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00:00At River Island's guest line, it's our friend Ryan Hollins, a longtime NBA analyst and now
00:06covering the Rockets and part of their broadcast team. And it's been a minute since we've gotten
00:11to catch up. Hey, my friend, how are you? Hey, what's going on, brother? Not too much. Just
00:16getting ready for a little playoff series. You know, what do you think about this one?
00:22It's exciting. It's a true rivalry. I can't believe we're getting it in the first round.
00:28And, you know, you see the TV coverage. It's an ABC game coming up. I think game three,
00:34ABC went and took it. So, you know, you kind of see everything at stake, man. But I just
00:39don't think it gets any better. And we're going to have some, you know, some fun games here
00:44and, you know, just rekindle everything. A little bit weird when the two seed is the
00:49underdog and they are the unexpected team, perhaps to be in this spot. What's the Houston
00:55perspective about the relative chip on the shoulder for this young Rockets team?
01:02You got to understand, you know, we have a team full of guys with chips on their shoulders. You
01:07know, everybody on the roster, including the coach, has something to prove and has that
01:12mentality. And that's why Houston's had the success that they've had. So I think you take
01:17that. Our guys are taking that as fuel right now. And at the end of the day, there's a high
01:22level of respect for Golden State. But you do see a bit of a change under the guard this
01:27season. You know, Oklahoma City is the best team in the West. You know, Rockets are number
01:32two. So some of these young stars are emerging. Now, at the end of the day, Mark knows this
01:37better than anybody does, that you got to go and make good on it. So the challenge for
01:42Houston is to show, hey, man, we belong on this stage. And if you've seen what the Rockets
01:47have done this season, they have gone out and gotten wins against the best teams in
01:50the NBA. Okay. Boston at Boston, Golden State at Golden State swept Cleveland for the year.
01:58You know, you can go down the line, you know, beat Dallas with Luca. Like you can go on down
02:03the line and see these wins. Oklahoma City at home. Like there's everybody. Houston is
02:09knocked off and, you know, played good basketball with.
02:12Ryan Hollins joining us, part of the Rockets broadcast team. Hey, man, the first answer
02:18you gave said it was a true rivalry. And I get what you mean by the history of the two
02:22organizations. But to the current Rockets players looking at it that way, like they've
02:26got they've got not only no history against the Warriors. Let's be real, Ryan, they got
02:30no history against anyone in the playoffs.
02:33They haven't won. They haven't won. They haven't played. They got the monkey up their back.
02:37Yeah, they haven't even played playoff games.
02:39Well, whether it was in the playoffs or not, that was the one team. Here's the thing.
02:45The Warriors have always since then played their best. They've had a bit of an edge every
02:50time they see Houston. I'm telling you, for the last couple of years, the Golden State
02:55will be trashed up and down. They can't make free throws. They can't do all this and all
02:58that. And they play the they play the Rockets. And all of a sudden, everybody's firing on
03:03all all cylinders, you know, and it's been somewhat mental before then. So again, that's
03:09the point where I say it's a rivalry because they have a little extra looking to stick it
03:15to Houston. And because of that alone, you can say, OK, there's a little more gas. And
03:21you saw the cell. It was only when I see our guys get on the floor and celebrate. So I do
03:28think there's a rivalry, whether it was playoffs or not, both sides there in the first time.
03:33This is just the only team that Houston had not beat was Golden State. Literally.
03:40And they went out and they got the win and the Warriors beat them three out of five. Kind
03:45of a weird way to look at it, though, because the Warriors didn't have Jimmy Butler for three
03:49of those and a couple of those. Steph Curry didn't play. When you think about the series,
03:53Ryan, is this one where Houston's going to have to try to slow it down and grind the
03:58Warriors out defensively in order to try to win these games?
04:04Somewhat. I think you lean on your falling cards. I think Houston has to win the physicality
04:10game. At the end of the day, you don't want to come out and try to out shoot Steph Curry.
04:15You don't want to trade baskets. This is not a team that trades baskets well at the end of
04:20the day. And I think that the defense, the offensive rebound, the tough plays, if Golden
04:27State can take those away, they've got a great shot to be successful. If not, it's going to
04:32be a really long series for the Warriors.
04:35Ryan, will you update me so that I don't have to search here on the internet in the middle
04:39of our conversation? How many times were you on a team that went to the playoffs?
04:43Uh, probably half my career. I mean, Boston, Dallas, um, Clippers. So you're probably around
04:54half.
04:55Okay. So do you remember your first, your very first playoff series?
04:59Dallas. I do. I do.
05:01Okay. So what, what did that feel like? Because I really want to access how much of a factor
05:07that is in this series, the Warriors and all of their playoff, uh, resume versus the key
05:15players of the Rockets who have never done this before.
05:18The first time I was, you know, happy to be out there, but I was excited because it was
05:24the truest form of basketball. And from a competitive standpoint, I'm the type of guy that will rise
05:30to those occasions, you know? So the juices and the energy really got me going. And for me,
05:36it was a good deal. Uh, and that could work for Houston. Also Jalen Green is a guy who shows
05:42up in big moments. So saying that that's his mindset and seeing that he, you know, just,
05:48just really digs in when those moments are there. Uh, I think it's going to vote well for our young
05:54guys. And the one thing is, you know, the intensity goes up, the speed of the game goes
05:59up, the physicality goes up. And Houston has been incredibly physical and played hard all season
06:04long. So at the end of the day, that's something that really bodes in Houston's favor.
06:10Is this something where as a player who's never been in the playoffs before, can the veterans
06:16help you and prep you for what is going to come? Or is it something that you have to just
06:21get in there and go through?
06:22No, the veterans can prep you. Um, I remember, uh, Eric Dampier, you know, I had to go out and
06:28guard Tim Duncan and he knew if he had foul trouble, I was next up and I ended up being next up. So
06:34I remember Dampier telling me, Hey, keep them off the box. You know, if he gets on the box,
06:39the, the, um, you know, the, the bank shots coming, you kind of open his game up. Hey,
06:44when he faces up this way, when he faces up, he likes to drive, right this way. He likes to turn
06:49fade away. So, you know, you get those nuances and sometimes there are things that a veteran can
06:53give you that's not on the scout report. Fred VanVleet, uh, he, he, he doesn't have to fear
06:58the Warriors. He, he beat them. He won a real championship against them, you know, on the
07:02biggest stage. So he, he, there's a lot that you can glean from him. Uh, Jeff, Jeff Rean, uh,
07:09won a championship with the Nuggets. So, you know, he's had wisdom all season long, but again,
07:14and you're on those scenes, you've had success. You've seen what it felt like. Dylan Brooks
07:18knocked out the Warriors. What? In the playing game, you know? So, uh, there are guys who can
07:23bring nuances to the table. And again, Houston has a group of defenders. Not that you can ever
07:29shut out a guy like Steph Curry, but the communication was really good in the last
07:35matchup. So hopefully those are pieces that they're defensively. They can come in with confidence
07:40with Ryan Hollins, Rockets analyst, uh, part of their broadcast team with us here on
07:46Willard and Dibs 95, seven, the game. All right. You said his name. Let's do it. Dylan Brooks
07:50or Draymond Green. Who's more inappropriate?
07:55Man, this, this season, uh, this season, it's been Draymond by a mile. Um, Dylan had,
08:02Dylan's gotten some techs. He's gotten some, a lot of reputation technicals, but he really
08:08hasn't had to get into anybody this year as much as you probably seen, you know, in years
08:15past, he's done the shippy things that, you know, the bumping shoulders and all that, but
08:19all the scuffles and stuff, you haven't, you haven't needed it. And Dylan, you think he's
08:24just as wild card. And so with Draymond, Draymond's not just getting into with anybody for no reason.
08:30He knows that if he can take a player out or get them psychologically out of it, that it could
08:36really affect the game and he's willing to make those plays. So Steph Curry can play the best that
08:41he can play, be the best version of himself, you know, at the end of the day. So, uh, those two
08:46extremely cerebral, but if it gets down to it, man, they're going to tell that lie, brother. And
08:51we'll see how it plays out. Yeah. Brooks, uh, out teched Draymond this year, 16 to 13, each with just
08:57one ejection. So safe to say they both own their best behavior, Ryan. Well, they know what they're
09:03doing. They know, they know exactly, uh, what they're doing. And you know, Dylan's not going
09:09to be the target of Draymond. Draymond, I'm going to tell you right now, Draymond's going
09:14after Shingun because he knows how important he is to Houston. He's going to try to play
09:18those mind games with them. And Draymond might be saying, Hey, you get kicked. I get kicked.
09:22That's a, that's, that's a win for golden state. So, um, he is going to look to toe that line
09:27without P he is going to try to get under his skin. And you know, it to me, it's the biggest
09:31sign of respect. If you don't respect you, they're going to let you do what you want
09:35to do on the floor. But if he has respect for you, he's coming after you, man. And
09:38that's just what, what Draymond has done and why he is a world champ.
09:42Ryan, even if I took, um, kind of the matchup out of this and just asked you about the Rockets
09:48nice year, 52 wins. They're clearly kind of ahead of schedule, but it also feels to me
09:55like when you look at the framework of the West, that's a team that's still a year away from
10:00really making noise. Don't you think?
10:04You know what? Things are so wide open that I, you know, like Mark, normally we can gauge
10:10and say, this is supposed to be this, but Mark, if I told you to bet your last thousand dollars
10:17that the Houston Rockets were going to be second in the West, you'd look at me like I was crazy.
10:23Um, a lot of the, right, right. You would. And as deep in the West, a lot of the stars that
10:29were used to seeing the Currys, the LeBrons. Okay. Those guys are getting older now. They're
10:34getting older. There's a change into the guard happening. And now not to say LeBron doesn't
10:40have a chance, but we've seen the most parody that you can see in the NBA. And heck, a lot
10:47of people are pointing towards the Lakers. And I think you have to see how that plays out
10:51when they're in a situation where, you know, they got to guard five good players on the floor
10:57when they got to run around the perimeter and they got to work and they got to box out
11:02rebound, then run in transitions. You know, when, when, when teams are making them defensively
11:07have to bring the effort, you know, how good are they going to be? So I just think there's
11:11something so wide open as an analyst, Mark, you know, it, it makes it incredibly hard for
11:17you to project what you think is going to happen. Yeah. And it's going to be interesting to see
11:22what types of games they are. I do think a lower scoring game favors the Rockets, but
11:27right. I'm wondering about the idea of having been there in order to advance and actually
11:33win the championship. And I know you weren't a part of the Dallas team that won the title
11:37in 2011, but you were in 2009 and it felt like Dallas had to go through some things before
11:43they could get over the hump. Do you find the same thing maybe in store for Houston,
11:47where they have to go through the playoffs once or twice before they can get over the
11:51hump? Yeah. Um, I'm not going to say, you know, we projected this team to be world champions,
11:58you know, that would be a lie, but I think things are wide open. I think they're absolutely
12:03wide open and it rests on two young players shoulders, you know, who've been up and down,
12:09but significantly improved our French and goons and Jalen green. And the quicker that they
12:14can make that jump or the more they can be consistent, Houston's going to roll. And that's
12:19the challenge or that's the best thing about the Houston Rockets right now is that they
12:24can play both hands. They can say, Hey, um, if Jalen green or Al P turns into a guy, we're
12:29good now. We don't need to do anything. If we don't think, or we have to project and
12:33we think they're just going to be good, but not maybe great players go make a move for
12:38somebody, you know? So, so I think they've got wiggle room to kind of bet both ways. So
12:44there's a lot that you're going to be able to glean from this contest, but ultimately,
12:48yes, if we're talking the world championship, those guys are going to have to be two, you
12:53know, one a and one B they're going to have to show us something that we hadn't seen before.
12:57We've seen glimpses, but we're going to have to see it at the next level. Who do you think
13:02is winning the series, Ryan? Like Houston. I think they've shown a lot. I think when
13:10I'm looking at golden state, this is not the same warriors that we know from the past
13:15Mark. It's not, they're really good, but I don't think great. I think there's two Curry
13:20dominant where Steph Curry, the problem is when he has to do too much. And I'm looking at
13:26this team, even with the excellence of Jimmy Butler, he still has to do too much. That's
13:32not a good mix. Now, obviously there's the veteran presence there and, you know, you can
13:38see, Hey, what are those guys going to look like? But like Houston, because they can win
13:43without their offense. And again, that's going to be a challenge.
13:49Fun to hear your voice, my man. Thank you so much for doing it.
13:53Oh man, anytime, brother, you know it.
13:54All right.