The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Space City's Ryan Hollins Joins The Show !

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

Space City's Ryan Hollins Joins The Show !

on Sports Talk 790. Let's say hi to our good friend, Ryan Hollins. You catch him on Space City Home Network, and he will be on the call for Game 1 Sunday night. Remember, any game that's not on the ABC, that means all the TNTs, at least in his first round, Ryan's happy smiley face will be on there. Rhino, what's a good word?

What's going on, brother? Man, I missed you. The Rockets didn't win while I was gone. It's time for me to get back. It's time for the Rockets to beat Dubnation for the third time this year. You know what? I think it means so much more to the city, to this team,

and to all of us. You can see the excitement, the frustration. Matt, this is the first time I will say since I've been in Houston that I'm struggling right now, dude. And the reason I'm struggling is I've been a player in these situations. Like, my juices are going. I'm ready to get on the part and go make it an impact. But you will be there cheering our guys on.

but again, man, you can cut the tension with a knife. And it's felt nationwide right now with the Rockets and Warriors about to square off. And Matt, I don't know, it's just crazy right now that the lawyers are favored. But you know what? I think that's the way you'd like it. You're the Houston Rocket. You know what? I don't know why it is.

I think a lot of it is because Golden State has the playoff pedigree. Also, they're 21 and 7 since Jimmy has joined that team and him and Curry been together. I also think there's a lot of unknown about the Houston Rockets team. So with that being put in perspective, what did you take away from the win that the Rockets had in Golden State a week ago when Curry went one for 10? What did you take away from watching that play-in game where Memphis was able to come back from down 20 to make it a ballgame? Are there any chinks in the armor right now for Golden State? It feels like to me it's a lot about Jimmy.

lot about Steph. Brandon Pajimski has had its moments, but there's not a whole lot beyond what those two, maybe two plus a half, bring to the table right now for Golden State. When it gets down to it, we'll all do respect to the greatness of Jimmy Butler and when he's brought to the table from what we've seen, and obviously Jimmy can pull a rabbit out of a hat some playoff time. We've seen it with his time with the Miami Heat. They're still very step-pe-curry-centric. And they have to have Steph's to have a major game essentially to win. So for EMA in the rocket standpoint,

and you've seen this from EMA, even more so fine-tuning down the stretch, he's going to say somebody else has to beat you. And one big takeaway that I saw, and I know from playing against the Warriors, is when they have non-shooters on the floor, you can zone up. But those non-shooters become dangerous

because they play a throw-and-go games. So even though Draymond's open, I'm sagging 10 feet off Draymond, right? But as soon as Draymond gets it, he pitches to Curry and he runs off a D.HO or he kind of runs off his hip. So now you go from guarding the non-shooter to I got to be at the level, if not extended. So that's the challenge. And Steph Curry, the problems he present, they're so unorthodox because you break the rules of basketball. I got to pick the guy up at half port. when the ball's on the weak side,

what do we do, Matt, we jump to the ball. Oh, no, no, no, no. You don't jump to the ball against Curry. So you're pretty much playing one on four. I'm also looking to see if he may throw some wrinkles in his zone. If there's some extended coverage or a different type of maybe a box in one, but as extreme as the Warriors now, as Seth Perry-centric as they are, I think you're going to see some unique defenses thrown at him.

And again, Houston did an unbelievable job, not just starting with the men Thompson, but from a team perspective, jumping out on those screens, hedging, being high, and you've got to overly communicate against Curry and the Warriors. Ryan Holland, Space City Home Network with us here on the radio program. How much do you want to see the double bigs out there for the rockets of all the teams that you wouldn't put a lot into it? It would be Golden State. can you force the agenda or do you have to kind of pick your spots on that? No, I think you roll with it. And the challenge when you go double big, I think you go zone and you match up and you draw the attention to Curry. So I very much think it will work.

And what happens when it's effective, Matt, is it forces the opposing team to do what. They got to go big. They got to throw sides out there. They have to play a way that they're not used to playing. So if you end up with Draymond and Looney on the floor, that's a lot of defense, a lot of size that can help rebounding. But at the end of the day, it hurts you. And if you watch Memphis, Memphis went double big. They played Eadie a whole lot in that game.

Edy ends up with 14 and 17. And I think that Houston's bigs are, you know, arguably the most effective double big that you can find in the league. You see what Dallas has over there. Obviously, you know, it's more about. about Jaron Jackson Jr. playing the four when Eaddy is out there, but with Stephen Adams on the boards and Shingoon lighting up

offensively, I think you can do it in spurts, and that's what we've seen from EMA. Ross, with you here as well, Ryan, and yeah, that's what I wanted to kind of go to is the Rockets. We talk about them defending the Warriors. What about them offensively? What are the things that you're going to be keeping an eye on that you really want to see for them to be most effective

against the Golden State Warriors defense? Well, you've got to be strong with the basketball. You know, whenever you drive against the warriors, they're great individual one-on-one defenders because they don't have a lot of help on the weak side. Also, defensively, they're the best team in the NBA at being at the level and the pick and roll. What I mean at the level?

They don't sit back at a drop. They don't give you space. Draymond Green and Looney. If they're not switching, they have the athleticism to get up and then retreat with a shingoon or retreat with an atom. So for our guards,

they've got to be super technical. got a tag downhill and again, go out that fluff. Test the foot speed at Draymond Green. Get him in foul trouble. Test the foot speed aloney. Make those guys have to defend, but they've been there before in these big moments. And again, you're going to have to force switches. They're going to have to force double teams. And you've got to play through their physicality because it's not just an outright foul. It's just we're bumping you. We're shouldering you on everything you're doing. And they're very, very technically sound. And one of the things we've talked about a lot, Ryan, is the amount of playoffs experience,

and obviously the Warriors have the edge there. How much does that actually matter? Like, where does it matter most, I should say? Is it preparation? Is it on the floor? Or is it something that we kind of just talk in the media and it gets overblown? No, it ain't overblown at all. When the game gets extremely tight, guess what happens?

Like, they know what they're going to. They know who their guy is. They know the sex they're going to run. It's a very cerebral group. If her throws out an adjustment, they're ready to adjust on the floor. And in those playoff games, every feel is different. Sometimes the energy is really high. Sometimes the referees are calling it tighter.

And for a young player, that can throw you off. You can emotionally get caught in the shuffle of what's going on. Draymond's used to pushing the line, okay? He's going to be pushing the line. And the challenge is, hey, do I push that line back with him? or do I tune them out? You know, what puts me in a situation where I can at the end of the day play best?

So you're going to be looking for those things. It is a factor. And for Houston, the beauty is that E.Mey Udoka has depth. He has guys. He has Jeff Greens. He has Dillens. He has Van Bleas. He has Van Bleeves.

He has Stephen Adams, who have experience in those moments, and you may have to be patient, you know? So let's say, let's just throw it out, right? The spitball. Let's say Jalen Greene's not having a night. You might need, it might be Aaron Holliday stepping in and saving the day with all due respect. But you're going to need Jalen Green to bounce right back and show up and be prepared to the next game.

And for EMA, he hasn't been afraid to, you know, pull that switch. It's nothing personal, but he's going to go with whatever he feels best out there. All right, before I let you run. Look, if you stop Curry, you got a great shot. If the Rockets don't get much from Jalen Green, the Warriors do a great job of stopping him and Shingun. and the rockets don't have a shot. Can you give me one intangible factor that helps and or hurts the rockets not name the things I just said? Like in the back of your mind, give me a sneaky headline that I think you think will be a huge part of this series if the rockets are able to pull off.

What will be considered an upset? I'm going to give you two guys on each side. Let's just spot like that. Okay. And I hope that just answers your question. Sure. What the heck is going on with this Jonathan Camina deal? He is coring the rockets up in the past.

He actually didn't play when they played because he was injured. And they had a one and done game. And I don't know if this was because of the lineup, trust, whatever it is. Kaminga gets zero minutes, bro. So, Kaminga's a guy when the rockets are going big, that could really help out Golden State. Or hurt them. Or is Kurn not going to roll with him?

And for Houston, I'm going big. Now, another guy that I want to point to for the Houston Rockets is the unsung hero right now who kind of makes things work. He's the oil to the will, right? Right now? Jabari Smith Jr. In the flow of the game, this guy has rebounded the ball out of his mind. He makes Houston very big. He's a small ball center.

He's the three guard. Okay, when you go in the double big lineup, and Jabari, is really a guy that has just quietly helped the rockets roll along with their success. So for him, I think less has been more. He's done a lot of the little things. I know Amin Thompson is Mr. Little Things, okay? We're running out of things and saying for him. But Jabari having a good series in the role that he's in,

he's the sneaky guy that I don't think you really prepare for. And as we've seen through his young career, he loves these big moments, man. He's mentally in a great space where some people would have lost their starting spot and been in their feelings. And I think this guy's excelled. All right. Lastly, tell Ross the ultimate Habachi pregame meal for a Sunday night tilt with the Warriors.

Go ahead. Let's go. Listen, we, we've been doing, we've been doing Binihana. Benihana's the go-to, bro. Now, we didn't match up with Denver, but listen. I know. That's right. Me and Matt Thomas, Ross, me and Matt Thomas at the time of our lives. I hear that.

And it was just like me and Matt. And what I'm finding out is like, Matt's really possessive over me. So like he doesn't like to share it. When it comes to Habachi, like he's really possessive. Like, you know. Yeah, he's like that. I did put Habachi with Gerald, our great social photographer. And I mean, like, you know, Matt, Matt can't even look me in the eyes the next day.

It was just a, it was a thing, okay? Yeah. He's got, Ryan, he's got only child syndrome is what it is. That's not fair at all. Oh, absolutely. Oh, absolutely. He is, Mattie Thomas doesn't play. He's not a share, okay?

He's not a share, you know? You're not a share. All right, hey, I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. Get your game face on you. What suit you're going to wear on Sunday night? Oh, my God. I don't know, dude. I'm so, man, I'm so excited.

I don't know what to do it myself. My hands, my hands just, keep floating in the air and I'm just I don't know if I'm playing in the game or fall in the game I'm just excited right now all right well hey get you some rest thank you friend we'll see you on Sunday night thanks for the time today we really appreciate it all right guys all right as our buddy Ryan Hollins