Towns (20 points, 10 rebounds) had his 13th playoff game of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. That ranks fourth in Knicks franchise history. Towns also had seven assists. He continues to be a hub for the Knicks on the perimeter.