Today's game was an ugly win, but there's an alternate universe where Rockets trade for Ben Simmons Things are going great for us
It's not like anyone argued about Simmons over Green, or argued that we lost the Harden trade because we didn't pick up Simmons, right. Right?? definitely not
I actually think this was Green's worse game this season. His offense is practically a given, but he threw some really really errand passes, and he got lost on defense a few times. He is generally much better with his passes, and his defense has been very good this season with the exception of this game. Hopefully this changes in the next game. One major consistent positive is his free throws. He missed only 2 free throws so far in both regular season and pre-season. It definitely gives me a lot of hope for his offensive potential if he can improve his free throw shooting from 80% to 90%+ in a single season, since going from 80% to 90% is ridiculously difficult, and James Harden himself never got to 90% (until maybe this season).
I'd like to see more competitive fire out of Green. I felt Carter got in his head vs the Grizzlies and Green struggled with Carter's aggressiveness. Tonight I thought I saw moments of that where Jazz defenders got really aggressive with him and he backed off or turned it over and didn't run back on D fast. There's something Harden-esque about that that I really dislike and hope he fixes soon.
That’s cuz he struggled with agressive man defense. Wait til he runs into Beverley. Carter and Murray gave him problems defensively with their on ball defense
I wouldn't call 25pts on a night where he shot 56% (9 of 16) from the field and 50% (4 for 8) from the 3pt line struggling. I'd call it him needed the ball more. BTW he only had 3 TO's all of which were from dumb passes that I recall, not steals while pressuring him off the dribble. I've never seen the kid back off, I have seen the ball not come back his way and that's where we can agree that he needs to be more aggressive and call for the ball. I know some plays are designed for EG, Jabari, etc. but he needs more than 16 shots.
See this is where you have to here yes and not stats. When the on ball defender presses Green, you see him move back and look a lil uncomfortable. You see it last night with Beasley a lil bit. It’s just something I notice this year. When those guards press him a lil bit the offense gets a lil stall. Make green hold the ball a lil bit and don’t let him get downhill is a lil effective against him.
Guess that's your perception. I recall seeing him literally get knocked off the ball last year and haven't seen that (so far) this year. I have seen him reset after the defenders pressure him and that's what players (especially those with speed) are coached to do when a defender closes the gap and is playing tight defense. In any regard my point was that even with this pressure he is still being effective and efficient. As he continues to get stronger he will only get better with controlling his lines of attack off the dribble.
loving the micro-wave quarters. not loving the decision making at times. the athleticism continues to be jaw-dropping though. everytime he accelerates it looks like it takes other people 4 steps to catch up to his 2 steps.
I was all in on taking Mobley with that pick, and still see him becoming an all time great. But, once JG became a Rocket, I shifted gears..wanting him to max out his potential...whatever it was That first half of the year was tough for all, but Jalen picked it up in the second, kicking it up yet again at the end of the season. But now, the cat is out of the bag. It's obvious he's on his way to superstardom. And, it's happening quickly! A tightening of his game across the board...every facet. Green's literally growing up, getting stronger, and will continue to do so. He needs it to do his thing. Not only to absorb all that contact, but to impose his will on these drives. Jalen's going to the rim with purpose now. And, he's only 20! smh Aren't we fortunate to be in the Stone age? So glad to see that I was blind to how good this kid really was/is.
I thought he played great today, except when he got in the game in the 4th quarter he didn't touch the ball for what seemed like an eternity. When he finally got it he forced up a bad shot, probably because he wasn't involved in the preceding minutes.
I mean it's definitely something I even noticed. That Beasley guy from yesterday night scared Green into throwing the ball away also. He also refused to attack Carter and Beasley after they started yelling and **** talking him. He's 20 though so it's not something I'm overly concerned with. Maybe a little if you were hoping he had the Kobe type brain where he literally isn't afraid of anything on the court.
Silas said in the off-season that he wanted JG to take around 17 shots a game. KPJ is doing what he is told.
Its kind of a shame the way CLE has switched course to go guard centric up to the point of installing Donovan Mitchell. Evan Mobley will be a glorified role player on that team. Kid has skills that should be nurtured not used sporadically. Heck of a defender that still has a ways to go as an offensive threat.
Something I really want to see Green pick up is that curl to the elbow for the turnaround midrange that CP3 always does. With his acceleration, that could be a devastating go-to move for him to pick up.
I told you guys, even among us, the voices claiming Green is not a winner will grow as he makes people jealous. Detroit fans. Cavs fans. Toronto fans. Sengun fans. KPJ fans. It's going to get very uncomfortable as they grasp at straws. No worries. Jalen is going to bury them slowly and easily.
