Are you sure you got your facts straight? He got benched, yes. But I don’t remember he was told “for the rest of the game”. Where did you hear that? I mean, there may be coaches around the league who would tell that to players. But I definitely don’t see it in Silas.
"Competitive fire"? KPJ left the arena mid game when Silas said he wasn't playing 2nd half. He literally quit on his team that night. People can forgive but let's call a spade a spade.
Green's stats weren't junk until the All Star break. Being benched and going home is a red flag no matter how you spin it. I'm happy Kevin is improving, so is Green. It's fine to be skeptical, but you're the guy who said Green wouldn't score more than 5 points a game. Green's scoring efficency is improving and he is playing defense. He's not a ball hog either.
Driving away from the arena is competitive fire? That’s new. He’s certainly talented but averaging 12ppg on 42% shooting until basically the last month of the season is just objectively not good. To do that on the insane usage he was afforded while attempting 7 threes a game is an abject failure. He’s talented but he’s got a long way to go. Scoring is supposed to be his strength. I’m willing to bet he gets better here over time. I wasn’t thrilled with his court awareness and Green deserves a true playmaker that can find him better off ball. I’m all for making KPJ a 6th man(if he’s amenable to it) or finding a play initiator in the front court to pair with them. Otherwise I don’t see the Rockets ever winning anything with iso ball. I’ve always liked your takes when it comes to playing a team game and moving the ball. I hope you can understand that perspective.
That play initiator is Sengun, and Paolo will do that too. I'm glad Wood's ball stopping is gone. Kevin wants Paolo on the team and so does Green. They also like Sengun.
As I said before get Paolo and I’m all for this backcourt pairing going forward. Sengun is a great passer but he will never be a true play initiator or be anything more than a roll man in a pick and roll. That isn’t a knock on his passing, more so on his perimeter skills. He will certainly help with making plays all the same. We just need that guy who naturally makes plays for others on the perimeter. Let’s get Banchero and watch these guards flourish.
The main point with KPJ is how stone and really the rockets organization really feel about KPJ. And we won’t get that answer till next year maybe or whenever extension talks pick up
One thing he does well is put bigs in a position to make plays for guards. Dude had Olynik out there getting triple doubles. He would work wonders for Banchero until these guys are mature enough and ready to win with a real coach.
Okay, let's pretend that's true, he was averaging 31% from 3 and overall having a .51 TS%....his offensive rating was 96 and his defensive rating was 120.....which is AWESOME! For the first part of the season Jalen Green played like the worst player in the entire league.....and that's not hyperbole. He really was THAT bad. He was something like a -20 at that point. Every time he was on the court, the Rockets suffered. Now he absolutely turned that around after the all star break, as such, many pretend he didn't struggle or pretend he didn't struggle as much or for as long. IMO that takes away from his accomplishment. He was absolute trash, but by the end of the year he was so much better he managed to be a much less net negative (-6.7) for the year. Instead of being by far the largest net negative, he passed Daniel Theis for second worst on the team just slightly behind DJ Augustin. Now what I'm hoping is that he picks up where he left off and has a stellar sophomore season, the improvement he has already shown has quelled my fears about his development. I'm hoping he pushes it even more and develops into a legitimate combo guard to pair with KPJ, it'll be good for both of them. KPJ was the best off the ball 3 point shooting starter in the NBA, so between Sengun, potentially Banchero, and a Green who has developed some PG skills, it'll allow the Rockets to exploit that further. It's no surprise that the Rockets managed to unlock a lot of what Green and KPJ can do once they got Wood the hell out of the way and played Sengun instead....adding a second player with plus passing ability to the court. Next year they could have 3 or maybe even 4 if Green develops that part of his game. There's all the reason in the world to be excited about the Rockets' young core of Green, KPJ, Sengun, and the #3 pick this year....which is why the seemingly irrational KPJ hate is so weird. What's more odd is that they always seem to be overzealous Jalen Green fans....despite the fact that Green and KPJ are close and love playing together.....and that their games perfectly complement one another. I'm thinking maybe they are just oddly jealous of the close relationship the 2 have.
Can you vision KPJ as a starting PG and the 2nd or even 3rd option on a championship team?? Do you trust KPJ in the playoffs in close games in game 6s or 7s?? Do you trust that in big game moments KPJ will keep everything and everybody under control and poised when things aren’t going the teams way?? Because that’s what true PGs and star players do. And my answer to those questions are like 60/40%….No.
1. Absolutely, he's got all the talent in the world. He can shoot, he can create for himself and others, he can defend at least 3 positions....I think what some get confused by is that he's not a traditional PG....but that works when paired with a guy like Green who in a perfect world turns into a bit of a combo guard himself. The versatility where he can be the primary ball handler if that's needed or he be able to play off ball if that is what is needed is something not many players can do well. 2. I mean, he proved himself to be VERY clutch last year....so I ESPECIALLY trust him in big game moments. All of that said, he's not going to have to do the heavy lifting alone. Due to strategic tanking, he'll be able to lean on guys like Green, Sengun, the #3 pick in this draft.....and those guys will be able to lean on him. His ability to be a net positive in games where he was really struggling shooting the ball is one of the more impressive things he did last season. A lot of players become worthless if one aspect of their game isn't working.
Ja, Harden, Lebron, Curry, KD and many many other NBA players can envision KPJ in that role just fine.
You dont believe KPJ should run point after averaging over 6 AST the last 2 seasons as a first time PG. But you believe a 6'10 250 lbs player who has not averaged even 4 AST as primary ball handler for college team can and should run point for a NBA team? Did I get that right?
You mean MVP Westbrook or current Westbrook? There's a difference. I know that those future HOFers like current KPJ.
Yes. To his credit KPJ corrected it, but earlier in the season he led the league in turnovers and was the only player in the league with 5 assists and a negative ast/to ratio. He made better decisions as the season progressed so I’m hopeful. However, he still didn’t seem like the most willing passer at times instead opting for a lot of inefficient shots. That’s at least what I saw but I could be wrong. Cade Cunningham also averaged 4 ast per game in college. NBA is faster and more possessions and Banchero’s ast per 100 possessions is already 6 ast per game. KPJ had not even half of that in college. Granted, he started playing point guard a year ago but Banchero was playmaking since high school. Players generally gather more assists in NBA pace than they do in college or euro leagues. I think there is at least an argument that Banchero in his prime could be a better passer than KPJ in his prime. KPJ is really good off ball though so if Banchero can be decent at finding him it’s a good thing for their development. I’m not trying to get down on KPJ like this. He has a lot of potential and he’s a really fun player to watch at times. He has to show the organization a big improvement next year I’m hopeful he does but he has to do it.
That's because you are impatient and forget this was his first year playing FT PG..... He was amazing once Wood and EGO was benched....... DD
He was amazing without Wood no argument there. Being a floor leader isn't an easy thing to do and the skills he's developing are hard to learn in the NBA. I don't want to be skeptical but considering the entire package, I am a little. I'm still rooting for him and I hope he can put it together next season. I think he needs to show the Rockets significant improvement and more consistency next year if he wants a contract to play PG.
