But that’s the thing though, right? He’s not going to play with Armoni and Garry Bird. He is going to play instead of Armoni and Garry Bird (or at least instead of one of them). I’m rooting for JG to be awesome too, but for the spacing to continue, he’ll need to start hitting his 3’s like Brooks and Mathews do. He was already getting a lot of open 3’s in the lineups with Theis, he just wasn’t making them.
Matthews plays the vast majority of his minutes at the 3, so he can definitely share the court with Jalen. You're right about Brooks though, this probably means a lot less of him. I was more excited about the open space allowing him to drive more, and hopefully that can get him into some rhythm to improve his outside shooting, or even open up a drive and kick game.
Perfect This binary dividing line some insist exists is a simplistic way to address several intertwined aspects of Green as a Rocket Bypassing delusional groupthink to see Green for what he is (now), whether in contrast to others we could have taken at 2, vs the 300+ other players in the league, or just in the vacuum of this team, is my version of Rockets fandom Doesn't make me or anyone along the same lines less of a diehard I'm excited to watch him develop My projection for his ceiling has not changed since before the draft ... future scoring champ and Alpha scoring hub of a perennial playoff team 6'6" wing version of Iverson, with better jumper, more explosiveness, but missing the dogged tenacity that allowed AI to dominate despite severe size limitations My projected floor for Green has slightly lowered Being realistic, how could it not? The athletic gifts and natural scoring skills I thought would carry him at the beginning have only flashed, which I consider a disappointment More concerning is the touted supreme confidence with which he was supposedly overflowing has been AWOL in all phases Sengun and Christopher are right on track Tate is blossoming very well, and KJ is earning more and more run Young Rockets are progressing all over the place Except the backcourt For me, only KPJ has been as underwhelming Watching the rest of the top 4 picks instantly assume leading roles on better teams just rubs salt in the wound Of course, this ugly start could very well be a Trout-like blip of a false-start on the road to greatness To date, however, Green has been as bad as any player in the league with his elite-level upside, save possibly Suggs I will eagerly applaud him and believe in a Green-led championship contender when his contributions on the court merit Until then, he remains massive unrealized potential Which is another way of saying he has a LONG way to go in justifying the unconditional support many here seem to think Green is entitled I bet there were a ton of Grizz fans who felt equally underwhelmed at this point of Stromile's rookie year I learned way back in 97 that blind, unwavering support of my team cannot will my expectations into existence the moment Stockton's dagger ended the greatest run in team history But I'm still here nearly 25 years later, bleeding Rockets red, and I will always remain, regardless of Green's career arc
The likely lineup. Gordon (if a b2b, then Josh Christopher) Green Garrison (or Brooks) Tate Wood (if sore knee, then probably Theis)
You should go back and look at Stromile Swift's numbers before you go comparing him to Jalen Green. Lol. It took him 2 full seasons to get one 30 pt game and didn't clear 20 his entire rookie campaign.
For me, replace Tate for Sengun at the 4, drop Tate to the starting 3. Garrison backs up Tate and Brooks backs up Green.
Jalen (and Scoot for that matter) need legit shooters on the floor with them. Spacing will lead to plenty of blow by's and crashing by the defense - in order to keep defenders honest you have to have at least one capable outside shooter with the dribble penetrators. Im looking forward to watching Jalen and Scoot operate in space and with shooters around them. It should unlock their game.
100% Perfect! One quibble, though: 6'6" wing version of Iverson, with better jumper, more explosiveness, but missing the dogged tenacity that allowed AI to dominate despite severe size limitations You take the dog out of AI, and you got basically a nothing. This kid here is quite skinny, too, AND he's not a dog, more of a p***y-cat. So not very encouraging. But he can fill-up, I think. His shoulders are actually broader than AI's, he can definitely bulk-up. Or he can grow balls, I mean at 19 yo your personality is not fully formed, he can get a bit meaner as he matures. Or he can just polish his skillset, which by itself, without filling-up and without becoming more of a badazz, that would put him ceiling at somewhere as a good 6th man point producer.
Boomers now talking about toughness from 19 year olds!?!? LOLLLLLLL these WW2 vets are my #1 comedic relief nowadays! Whoooo! Whats next? Dick size?
You don't get out much do you. Nick Saban & the rest of the SEC routinely recruits a whole squad of 19 year olds who kick ass.
Dont get mad boomie - you guys were "tough" in your days Im sure!! PS: Football does not equal basketball! LOLLL
Shooting accuracy comes and goes, this ain't an annual subscription. More reliable would be developing an allround game.
Sigh. Yes Jalen Green should develop a better all around game. Some of that will come when the ancillary players around him do a better job of their respective roles when they are on the court. Team game ya know? Was working well before he pulled the hammy. Look forward to the continued progress at the chagrin of the critics.
