Thank you basketball gods. I've been asking for a team full of 6'6" to 6'9" switch everything 3 & D players for years. Instead I got Ben McLemore, Austin Rivers, Tate, and Mathews. Now draft Cam Whitmore or Dillion Mitchell or Jordan Walsh next season and the Rockets will be extremely crazy versatile.
This team will go as far as Jalen and Jabari want to place the importance of playing defense. I think the lineup has been somewhat solidified for the future with 3 set pieces and a potential 4th. Smith Jr Eason Green I am glad defense was a forefront of this NBA draft. Eason is really interesting. Eason has all the intangibles. He is 6'8 with a 7'2 wingspan. Draymond Green for example is 6'6 and has a 7'1 wingspan. Jaesean Tate is 6'6 with a 6'8 wingspan Jaesean from what it appears, will ultimately be replaced by a guy who is bigger, longer, more athletic and is a better shooter. This leaves us with KPJ, who I feel is a coin flip chance on remaining with the Rockets two years from now. Best case scenario he becomes your 3 man of the future. That would require him to put ego aside for winning and become the best 3/D/slasher he can be. Personally, I don't see his James Harden impression ending well. There are too many missed reads during the flow of the game and the first step is not in the same category. Saying that, its just too hard to ignore his catch and shoot percentages and wonder what if. I know the love affair with Sengun and he is an easy guy to root for. His shelf life in the NBA will be based on ability to guard the perimeter. I'm not entirely convinced and would argue an Eason, Smith Jr front court is ultimately our best duo.
Do we still need rim protection or nah? I am really hoping that at some point Eason can play alongside Jabari as starters, but it feels like Eason will be a bench guy to start the year. Still need to see if the sophomores will continue to improve on defense and what this new and improved defensive "system" is going to be that Silas is talking about. Still no rush. I expect another bad year and look at next season as the breakout year. Just as important is going to be how these guys are able to gel on offense. They played horrible on defense last season for most of the year no question, but they really were not that much better on offense. Hope the balance between the two facets is there.
Jokic says hi about Sengun not being able to guard the perimeter or have a good 3 point shot or being an elite rim protector…you know the back to back MVP.
Wenbanyama hasn't played a minute in the NBA and is currently averaging worse stats across the board in the french league, nevermind his stats in the euro league (35 FG%) than Sengun in his first season in the NBA. It's cool to like the prospect and what he could become but this take is ridiculous.
Maybe Garuba. We'll see how he looks in SL. Hopefully, he's in really good shape and worked on his corner 3s.
I wish there was less Wembanyama talk in the GARM. Assuming he's the consensus No. 1 pick, it's extremely unlikely that he's being drafted by the Rockets. After two years of having the worst record in the league, the Rockets have gotten two excellent prospects at the top of the draft... and zero No. 1 picks. If we somehow luck out, that would be amazing, but let's stop acting like it's a likely or even semi-likely outcome. Let's talk about the guys who are actually here.
hmmm, he kept things 'basic' last season, or, he could only do 'basic' things n try bluffing there, we'll see.
He'd still get good minutes off the bench, so for Wemby i would be ready for that. Otherwise kp is out and enter Scoot at point
Wemby is talented, but he’s not the athlete Chet is. He’s more skilled and fluid currently. He’s also………really injury prone while not playing substantial minutes.
Victor at 16 was out performance and also giving Chet issues.. Chet is not better than victor Wembanyama and you will see that next year.
One of the most overlooked things is the fact that Stone drafted two guys that can be very good defenders...in last year's draft. Christopher and Garuba have potential to be defensive stoppers in this league. If that comes into fruition and the JaTari combo fulfills their potential we have the makings of a very good defensive squad in a couple of years.
Victor was 17 then, he played well. Chet was MVP of that tournament. Chet is more explosive as an athlete. Victor has incredible feet in short area and very skilled. I’m not saying he’s not a great prospect, he is, but he’s extremely skinny and already injury prone. Including stress fractures in his legs. He’s everything that Chet is supposed to be, including injury prone. While Chet has never had any injuries.
