At this point: does it even matter? Both are note your classical PG. Both are score first guards - and so far both are bringing the ball up the floor at times and both are initiating the offense at times. We also have Sengun who can initiate. Basically we have a playmaking by committee approach. We can argue about giving Green the ball more or letting him bring up the ball more, but he won't ever be a traditional PG - neither will KPJ. And in the end I think SG will be Greens best position - with a combination of getting open shots from the wing created by somebody else and breaking down a defense to get to the rim. A way bigger problem is our play selection - or lack there of. I would really like to see Green being utilized at least a little bit like Rip Hamilton or Reggie Miller - running around getting off the ball screens to get open shots.
if green is willing to pass the ball to smith, im all for it. It's extremely irritating to watch KPJ solo 1 v 5 and turnover the ball while smith is just standing there at the 3 pt line wasting his time. Might as well just stay our side of the court to b ready on defense
While I agree that some growth comes with handling the ball more Im not sure giving him pg duties is the answer. I don’t think he has played point at any time in his entire basketball career including high school. But I do like the ball in Jalens hands more. He is a better playmaker and willing passer than KPJ. He can grow from being in situations such as high screen and roll, paint situations with a big down low or when he is trapped on perimeter etc. The ball needs to be in his hands for this growth. Right now KPJ dominates possessions when he handles the balk stunting the entire team’s growth and ability to play as a team in my opinion.
Sure, KPJ sucks at ball handling but pretending that Jabari Smith doesn't get enough FGA (double digit shots almost every night - nearly all assisted) have some strange form of Aphasia?
I don't know about full time PG, but he deserves to have the ball in his hands more and initiate more offensive possessions.
JG & KPjr are scoring 2's who can handle the rock...or combo guards if you want to stretch it a bit more.. And, yeah, we're doing the "experiment" with Kevin up top...But, in actuality, time is being given to Sengun to develop/mature a bit more so we can run that offense through him. These two will play off him more. It won't seem such a square peg round hole deal with Kevin, then. I wouldn't overlook the benefits to his game gained from being the "PG" either. The truth is with a mature enough Sengun, this team doesn't need a PG. Now, someone like that, who is reliable to come in of the bench... Likely TyTy...eventually. Control pace, manage the game. Definitely.
The Suns did this with Booker after a few years and it helped him grow as a player. I think the point of Green getting some PT without Porter lately has been to help him get better in this aspect.
Kpj doesn't sucks at ball handles he sucks at play making. Wondering if I have aphasia when u can't even defend or use the common kpj defense talking points. Funny. Smith is not getting any ez shots. Last game were some of the easiest bucket I seen Smith made so far this season. Smith is getting a sht ton of mins but u need context. Man is the fifth option with no set plays for him bc our pg isn't skilled enough to pull it off. Not every body is able to improve and overcome kpj isoball. I rather Smith play with the second unit than kpj, at least he can b more aggressive than defer to a guy who only passes it to him when he needs a bail out
When I watch him I certainly don’t see someone that can run the floor. But since we are experiment mode I guess I would be okay giving it a try. The thing is, it adds a whole other layer of pressure and complexity to his development… and I dont have a lot Confidence in our player development anyway. I’d rather give our 1st round pick, TyTy, a shot, but am not opposed. I do agree that Green plays better without KPJ; that’s been obvious to me for a while.
I just don't know how people are so dismissive of Green's ability to create seperation and collapse defenses. You want someone who can do that consistently to have the ball in their hand. And people are starting to underrate aspects of his game such as his screen craft. He has great ability to to handle the ball and use screens unpredictably with multiple movesets. Even neutral non Rocket fans notice these things about Green(5:55 mark of the video) but man Sengun fans really poisoning the discussion here. This type of ball handling and screen craft is what you eventually want from a primary ball handler. He def can be. Now we ease him into it. Obviously he isn't ready for full time lead guard duties. But to say there isn't anything there in Green's tool bag to be one eventually is asinine.
Do you actually watch the Rockets? I mean you don't have to run to basketball reference to see Smith missing open 3's - it happens all the time in the games! 78% of his FGM are assisted - that's more even than Usamn Garuba, who has 0 offensive creation skill. Nearly every single shot he takes (and he takes a lot! 3rd most on the team, more than Sengun) is created for him by somebody else. Unfortunately he's hitting an abysmal 28% on catch and shoots. That's VERY BAD! These shots are more ofthen thatn not open or wide open. 60%! That's a lot of open shots - 7 per game! That leads the team. These shots are almost always early or medium in the shot clock - 92%! Unguarded shots, with time on the shot clock - how is this shot selection supposed to get any easier?
U figured if a rookie is struggling at the 3pt, to build his confidence up you actually set plays up and hone his skills elsewhere pnr slashes, kpj utilizing him as a Sniper makes Smith predictable. We can argue back and forth, fact stands Smith isn't being properly utilized and it's mainly cause kpj can't play make for sht. He's kicking out these past few games but he's turning the ball doing very stupid things in crucial mins. Silas clearly wants kpj to b the next harden/luka, main just lacks the play making ability.
Have you seen Jabari play when he's in a "PnR slash" situation. He cannot finish at all around the rim, even on easy baskets. I don't see if it's anyone's fault Jabari's struggling when he's just not hitting any open shots. KPJ might be flawed, but Jabari's problem is his own, he misses open jump shots and layups. There's no easier shots in the NBA.
No it's because he's missing open shots despite being served up lots of clean looks - more than any player on the team and probably among the leaders in the NBA. That's it. That's the fact. Hopefully he gets better. But, he needs to actually make shots. Open shots. Right now he's not.
