What is our weakest position and where do we need help? Regardless of who we draft or trade for, I’d like to know what you think is as our strength and weakness by position as we stand today. Center - A, Sengun is a star now and will only get better. Add Stevenson off the bench, who rightly could start for 25 other teams, this is a position we shouldn’t have to worry about for next season if they both can stay healthy. PF - C+, Smith has shown growth but overall this group is just average. We’ve had to play Green more than we should have here. SF - B-, Brooks has been a consistently strong defender but has been streaky as a scorer. He shooting has taken the Rockets in and out of games. There is potential to be an A here with the growth of Tari and Cam. SG - B, Green was an A+ in March but a C for the rest of the season. If he can stay focus there is no doubt he is an all star. I’m listing Amen here who has the potential to make this our strongest position with his IQ and defense off the bench. PG - B, FVV has been as advertised, controlling the tempo and being a role model for the team. He isn’t a superstar but does more than enough to hold his own. Holiday has been better than expected off the bench brining much needed 3pt shooting. But both of them are streaky shooters and because they lack size when their shots aren’t falling, the bad becomes ugly as they are not capable of scoring in other ways. Needs - I would ideally like to see us add a defensive stopper at PF, some size at PG with more of an uptempo game, and more outside shooting off the bench especially at SG.
PG - C (A) - This for me is a C if Amen keeps on looking more like a forward over the next couple of years. If Amen's a PG (a legitimate one, not a square peg in a round hole KPJ style one) then it's an A. *I do also think there's a slim chance scenario that Green ends up playing his career mostly at the 1 as a primary ballhandler/dish and drive player, if that happens I think it's probably also an A because they only do it if it makes sense. SG - B - Regardless of what the forum at large believe, Green's shown the most star potential by far. Holiday's a decent backup, I think we could use more depth here tbh. *Outside chance that either Amen or Cam end up playing here, in which case could be an A/B+ if their game adjusts to the role. SF - A+ - Even if you discount Brooks we have Cam and Tari, and maybe Amen and Bari who could both end up in this slot also. More depth here than anywhere else on the roster by far, should probably move Brooks. Decision after that is figuring out whether Amen's a 1 or 3, Tari projects as a 6th man regardless I think. If it's a choice between Amen and Cam, I'm keeping Amen, if it's a choice between Cam and Bari, I'm keeping Cam. PF - B- (A+?) - Bari is a solid starter I think, but nothing special. Tari is arguably a better 4, though I think his chaos works better off the bench. I could see the argument for Alpi moving here if he takes over more of the passing again out of the high post especially, at which point this becomes an A+ position if Tari's getting the bench minutes behind him. C - A+ - Alpi, Adams, Landale. That's a top tier starter, a starter level as the backup and a backup to the backup who showed plenty towards the end of last season. It's a big shame that none of the 3 are lights out from range, Bari's shot on any of these players would allow us to move Sengun to the 4 and probably be significantly better on both ends of the court as a result. I actually think we've got a great roster, super excited for next season.
We need another veteran, who can replace Brooks defensively and who is more aggressive on offense. We need a starting SG who can consistently shoot at least mid to top tier level to make us a real competitor in a league with much more consistent high quality shooters. We can't just hope for a hot streak from our guy who takes the most shots when push comes to shove.
Rockets need a backup PG next season and a starting PG after that. Amen could be it, if he develops a shot and improves his handles … a 50/50 proposition. Rockets need a 4/5 long term, to work in rotation with Jabari and Sengun. Rockets don’t needs any more wings, 2/3s.
Inb4 bobby shows up saying we have the worst SG of all time. We need a backup and future pg, imo. Center - A- our best position with good depth Power Forward - B- only reaches a B- because im putting tari here Small Forward - B+ Amen is a monster to be Shooting Guard - B- lots of talent here but needs growth Point Guard - B- Fred is great but no depth or long term answer
Centers: Sengun, Adams, Landale, Smith, Jeff Green (TO) Grade: A- Why: Potential franchise player. Great backup that is arguably the best screener in the game. Landale is okay but expensive for strictly a 3rd string center. Good trade asset. Smith is okay being a "small ball" center. Jeff Green is more expensive than Landale but more versatile and a more experienced veteran being a champion last year. Good trade asset? Improvement: Trade Landale for lob threat and shot blocker. Sengun improves his 3 pointer efficiency and rate. Smith gets stronger. Power Forwards: Smith, Eason, Jeff Green (TO) Grade: B- Why: Smith is a good shooter, rebounder, and defender. Eason is a hustler and distruptor. Jeff Green is a good veteran for spot minutes. Improvent: Smith improves self creation be it handles, running around screens, shooting off the dribble, etc. Eason makes his layups consistently and improves 3ball. Less turnovers. Small Forwards: Brooks, Eason, Thompson, Whitmore Grade: A Why: 3 premium defenders. A bucket getter. 2 athletic freaks. A great playmaker. Deepest Position. Improvement: Improved 3ball from all. Brooks defense is great but IMO replaceable from within. His veteran presence would need to be replaced. Use contract to improve shooting at the guard spots. Shooting Guards: Jalen Green, Whitmore Grade: C+ Why: Inconsistent and inefficient scoring from the spot having "shooting" in it is a problem. Green can be a supernova on offense as he had shown throughout his career. But when he is not "on fire", his defense was mostly a liability though he has shown to be more capable this year under Udoka. Whitmore had a good rookie year so use that to build into next year. Improvement: Green turns into a consistent superstar scorer with an above league average 3 point % and decent defender. Whitmore improves on his handles, playmaking, and defense. Get a playmaker who can shoot and/or a great 3&D player. Point Guards: VanVleet, Thompson Grade: B Why: VanVleet is a short but strong veteran with championship experience. Thompson is an athletic playmaker who is great on the transition and defense. Improvement: VanVleet improves 3 point %. Thompson improves his overall jumpshot and handles. Get a consistent shooter with decent playmaking and defense.
If Jalen Green takes his C grade to an A grade, this team is going to do damage. Big If, but that is what the entire franchise is waiting to see.
Find a way to draft Daron Holmes- backup 4/5 l. Defense. Shooting. Passing. Will be a good role player.
I love Sengun but were painfully undersized at the 4 and 5. Steven Adams will help but I want an athletic big who can help protect the paint and maybe hit a 3 every so often.
Center - B PF - F SF - D SG - B PG - B Jabrari and Dillon not hacking it as a starters. They’d be good backups though. Need to upgrade talent at those two positions.
Offensively it felt like KMJ was a better fit than Brooks when it comes to chemistry with Sengun. We need that slashing small forward capable of getting easy baskets at the rim. Amen could fill this roll but I would prefer him at guard where he can help setup the offense and make passes to a slashing SF. This could be Cam or Tari so there is some hope of improving at SF next year. Jabari doesn’t play well enough off the ball to be a Gordon type PF for a Jokic like offense. His outside shot is streaky game to game but if he can become more consistent it will be enough offensively. He also struggles defensively against bigger forwards. We do need at least one player with size off the bench to fill that role at forward. This is the one position I’d like to see improve the most.
SF is a weak spot offensively in my opinion. Perhaps great on defense but offensively limited with Brooks not great at getting into the paint from the perimeter or finishing in there. Eason has the same issue in terms of not being able to dribble drive or getting into the paint from the perimeter either by beating his defender or given an opening. Thompson needs a shot beyond 6 feet.
I don't think it makes sense to look at it that way. You can make it work to play with 2 centers or without a center - positions don't mean as much as they used to. And even if they would, I would consider ourself pretty average across the board. There is no real weakness, and also no real strength, maybe outside of Sengun (who also has questionmarks). Every position group would be fine, if they were part of a legit 2 star team. Our problems aren't position based, it is skill players. We have several that could develop into a star, but only Sengun has shown real progression so far (not counting Cam and Amen, since they have only played 1 season). Right now I don't have the confidence to say, that any one of our players will be an all-star at one point in his career (again, Sengun has shown the most in that regard). Outside of position, what this team needs is leadership (though FVV and Brooks have brought some. Maybe Green as well, though I haven't really seen it), rim protection and shot making. Also maybe a killer instinct - I have seen flashes of this in several players, but all seem to be way too ok with taking a back seat (outside of Cam). So I don't care, which position we draft or adress in FA. I want to swing at another potential star.
Absolutely. No superstar No legitimate All Star....one that was voted into the All Star Game although Sengün came close. No DPOY although there were candidates. No All NBA No ROTY ....... Far from a complete team although that 41 Win Season was flattering. Silver lining: Defense and the 11 W Streak against mixed competition Still no hierarchy that is why players were getting benched left and right. And Udoka actually had to babysit instead of merely coach for the first 42 games.
I think every position is a B or B- because the synergy is okay ish ...yeah Green might have struggled and might have had that streak. Depends on the angle if you think they are compared to a contender then every position is probably a C+ except PG and Center and SF. A lot is inconclusive and raw rather than being worth a grade though. Veteran help: A- Young players: B Bench: B- Shooting: C- to Inconclusive Offense: C to C- Defense: A- Coach: A GM: B- Ownership: B-
Small Forward Offense Rank 1. Whitmore 2. Thompson 3. Brooks 4. Eason You make valid points about the lack of SF offense. It would be ideal if bucket getter Whitmore becomes a premier defender or Thompson gets a legit and respected jumpshot or Eason becomes Kawhi 2.0. I like the potential of all three so I want to see their future as Rockets. How the Rockets are built currently, the forward positions should hit the 3 consistently when open, slash to the rim, provide great help defense, and be premium perimeter defenders. These 4 cover these categories as a group.
