This! Sengun has very good box-out statistics. It is something every decent European big excels at.. He averaged 2.6 box-outs per game this season, good for 8th in NBA. These box-outs resulted in 2.5 rebounds per game for Houston. It is fair to say Smith was the recipient of most.
I don't know how to rank them, but the only thing for sure is that Tari is #6 And that is no slight on him, just there are injury concerns, finishing at the rim problems, streaky shooting, and very very low chance of ever being an all-star. Of our 6, he is 6 - but would prefer him over dozens of other 3rd year players!!
I really like Amen, but those who have him over Alpi are way wrong. FYI, he is only a few months younger than Alpi.
I'm not sure. The winning streak kinda messed with my head a little. It's too bad there's not more season left to evaluate, because I'm not absolutely certain which version of this team is real. Having said that. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm not sure that Jabari won't have the best career of the bunch when it's all said and done. Obviously he's not there yet, but it's hard to believe that he's still not even old enough to legally buy a beer! The guy has as much potential and upside as anyone on the roster, so just to be different I'm putting him at 1.
First of all, the Rockets don't have 6 "core" players....unless we are REALLY bastardizing what it means to be a "core" player.
I like how @Easy laid it out above. It's helpful to think in Floor/Ceiling perspective, but it can also be difficult to peg either with young players. My priority below... 1 - Alperen Sengun: Unique young big that has similar qualities to Jokic/Sabonis. Big jump this year under Ime and still has some much room to grow as an outside shooter. Want to see him continue to make progress in all areas of his game, but he's the center (pun intended) of our core. 2 - Jalen Green: Earlier this year he wouldn't have been here, but he's earned this ranking with his ASB tear. He finally learned to finish his drives and it has made all the difference in his game. He's a streaky shooter and needs to continue to work on his shot. He's made progress in his playmaking this year, that aspect of his game along with improved defensive intensity has to keep leveling upwards next year. BTW, his rebounding as been a pleasant surprise. He still makes poor decisions, lazy passes, and untimely turnovers--these areas have to improve to keep this position and become a star tandem with Alpi. 3 - Jabari Smith: He's almost the perfect prototype modern PF. He needs to continue to work on his body and improving his all around game, but you can see how he can be a clutch scorer both at the 3 and mid-range areas. What bothers me is that he's not stronger at the rim. His defensive rebounding as been solid and needed this year. 4 - Amen Thompson: Next to Sengun, he's brightest BBall mind we have in our young core. Combine that with his the uber athleticism and defensive instincts and we have a special player--defensively. I can't put him higher because his offensive game is still TBD. We've seen glimpses of playmaking talent, but not enough to takeover from FVV yet. He plays the dunker position well and should be our starting SF next year over DB. He has to develop his shot/touch and if that happens he may one day be #1 on this list. At this stage, he's looking like he could develop into a Scottie Pippen kind of player. Really excited to see his progress next year. 5 - Cam Whitmore: Next to Sengun, he's my fav. His attack, attack, attack mentality plays to my military background. I love his bully ball style, but then the ability to come in cold and drop 3's with ease. He's a 6th man microwave scorer, who has potential to be more. His strength can also be his weakness, developing his court awareness and playmaking ability will only make him more dangerous as a scorer. He's young, so more focus on defense/positioning will help him get more court time, but I'm pleased to see how he's improved since the season started. 6 - Tari Eason: It killed us to not have him this season, he was a spark plug early on. Love his supreme confidence/dawg attitude and believe he'll be an integral part of Ime's rotation going forward. If I solely looked at attitude, Tari would be #1--it's infectious and combine him with Amen, whoa that's gonna be scary for some teams. Here's hoping his injury heals and he's good to go in 2024-25. We need him. After Jalen's resurgence, I have to say I love all of our young guys. I hope we stay the course and continue to let these talented young men grow/develop. I believe a really special team could manifest itself under Ime's leadership. We tend to be impatient because of almost getting to the finals and then nose diving off a cliff for three rocky years, but this season has given me hope and I think it's worth remembering all stars or even superstars didn't emerge in YR1/2. Here's a few examples... This one is a little different, but fun to review (esp #1 which was total surprise)... https://www.thesportster.com/basket...players-who-broke-out-later-in-their-careers/
Alpi Amen Tari Bari Jalen Cam it won’t be surprising if one or two are moved for a ‘Star’ this offseason. Alpi is the only max extension at this time.
This feels like a sausage party with everyone listing their favorite players.....Carry on, you wiener......
These 2 have shown consistency. I know what I can expect most games. Ime can put them in any lineup. 1. Sengun - best overall player 2. Tari - best defender; hustler All this guy needs is a jump shot. His consistency of defense and hustle has won me over. 3. Amen - 2nd best defender; hustler These 3 are so inconsistent. I don't know what to expect each game. Not sure how to rank these 3. Jalen Cam Jabari
1. 2024 Top 10 Pick 2. Sengun 3. Whitmore 4. Thompson 5. Eason 6. Smith 7. Green That's how much I respect that guy who's getting drafted this year. He's the real catch.
so I am doing my rankings before reading the thread, but I think it’s a good one @Aruba77 ! 1. Amen 2. Sengun 3. Jabari 4. Green 5. Cam 6. Eason Pretty much Amen and Sengun in their own tear for me, and then the other four guys lumped together. Slightly Green over Cam at this point personally. I love Whitmore but I am seeing things that make me think that green has a higher ceiling in regards to passing and defending. Although I think Cam will be the much more efficient score and shooter. I think that the floor on Jabari is pretty well defined. I think we’re going to know a lot more about his ceiling this time next year. Can he take a jump as an offensive creator for himself (at least) or himself and others. Love Eason as well, but I’m a little bit concerned about the injury. Couple this with the delay in development as well as an unrefined offensive game and I just don’t know where he ends up. Super wide variance. I really expect us to take a very large jump next year and win close to 50 games. Even Brooks and FVV should either be slightly improved or the same. Landale better and Adam adds a good bit at a minimum. Use the TPE on a shooter and use #9 on a young giant to combat Wemby down the line. I’ll be curious to see if Clingnan is still there.
1. Sengun 2. Green 3. Amen 4. Jabari 5/6. Eason - injury 5/6. Cam It's a common trend for everybody to have sengun that high up, he deserves it. another common trend is most jalen supporters will rate sengun highly b/c they recognize talent and arent afraid to acknowledge it, meanwhile the hardcore sengunatics/jalen haters will put jalen near the bottom consistently. All this thread shows is only fans mainly sengunatics and the jalen haters are quite predictable in how they rate the players.
