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00:00Our first trip back to the postseason for the Rockets since the COVID year and joining us right
00:06now on the hotline, she is the sideline reporter for the Rockets on Space City Home Network and
00:12she is a birthday girl today. A very happy birthday and a thank you for the time to our
00:17good friend Vanessa Richardson. Happy birthday, Ness. How are you doing? Thank you guys. I'm so
00:22good. I'm so good. I'm excited now to know, you know, a little bit more about what the schedule
00:27will be within the next coming week. So I'm super excited and thank you for the birthday
00:32wish. Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah, that was fun last night, the Warriors and the Grizzlies.
00:38The Rockets just played the Warriors like two weeks ago and ran them off the floor in the
00:43second half of that game. What was the, I mean, you're around the team every day after that
00:49game. Is that, you know, does that feel like sort of a validator or any sort of harbinger
00:52for what this series could look like, especially when it comes to the Ahmed Thompson, Steph Curry
00:57matchup? I do think it's a really great, what the coaching staff calls a barometer game,
01:04right? Like, yes, every, every game on a schedule has an equal W or L, you know, right? Like every,
01:12every game counts as one. But when you're talking about a game like that, where Ahmed Thompson is
01:18holding Steph Curry to three points and I don't have to tell anybody what Steph has done to the
01:24Rockets in the past, it did feel like a barometer game, especially it was an away game. It's late
01:29in the season. The Rockets, of course, like a lot of NBA teams are dealing with a little,
01:33a couple of nicks and a couple of injuries here and there. So it felt extremely validating. And yes,
01:38the mood on the plane was very fun. Well, you know, and this might come as a shock to you,
01:42Vanessa, but Steve Kerr has whined a little bit lately about the way teams are defending.
01:46No way. Wait, really? That's crazy. That's so unlike him.
01:51Yeah. Yeah. He went there. What was the sense of frustration perhaps by the Warriors that you
02:00could see on the court during that game? It was actually really incredible to see. And it was,
02:05I'm glad you brought that up because that was kind of an underrated part of it. Look, like,
02:09I mean, we're, we're sports fans. We're all sickos, right? So watching them get so frustrated,
02:14watching their fans legitimately complain about officiating was like an out of buy. I'm like,
02:21wait, are they serious? Like Warriors fans? So yeah, I mean, I think it's going to be
02:26serious. I don't think you can underestimate the Draymond Green element of it. I think that's
02:32going to be really interesting. And when you've got young guys like the Rockets have, like Tari
02:38Eason and a man and young guys that will just get really scrappy really quickly. And then you have
02:46the Warriors players that, but then you mentioned it, their coach, their fans that are known to,
02:52you know, maybe complain here and there. I think it's going to be extremely fun.
02:57Yeah, it should be Vanessa Richardson, sideline reporter, space city home network for the
03:01Rockets joining us here on pain and Pendergast sports radio, six 10. All right, Vanessa. So
03:05this, this double big, this twin towers lineup with Alper and Shengun and Steven Adams that I,
03:12you know, I don't know that this was eventually the plan to do when Steven Adams got fully healthier,
03:17but something that he may just kind of stumbled into and, and, and like, wow, this really works
03:21well. The numbers are crazy as to how good, uh, an offensive rebounding lineup it is with the two
03:28of them in the game. What are your thoughts on that particular mix with the two of them
03:33against this golden state team, which is, you know, tends to skew much smaller.
03:38Yeah, it's interesting. You bring that up. So they, the coaching staff actually talked about the
03:42concept of the double big, um, during training camp, but then they couldn't, or during their coaches
03:49retreat, excuse me, but then they, they didn't have the ability to utilize it until just a couple
03:55of months ago, because Steven Adams wasn't playing back to backs and they wanted to, um, you know,
04:01make sure that they staggered their minutes. So when it was put in place, it was like,
04:07oh my gosh, basketball. And obviously E-May and some of the coaching staff had a history of utilizing
04:13double bigs in San Antonio, um, as players and coaches. So it's been really, really fun. And I
04:20think that it has the potential to be a really great matchup and something that the Rockets can
04:24use as a strength. And you guys know in the playoffs, it is literally all about adjustments
04:30and the Rockets can play small ball, but man, if that adjustment, if, if the game plan calls for an
04:36adjustment of just like, let's put Alper and Shangoon and Steven Adams in there, and they're just going to
04:40get every offensive rebound and, oh, if we add Jabari Smith Jr. in there, then we've got this
04:46like jumbo lineup with a lot of length. Um, I think it has the potential to be a major advantage.
04:53Yeah. And I guess that's, I mean, maybe you already gave us the answer to this, but it, when it comes
04:56to the different rotations and how much they matter, which, which rotation player for this specific
05:01matchup do you have your eyes most on for the Rockets? Oh, that's a great question. Um, I mean,
05:07I think when you take inventory of the depth, that's the thing about the Rockets is that there's
05:11not like one player on a night to night basis. That is the superstar. It's so different than the
05:18rest of the NBA, but I will go back to Tari Eason, who a few months ago said on camera in the locker
05:24room, I just hate the Warriors. And he does. And he hates the Warriors and he leaves it all on the
05:30floor. And when he's called upon to start for the Rockets in the starting lineup, he makes an impact
05:36as well. So, so many great, uh, rotation players that I think are going to be a really important
05:41part of this series for sure. Let's talk about Fred Van Vliet for a second, Vanessa, because he
05:46missed a bunch of games. He comes back and you can, you know, if things look a little more organized,
05:52but you know, statistically it's, it's not been a great stretch run here for Fred, but the team is
05:57obviously playing very well. Um, give us some insight. Like what is it about Fred Van Vliet, both in those
06:0348 minutes on the floor behind the seams. It almost feels like he's an extension of Eme Udoka.
06:08Is that fair to say? Yeah, they've actually said that when they, you know, describe him because
06:13when he came in last year, um, last season, when he joined the Rockets, he immediately just had such
06:19an impact on the young guys and really all the veterans did in general, but they truly do view Fred
06:25as a coach. And so when you have spread somebody like Fred that can calm things down and get everybody
06:32in their proper places and make sure everybody has what they need, those things don't always show
06:38up at the stats sheet. And I know that sounds cliche, but it's totally true. So the veterans are going to
06:43be a really big part of the series guys. When you think about it, like Fred Van Vliet, we haven't even
06:48touched on Dylan Brooks yet. Um, you know, don't underestimate what Steven Adams, who has a history
06:54of Dylan and Steven against the Warriors from their days in Memphis. Um, and then Jeff Green,
06:59Jeff's an important veteran as well. So the veterans are going to be crucial. This Golden
07:05State Warriors team, you guys know, not only do they have a lot of championships, but they have a
07:09lot of tricks up their sleeves. Um, we've touched a little bit on the coaching and the fan base. It
07:15is going to be a lot for this Rockets team, but the veterans on this Rockets team, no doubt Fred
07:21included are going to be the ones that really can guide them through it. Yeah, Vanessa. I mean,
07:25the Warriors are largely remote America, so it's not going to be hard to, to convince people to
07:32cheer for the, the, the Rockets versus the Warriors. If you had to make an elevator pitch
07:36though, to anybody who was on the fence outside of Houston, what's your elevator pitch for why they
07:41should be cheering for the Rockets? Old school, tough nose, everything that people say that they
07:47hate about the NBA, the Rockets are the opposite. Everybody says the NBA is just about chucking threes
07:53and all offense and no defense. And, um, the death of the big man has come and gone or the importance
08:01rather, you know, on a night to night basis. And the Rockets are the opposite of that. The Rockets
08:07are not AAU basketball. The Rockets are not one person takes the ball and takes control of the same
08:13person every night. You know, it really is tough, hard nose basketball. And they're just a bunch of
08:19really young dogs that are really exciting and not afraid to have some, um, some tussles every now
08:27and then. So I think that, look, America, if you're looking for a fun basketball team, if you're looking
08:33for the anti everything that people hate, what the NBA has become, watch the Rockets, cheer for the
08:41Rockets. Um, and like you said, Seth, I think the lucky thing is that it's not going to be too hard to
08:46convince people to get all aboard the Rockets train. I like that strategy. Like you guys should
08:52have a banner that says, Hey, we're the worst three point shooting team in the playoffs. You
08:56don't like the three don't need them. Yeah. That's beautiful. Well, even just, and we're talking
09:03to Vanessa Richardson, sideline reporter for the Rockets on space city. Seth, uh, Vanessa, we're in
09:11the studio right now and on TV on ESPN, they're talking about the Rockets warrior series. And
09:17the question at the bottom of the screen is, do you feel the warriors have a clear path to the NBA
09:23title? And I'm going, they're the seven seed and they're going against the two. And by the way,
09:30it's disrespect for the next three series. They'd have to win to actually win an NBA title. Not
09:34exactly a clear path, but I, do you, do you sense that like the, the team's got to know that,
09:40yeah, we're the two seed, but everybody's got us 10th on the odds board. Like how much of that
09:44noise seeps in about the level of disrespect or disregard maybe that the Rockets are getting
09:50as a threat in this post season. The disregard has been unbelievable. And I do think you're dealing
09:56with guys with the Rockets in particular, that don't care what people think with the coaching
10:01staff and Dylan, you know, Brooks and, but, but it has definitely been noticed. And, and honestly,
10:08I look towards the beginning of the year, I'm not saying I understood it because, but, but like
10:14you at least understand it a little bit more because the Rockets didn't make the playoffs last
10:18year. Okay. For, for analysts to say that they're growing and that there may be a year or two away.
10:24Okay. But like the Rockets, the way that they finished the second half of the season,
10:30the way that they, you know, finished as the two seed in the West. And it wasn't like a fluke.
10:37They beat quality teams repeatedly. They had the win in Boston. They beat the Cavs twice.
10:42They beat OKC. They made it all the way to the cup, obviously didn't win the cup, but their situation
10:49repeatedly. So I truly, truly do not understand the national media and the way that they've
10:56approached this other than there are 30 teams and they're just not doing their due diligence of
11:02watching all 30. And I don't know how to say it any nicer than that. I wish I could say it in a
11:06nicer way, but it is like so many of these and a couple of, look, a couple of podcasts, like I feel
11:12like, you know, the ringer, like a couple of podcasts have done a good job of like actually breaking down
11:17the Rockets. But I feel like some of these producers and the talent of these national media shows
11:23are waking up and saying, all right, the Warriors have won championships and the Rockets are really
11:30young. So let's just make this the topic. And they're not even getting into the double bigs.
11:36And I'm in Thompson holding Steph Curry a three. It's like, I don't even, I don't know if the
11:40research isn't being done, but if you can't tell, it kind of bothers me. I can tell. No, Vanessa,
11:45that's what I wanted to ask you. I mean, Seth and I have talked about it. You were on the Colin Cowherd show
11:49last week. Did you storm around backstage telling everybody that they didn't know anything about
11:54the Rockets and they need to do that? Hey, listen, national show. You need to do your research. How
11:59was that? You did a great job. How was that experience? Thank you. Yeah, it was a lot of
12:03fun. It was a lot of fun. It was nice. We were in LA for a week. And the producer of the herd is a good
12:08friend of mine. And he's actually, you know, somebody that that knows Houston well. So it worked out. And
12:13look, I mean, I do get the national media that they have a job to do and that they have to cover a lot of
12:19different topics. But the herd did a good job of knowing. The herd is the national media show that
12:26I actually do think it seems like the research has been done and there's an element of, okay, like,
12:35what should we ask this person that's specific? And it's more than, you know, they did a lot of
12:40research. So I appreciated that. And, you know, they had to ask me the Dylan Brooks stuff and I get
12:46that. But, but it was a lot of fun. Yeah. Who are you hoping for if the Rockets were to beat the
12:51Warriors in this series, which team do you really want to see in the conference? It's a really good
12:57question. I mean, I feel like the Lakers would be really fun. I think that when you look at when you
13:05look at the Timberwolves and the way that Ant can get going and how much fun that's been. If you're
13:10asking about like the Western Conference finals or because I guess there's four rounds, right?
13:15Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to. Yeah. Like if we didn't, if we didn't have to play out like how to
13:19get there, you know, if you see the Clippers, it's going to be in the finals, but like, yeah, just
13:23which, which, which of these teams become hell or high water. You're like, ah, I want to see these
13:28guys. Western Conference finals. You could definitely make a case that I think the Clippers would be
13:34fun. Not only would there be storylines with James Harden and the way that both teams play
13:39defense, but I think the coaching matchup of, of Ty Lue and Emei Doka, two former players,
13:45you know, would be a lot of fun. I think with Denver, you have Alperin, Shingun and Jokic that
13:51I think is always and forever going to be a great storyline. Um, you know, so, and then look like
13:56that we've had great matches. The Rockets have had amazing matchups with the Thunder this season. So
14:00the, I mean, I know that's a cop-out answer, but the West is such a bloodbath and the Rockets have
14:06had beef that I look at the Eastern conference. I'm like, that's kind of boring compared to what
14:15we have because literally every single matchup that I see every single matchup, there could be
14:21some really great story. There's not a bad one. There's not a bad one. No, there's really not a
14:25bunch. I, um, I, I want, I got to see James Harden at some point in the playoffs. Seth doesn't want to
14:30see James Harden. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I don't thirst for it. I don't
14:35need to read. I don't need to have closure on that error or anything. I, but look, look,
14:40realistically, if it comes down to a game seven, there's nobody I want to be playing against
14:45other than James Harden. So yeah, that's a really great point. Yes. That's an excellent
14:49Rockets fans know way too much about that. And you know, just another note, the Clippers and
14:54Rockets haven't faced each other with either team at full strength. So we actually don't
15:00know what that would look like, which I think is fascinating. All right. So Vanessa, a quick
15:04reminder now. So do I have this right that, that you guys are going to be carrying the
15:08games on space city home network as long as they're not on ABC? Is that correct? Correct.
15:13Okay. Correct. So when they're on TNT, you will also be able to find them on space city home
15:19network. And you know, if you can watch us and support local, definitely do that. But
15:26we also have really fun, you know, things in the works for the post season. So I'm going
15:31to be traveling with the team for every game, regardless of whether it's on regional network
15:37and then past the first round, none of it's on regional, it's all national. So I'll be traveling
15:41with the team for every single game. And then Craig and Ryan are going to be involved in some
15:46post season. So after the first, I thought I'd seen that. So after the first round, you
15:52guys are still doing post game stuff on the network, right? Yeah. Post game stuff, Ryan
15:57and Craig from studio. And then I'll be at the game and on the road, you know, gathering
16:03interviews and working with not only our cameraman, but the Rockets digital team to, to pump out
16:09some fun content. So it's going to be a lot of fun. Okay. And your social media, for those
16:13who don't know, cause I'd imagine a lot of it's going to wind up on there too, right?
16:16Yes. Sports Vanessa, sports Vanessa. Okay. On Instagram and on X, you can find her at sports
16:22Vanessa. All right. Well, this is going to be fun, Vanessa. This is a little play. I can
16:27tell. I can tell we'll play off basketball.