The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Houston Rockets TV PxP Craig Ackerman Joins the Show

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

Houston Rockets TV PxP Craig Ackerman Joins the Show

Another awesome season for you, Craig. And unfortunately, I'm sorry that you're not going to be able to work a first round series. Well, first, I appreciate it. Thank you. It means a lot. Yeah, bum that we're not given an opportunity any longer under the current new network TV agreement that the NBA signed this past off season. But, you know, it's out of our control. We'll make the most of it.

We will have postgame shows on SCHN and SCHN plus after each and every playoff games. So looking forward to that. and looking forward to hopefully a deep playoff run by this team. All right. Yeah, a lot of stuff to get to as far as the playoffs and all that. But let's kind of want to recap the season a little bit. I mean, we got that bad news that Fred Van Vleet was going to miss time. Then we know Stephen Adams has been out.

And he had those couple of lulls, especially there in December, and then around a little bit after the All-Star break. But how much, I know for me, in the last couple of weeks, the winning nine out of the 10, I am so much of a happier place of where I am about how good this team can be than I was before that stretch. Well, winning will do that to you. There's no question about it. The season has been a bumpy ride. There have been, honestly, more than they suffered more than their fair share of losses than they probably should have over the course of the year.

Every season, every team probably loses, you know, a handful of those games that they probably had no business. losing the rocket's number was probably in the low, you know, 10 to 12 range where they probably should have not lost those games. But it is what it is. It happened. It was a bit of a bumpy ride. The highs were certainly very high. The Rockets got off to a ridiculous start to the season, which raised the expectation bar so high. And then they hit the road quite a bit and the schedule kind of hit them a little bit in December, as you mentioned. And then the Stephen Adams injury, and they kind of had to rework themselves from there. And then, of course, they did take advantage of a softer schedule late in the season,

but still has some quality wins down the stretch. And now they're playing as well as they have since the start of the year. They're knocking down shots, which is so important to not only this team, but any team in the league. And I think as a group, my sense is that they feel pretty confident in their chances going into this series. And I think part of the up and down has been

Alperin Shungoon. And I think he's a big key for them going into the playoffs because I feel like Kevin Durant's going to be pretty steady as he has been all season long. And I'm in Thompson. Maybe some fluctuation from Jabari, but I think one of the big ex-actors is Alperin-Shingon. What have you seen from him in terms of, you know, he

came back fast from that ankle injury. He played poorly after that, but he has really been coming along strong and really all facets of the game. No, I think same thing for him. It's been a little bit of a roller coaster ride for him this year as well, but look, you need the Rockets three best players

are Kevin Duran Alpern-Shingun and a man-Thompson, and every team's needs their best players to step up in playoff time. So they need him to play well. I think on paper, it is a favorable matchup with DeAndre Aiton, who is a very good rim protector. The big issue, obviously, with Aden is whether or not he is motivated to play, which is, I think, a little bit crazy at this stage of the game. But I think he probably will be. But even with that, Schengun has always played well against the Lakers. He played very well against the Lakers this season. The Rock has dominated the paint against the Lakers over the course of the regular season.

and I don't think that ultimately is going to change. But if Shangoon does play poorly, the Rocket's chances decrease substantially to win the series. But I expect him to have a big series. Craig Ackerman with us here on Sports Talk 790. And speaking of up and down, let's just keep with the theme. I'm really intrigued about what we're going to see from Tari Eason. Of course, we can discuss on whether or not he's going to be in the starting lineup or Okie or Reed Shepard. And I feel like that can change maybe even game to game or certainly series to series.

but just on Atari specifically, I think he's a big X factor as well because if he can knock down threes and play that defense that we know he can, it feels like it just, it's almost like a secret sauce to where it's almost like they can't lose if Tari's knocking down shots and playing great defense.

Yeah, I mean, if he plays well and or Jabari, especially if they both play well, the Rockets rarely lose games. And one of the big reasons why the Rockets got off to such an amazing start of the season was that Tari was, on fire. Now, 50% three-point shooting was not going to be sustainable for him or, frankly, anyone in the league. But I think if he did a 180 at the end of the season, we're shooting, you know, in the low 20s or

whatever it was from the three, from the three, I don't think that is something that will, I don't think he's that poor of a shooter either. So hopefully he can settle in, get into a rhythm, reach some havoc. I think this is the kind of series that will, that plays well into a skill set, especially if the Rockets play with more tempo, which I think they need to, and I think they will in this series, get out on the open floor, crash the offensive glass, be very aggressive. And again, if he's knocking down his shots, again, he's not a 50% three-point shooter, but he's also not a 20% three-point shooter.

They can settle in the mid-30s. And I think, again, if he's consistent in that area, the chances of the Rockets moving on to the next round are important. Again, the same thing can be said for Jabari. If he shoots the ball in the mid-30s from three, He hasn't had the same. Jabari's had a terrific year outside of a two-week. Lull, he's been a lot more consistent.

But he shoots the ball well from three. I think, again, the rocket should be in pretty good shape. All right, gut feeling game one starting lineup. Kevin Durant, Alperin-Singoon, Amin Thompson, Jabari Smith, Jr. And? Well, I mean, look, you can make a case for all three of those guys joining the core four starters. Reechepard gives you much better floors facing. Obviously, another legit three-point threat, another playmaker that also allows a man

Thompson to play the position that he's probably more suited to do on a regular basis, which is play off the ball and then just wreak havoc on opposing teams because he's practically unstoppable when he's in that position. So you can make the case there. You can also make the case that, again, when you look at the five-man lineup combos for the Rockets this season, when Rita's played with Alpern-Shen-Goon, the Rocket's defense has not been great. And so you can make a case for Josh Hogan. You saw very late in the same for defensive purposes.

He's also shot the three really well. I mean, I have no idea what direction they're going to go in. Tar Easton, I believe, was in the starting lineup when the Rockets rolled the Lakers on Christmas Day in L.A. And you can make a start. You can make a case for all three. I think ultimately Tar-Easton. and we'll be coming off the bench because the Rockets do need that kind of energy and spark that when he's at his best. It's all of those three guys that he's the only one who really can provide that.

So I think ultimately, Tari will probably stay coming off the bench. So it'll probably come down to Josh and Reed. And I think, look, I don't know if you necessarily need as impactful a point of attack defender in this particular series with Reeves and Luca out for the Lakers. So perhaps maybe Reid starts there, but maybe ultimately they still lean in on making sure that they can send multiple bodies at, LeBron James and try to force some of these other guys to beat them. And then I think they were probably lean Josh. But I think I think the Rockets do have some some possibilities here. And I think, again, as I said, you can make a strong case for either guys starting,

ultimately which way they'll go. Well, we probably won't find out. I mean, I would assume they're not going to tip their hand until you see the starting line of the release prior to game one. So we'll see. But I think, again, there are strengths and weaknesses for both Josh and or Reed in that starting lineup. Yeah.

And on the, on the Lakers side, you mentioned, of course, Luca and Reeves are going to be out. And I'm curious because LeBron had a lot of success against the Rockets in those couple of games in March, but he was playing off ball. And at this stage's career, he's much better offball than being the primary guy running everything through him. So I'm curious what you think about how he'll handle doing that, especially. I mean, with the couple of days off in between games should probably help him at 41 years old. But just the Lakers offense.

And if we're on the flip side saying, how can the Lakers win this series? how much or what is it going to take for the Lakers? Well, I think LeBron is going to be just fine. Again, you can make a case for him that he's the best player ever. I think he's going to be just fine. I think the Rockets especially, Luca has torched Houston wherever he's been. Dallas, especially the Lakers two wins here at Toyota Center.

I mean, Luca was vintage Luca. You pretty much always expect him to go for 40 plus when he takes the floor against the rocket. So he's their best player. and obviously Reeves and LeBron are their second and third best players that they have, and now they're missing two of their three best players. So I think the Rockets ultimately will try to send more bodies at LeBron because they can because they don't have the other players that they have to worry about in the same manner like Luca and Reeves

when LeBron is on the floor, so they'll probably try to send more bodies at him. And then I think ultimately whether LeBron gets his or not, whether they send lots of defensive help this way or not, I think when LeBron sits, that is where the Rockets have. to dominate and win those minutes without LeBron because they don't have another option beside him in that manner to create and score with Reeves and Luca out. So whether or not they slow LeBron down or he still gets his or however they decide to attack LeBron James defensively, if they don't win those non-Lebron James minutes in this series, they're probably not going to win the series. But I expect them to win those minutes. So to me, that's a big key.

Limiting the turnovers, look, the fourth quarter in that first loss, against the Lakers. Obviously, live ball turnovers have plagued the Rockets all season long, but Lakers are going to play a lot faster without Luca. Luca is a more methodical guy. And so without him, and the Lakers, before Luca got there, played at some of the most tempo in the entire league in the previous couple years, even though LeBron was getting up in age. I expect the Lakers to try to play a lot faster. And so you cannot aid their ability to score in transition by live ball turnover. So the Rockets have to limit that.

Marcus Smart, I'm assuming he's going to be a pretty disruptive defensive. force for them. But when LeBron sits, if the rockets don't win those minutes, they're going to be in a world of hurt. Craig Ackerman here on Sports Talk 790, Craig, I'm just going with rockets in five. It could be six or more if the rockets really shoot poorly from three and the Lakers are hot. But I think outside of that, I think they're the clearly better team. I don't know if you want to make a prediction. I try to avoid public predictions in these circumstances. But I think ultimately, as you look at these two teams right now on paper, especially without Luca and Austin Reeves, the Rockets have the edge. And I think the pressure certainly is on them to win this

series, despite not having home court advantage because of that. Again, I expect Kevin Durant to do what he's done the entire season. I think Shingoon is going to get his against the Andre Aiton. Amend Thompson will, as he is on most of the time. is going to be the best athlete on the floor. And if the Rockets use that athleticism like they did in that Christmas Day game in L.A., crash the glass, overpower the Lakers with their athletes and all their wing players and their length and so on and so forth. I think, again, the odds are pretty good that the Rockets will get out of this series. All right, Craig, thanks for the time.

Again, sorry we won't be able to get you on the coverage, at least during the games. I wish I was actually on my way to the airport like Matt is. I know. I'm sorry. It is what it is. All right. Well, speaking of Matt, if you want to do it, take any shots at him. You can feel free. Well, it was a pleasure joining the Ross show with Matt here today. So you were able to shed some of that dead weight this afternoon. So I'm happy for you.

That's why you're the best, Craig. Is that a good enough shot at Matt? Oh, yeah. I'm going to record that and play that on a loop for him. I know he's listening right now. So he's shaking his fist in the air right now. So thank you, Craig. Appreciate the time. Great job, as always, like I said. And we'll talk to you down the road. I appreciate it. Thank you. And Matt, say, travels to Los Angeles.