It is drastically different to replace a number 1 option who gets most of his touches in and around the paint, with a guy who is defense first and doesn't need touches in Amen. Now Jalen is the number 1 option - to integrate Alpi back in.....WHO is the number 1? Because as a confidence player, Jalen clearly needs the ball a lot to get that feel......can Alpi be a number 2 and be ok with that? DD
he needs to come off the bench like ginobli and then he can be the first option while jalen rests. And then they can both finish the game.
lol, nonsense. They’ll learn to play together. One will probably have to take a step back, but they’ll figure out if it’s a Shaq/Kobe or Kobe/Gasol dynamic. The good thing is that a guy like Amen fits well regardless.
That didn't work, I think that in order for both to start and feed off each others, we need Alpi to play at the top and in PnR, and he needs a 3pt shot. Jalen to attack the open paint - more often and Alpi to clean up the mess on the offensive glass, both to have 12 mins a game where they are featured while the other one sits. DD
If Jalen keeps playing like he has been I don't think its a very difficult question to answer. But it all depends on Jalen.
The real question isn't whether the Rockets are better without Sengun, but rather whether the issue with Jalen Green in previous years is that he never had an athletic big who could roll and finish around the basket. Remember that the difference this time when Sengun's off the court is that he's replaced by Amen Thompson and not Garuba or Fernando. Currently the Jalen+Amen/no-Sengun has the Rockets at +9.5 net rating. Whereas Jalen+Sengun/no-Amen is at a +0.42 net rating. Obviously any actual numbers at this point is going to be greatly skewed by this winning streak and more importantly all the crappy teams we beat up, but it's something worth following as the Rockets start to actually play more competent opponents.
Makes more sense for Alpi to be the number 2 option on offense in general just because he doesn't fill up the scoreboard anywhere near as easily/quickly/naturally as Jalen does (which has been evident every single year of their career so far.) Alpi's a smart baller though, I don't think he'll struggle with that, and he'll still get his. You don't make your all-rounder your #1 option on offense, that's what your elite scorer's for.
I agree he needs a 3 pt shot. Green has to show he can shoot like he has been over a longer stretch, he is a shooting guard after all. There’s multiple offensive sets they can run together, and they can take turns being the focal point. Specially when one sits.
It didn't work because Jalen's shots weren't falling. It's as simple as that. He was getting QUALITY looks the entire season.
It’s not if you’re illiterate and your mind can’t fill in the blanks for small grammatical errors. ; )
We're keeping both, don't let posters from other fan bases fool you or drive a wedge. This isn't like other forums where other team fans can show their allegiance when they sign up. They are growing as stars or potential superstars and at 22 will evolve as team players for success. They were winning right before Sengun went down. Sengun will likely develop a three-point shot over his career and it could get nasty as the team defense gets even better with additional years in the system and team growth.
Green has gone through a couple of iterations of bigs throughout the 3 years, I never really thought his performance is affected by his team mates. During his rookie season, he played mostly with a stretch big in Christian Wood who could also sorta roll and finish. But his post all star performance in his rookie season (best stretch of his career until this year) was coincided with Wood being out for the last 10 games or so. Green's up and downs are a serious mystery even at this point, it seems kind of random to me which is why everyone is cautiously optimistic. You just kinda never know whether you get Kobe version or Corey Brewer version.
Shaq\Kobe eventually clicked, Kobe/Pau clicked, Jokic/Murray eventually clicked. This team is capable of clicking given time, patience is a virtue mostly not seen with people on this forum.
I mean if you've watched the Rockets over the Harden years it was clear he didn't get fully unlocked until he had Capella. He played with plenty of different bigs over his career before Capella in Perkins, Ibaka, Asik, and Dwight, but it was only with Capella where his offensive game truly looked unstoppable. There's something to be said for that vertical spacing threat that Amen provides compared to all the other bigs the Rockets have had over these years. And I think Jalen's game isn't as diverse as even early career Harden, which means he'd be helped more so by such a player than Harden eventually did with Capella.
Ime Udoka on why Alperen Sengun being out is not the reason for Jalen Green’s resurgence: “We wanted to really increase the pace and get the threes up and all those things don’t have anything to do with Alpi - When Jalen was struggling earlier in the year he had the same quality looks and Jalen started to read the game better - I think they can complement each other very well”. BREAKING NEWS: Head coach refuses to throw either of his star players under the bus!
