Rockets LaunchPod

With the midpoint of the 2022-23 NBA regular season almost here, the young and rebuilding Houston Rockets remain on a virtually identical pace to last season. What’s gone wrong in this recent stretch of 10 losses in 11 games, and how can they fix it? Thursday’s show explores key themes from the first half of this season and potential changes for the second half. Hosted by Ben DuBose and Paulo Alve...

As the calendar turns to 2023, it’s a pivotal year for the Houston Rockets. They have lots of salary cap room for roster upgrades, and the incentive to lose games for better draft positioning goes away after the 2022-23 season due to future picks owed to Oklahoma City. With that in mind, Thursday’s episode explores the franchise’s looming transition, including the various high and low points of an...

Though the 2023 NBA offseason is many months away, rumors are already swirling of a potential James Harden reunion in Houston. After all, the Rockets are poised to have significant salary cap room , and Harden has the right to become a free agent. But is that the right move for either side? Friday’s show explores the potential motivations for both Harden and the Rockets. With a Rockets-centric pan...

Thursday is December 15, and each year, that date is the unofficial kickoff to NBA trade season. Specifically, it’s because that’s when most players who signed new contracts during the previous offseason become trade eligible, and it opens up many more trade possibilities, since each team has a much easier path to meeting salary matching rules. So, what does that mean for the Houston Rockets and t...

With Sunday’s home game versus the Bucks, Houston begins a season-long homestand of seven games. Entering this stretch, the Rockets (7-18) are a respectable 4-5 at home and a woeful 3-13 on the road, punctuated by Thursday’s awful showing at San Antonio. With that in mind, Sunday’s show explores reasons for that home-road discrepancy and much more. Topics include: — The potential role of Jalen Gre...

At the approximate quarter point of the 2022-23 NBA regular season, the Houston Rockets (5-16) have the identical record that they did one year ago. While it’s clearly another rebuilding season, is that relative lack of progress alarming? In Friday’s show, Ben and Paulo discuss what to make of the young team’s uneven play so far. Discussion topics include: — Areas of potential improvement for head...

Fresh off a much-needed Rockets win in Dallas, Thursday’s episode welcomes starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. to the show for a review of the 2022-23 season to date. For the season, Porter is averaging a career-high 19.1 points (41.0% FG, 33.8% on 3-pointers), 6.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.3 steals, and he’s potentially sticking around in Houston for several more years after signing a contra...

Wednesday’s episode welcomes national NBA writer Mark Schindler to the show for a roundtable discussion with hosts Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves. Though the Rockets are clearly in a rebuilding movement, the 2-12 start — which, entering Wednesday, is the NBA’s worst record — has clearly underwhelmed many fans. One prominent reason for those struggles is Houston’s struggling offense, which ranks in the...

In the aftermath of another World Series title for the Astros, Tuesday’s show explores what lessons Houston’s basketball franchise should take from its baseball peers, particularly when it comes to team building. The remainder of the show features storylines from Monday’s win in Orlando. Topics include: — Jabari Smith Jr.’s early struggles as a rookie, relative to Paolo Banchero; — What Eric Gordo...

Friday’s new episode features reaction from Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves to the first five games of the NBA’s 2022-23 regular season for the Houston Rockets (1-4). Relative to 2021-22, the young Rockets have improved from No. 30 in the league to No. 20 in net defensive rating (entering Thursday), but they’ve stagnated at an identical No. 26 spot on offense. With that in mind, Friday’s show explores...

In Friday’s episode, Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves are joined by The Action Network’s Matt Moore (@HPBasketball on Twitter) to explore this week’s prominent Rockets storylines. With the 2022-23 regular season underway, what does Jalen Green need to do to become an impactful, winning player? On the show, Moore adds context to his controversial podcast remarks from last week while sharing some new insi...

Play-by-play broadcaster Craig Ackerman joins Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves to discuss key storylines for the 2022-23 season, along with some lessons learned from the preseason. Topics include the ongoing process of integrating Alperen Sengun into Houston’s starting lineup, along with promising signs of development shown by young prospects such as Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Tari Eason, and KJ Mar...

Friday’s episode features reaction from Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves to an eight-player trade between the Rockets and Thunder, which brought Derrick Favors and a future second-round pick to Houston, along with three other players. Discussion topics include financial and draft motivations for the deal, along with a look at its basketball merits. The show concludes with a preview of Sunday’s preseason...

Brian Barefield joins Ben DuBose from Houston Rockets training camp in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with insight on the latest interviews and on-court activities. Topics include the personal growth and maturity of Kevin Porter Jr.; prized rookie prospect Jabari Smith Jr. embracing the spotlight with vocal leadership; reasons for relative optimism this season; and much more.

In this episode, our Ben DuBose explores key storylines to watch for entering 2022-23 Rockets training camp, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 27 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The show begins with a look the importance of a strong camp and preseason for Kevin Porter Jr., particularly given the looming contract extension deadline in October. Other discussion topics include the importance of better finishin...

In Wednesday’s episode, Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves discuss group-stage performances by second-year Rockets prospects Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba at EuroBasket 2022. Through five games at the conclusion of group-stage play, Sengun is averaging 18.2 points (63.3% FG), 8.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 30.8 minutes for Turkey, while Garuba is averaging 4.4 points (69.2% FG) and 4.8 rebounds in 16....

Julian Duncan, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer with the Rockets, and Paul Suarez, Vice President of Digital Marketing, join us for Friday’s new episode of The Lager Line (sponsored by Clutch City Lager of Karbach Brewing). In the podcast, Duncan and Suarez share what they see as highlights from Houston’s newly released 2022-23 season schedule, as well as thoughts on the epic video that accomp...

Rockets Radio Network analyst and SportsTalk 790 host Adam Wexler shares insight on Houston’s key decisions and priorities over the remainder of the 2022 offseason and the NBA’s 2022-23 season. Topics include how to evaluate head coach Stephen Silas; why Kevin Porter Jr. could be worth a contract extension prior to the season; what to watch for with the league’s impending schedule release; and sec...

David Weiner, NBA salary cap guru for ClutchFans, joins us with a Rockets financial update covering the remainder of the 2022 offseason and 2023 free agency. Topics include trade aggregation possibilities in August involving players acquired from Dallas for Christian Wood; what Houston’s 2023 salary cap flexibility could bring; rotation battles entering 2022-23 training camp; and much more.

Bruce Pearl, Jabari Smith Jr.’s head coach at Auburn University, joins us to break down the start to Smith’s young NBA career with the Rockets. Topics include reaction to Smith’s initial summer league games and how to best utilize him in Houston; what his potential fit alongside Jalen Green looks like; memories at Auburn and on the recruiting trail; early impressions of fellow rookies (and SEC riv...

Our Brian Barefield has followed the Houston Rockets (2-1) for the first three games and associated practices at the NBA’s 2022 summer league in Las Vegas, so we welcomed him to The Lager Line podcast Monday night to share what he’s learned watching Jabari Smith Jr. and company. Though Smith struggled in his first two games as a shooter, the 19-year-old was very efficient with 19 points in Monday’...

Matt Moore, national NBA writer for The Action Network (@HPBasketball on Twitter), joins us to recap the 2022 NBA draft and upcoming free agency period for the Houston Rockets. Was the unexpected draft outcome of landing Auburn forward Jabari Smith, rather than Duke’s Paolo Banchero, a net positive for Houston’s rebuild? Moore joins us to discuss that and much more in Wednesday’s show. Other topic...

Michael Scotto, NBA insider for HoopsHype, joins our June 24 episode to preview free agency for the Rockets and recap Houston’s strong 2022 draft class — led by Auburn forward Jabari Smith. In the show, Scotto explains why he concurs with the rave reviews of Rockets general manager Rafael Stone for his work bringing Smith, LSU’s Tari Eason, and Kentucky’s TyTy Washington to Houston. Topics include...

Bryan Kalbrosky, veteran NBA draft writer for USA TODAY Sports Media Group, offers his analysis on the trade value Houston received for Christian Wood and potential picks/considerations for the Rockets with No. 3, No. 17, and No. 26 in the 2022 first round. In the episode, Kalbrosky explains that while Paolo Banchero remains the favorite at No. 3, other scenarios — even including Jabari Smith — sh...

Cayleigh Griffin, courtside reporter for AT&T SportsNet Southwest, joins our podcast to reflect on her first three seasons covering the Houston Rockets for television game broadcasts. Since joining the official television crew in October 2019, Griffin has watched the Rockets evolve from a veteran title contender built around former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook to the current rebuild, le...