I didn’t! In fact I liked him better than Mitchell early on in that class. But I liked Ben Simmons even more (he was drafted the previous year, but didn’t play), which didn’t pan out great.
So you are just inconsistent and give more benefit of a doubt to 19 year old rooks who aren't Rockets.
We have two future stars on the team in Green and Sengun and so many people can't help but whine and compare them against each other. Everyone else in the NBA is more positive about Green than these Rockets fans. Much of them said Cade is a sure fire NBA-ready scorer, and he is shooting 38% and 32% exactly like Green and Cade needs more shots to make his 15 points. Cade - who was allegedly better physically prepared for the NBA - goes to the line far less often than Green and takes more 3's. Now Mobley popped, and they all jumped on the bandwagon of the 2-3 people who were ACTUALLY behind Mobley before being drafted. Those people are having shitty short/long phases in their life so they think they need to say shitty things to alleviate it. When they're in that mood, you can put their favorite food or family member in front of those people, and they will see them with a shitty filter. That's why they're here in this thread rather than the one they created to trash Green. Because it's not about Green, it's about soliciting a reaction from fans of Green. Don't mind them. Jalen Green is 19, improving rapidly at driving and hitting 3's, working hard in practice, always has energy on both sides of the court, putting up 15 on 12 shots without being featured in the offense at all while playing next to a guard who's learning how to play the PG position. They said his 3pt shot is f*cked, well he's hit the 2nd most 3pters of any rookie and his % continues to rise. They said he can't drive, well he leads all rookies in FTA's and FTM. Unselfish, ego in check, doesn't complain about shots. Just watching him you can tell the stats are always lagging, probably because of his atrocious start to the season. If Green ends up the second most prolific 3pt shooter and highest FTA in this draft class, will he not be a star scorer? Shall I show you a list of guys who led their draft class in FTA? You know though. You know. The signs are clear. The kid has magic.
That Boston team was legit good and Tatum was fitting-in very well, and contributing, while also showing flashes of greatness. That’s all there is to it. When I said I liked Tatum, I didn’t mean I thought he would be a superstar. Neither did I for Mitchell. I just liked them. I thought Ben would be the superstar of that draft. Now both Mitchell and Tatum are above Simmons. So the one guy I gave the “benefit of the doubt” bombed on me.
Can't like this post enough. We have folks like booby and others actively rooting for him to bust just so they can brag about how right they were about Mobley. U figured these "rockets fans" would root for our rookies to blossom into being a star/franchise player.
There were some people saying Mobley will be very good, but there were no more than 2-3 who outright claimed he would be the best rookie IIRC.
There were a lot that thought he'd eventually be the best in the class, but many thought he'd take some time and allegedly "NBA ready" players like Green and Suggs would be more likely to shine early in their careers. Turns out those two have been struggling the most and Barnes and Mobley are hands down the best in the class early. Sengun would be in the conversation too if he got the playing time to pad his stats a bit.
I think these are my favorite aspects with him. He can score quickly without dominating the ball and generally seems to have the right ideas on the court. Also, he has some sort of "it" factor with him and seems to be committed to being the best in his class. I can't put my finger on it but when I watch him it feels like he has lots of room for rapid growth in his game when I watch him.
I don't expect everyone to root for every player we have, nor that they shouldn't dislike a player or two on their fav team's roster... but frankly I can't understand rabidly hating on a 19 year old from his first few games into his 25th game and making absolute statements about his next 15 years in the NBA (even if you think Mobley will end up a better player). Even if what they believe is true, I don't understand why their reaction is excitement rather than disappointment that we drafted a "bust" as they claim. They can't see that if Jalen is a bust, they lose too, and there's no points for predicting it right. They're as *****d as you and me if Jalen is a bust, but they behave like they're Cavs or Pistons fans instead. They just need a hug to be honest. Usually something personal that starts infesting the mind this way.
Yup! You can flat our hear it in his tone when they ask him about shots, he always says "my time will come". I can tell he's got something in the bag for second half, I don't believe for a second he's given up on the ROY race. He really just had no idea how to attack the basket to start the season, and if he has that down the rest of his game will follow.
good post! The "it" comes from how eaaaasy it is for him to score. I saw it, too, in Summer League: he didn't really set SL on fire Dan Langhi-style, but seemed to score at ease, so you could see how he can rack-up points in a hurry. Then the season started and it was a small disaster, but lately you can see it again...
I'm quite impressed that he's now leading in FTM. It's actually crazy thinking back that he didn't get to shoot a single free throw for his first couple of games.
Stan Van Gundy (or somebody) I dont remember. was saying on a broadcast it is much easier to slot in a rookie with competent vets because they can mask his inexperience. An inexperienced rookie can look much much worse with bad teammates. Mobley is a stud, but he is looking even better with his team not being complete knuckle heads like the Rockets.
I believe that was part of the "over-correction phase" of the NBA in reducing foul shots given. Harden himself is back to 10 attempts per game in his last 15 games.
