I would start Martin and trade Gordon yesterday but I would keep Jabari in the starting lineup. Managing can play defense. Top 5 rookies for the Rookie of the Year title, two of them are Rockets. Sengun and Jalen has improved dramatically since last year and Garuba is going to be a solid player for us. Stone has done a great job for getting great young players. Only issue I have with him is with the point guard position. Stone is crazy about big point guard, he wants KPJ to be a point guard... Nope. Nix is a big player and he is not even a NBA player.
Agree 100. They wouldn’t do that though. Green at PG is optimal AND I can see Eason develop as a legit two guard. You can clearly see the ability to drive to the rim and hit three-pointers has a high percentage is there. Green has passed up KPJ in the realm of creating for others though. He is also close to equal as a ball handler and has shown a unique ability to hit shots at the end of quarters games or shot clocks. KPJ is a legit starter in this league but not at PG.
Nah. KPJ handles ball pressure better especially in full court presses. That's from having more reps and experience. His handle is definitely more secure. Green drill has problems handling presses. I expect that to slowly get better as he adds strength and tightens up his handle. But he is creative with his handle and does create immense dribble seperation. It's just not right and secure yet.
What am I missing @TimDuncanDonaut Isn't there only one lineup 100 minutes or more? All the other 5-man lineups are around 45:15 minutes or less? https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2023/lineups/ Edited: does it mean other teams with their 100+ minutes?
That's very interesting. The 2nd best point deferential lineup (T. Eason | J. Green | K. Martin | K. Porter | A. Şengün) (+30.4) and the worst point deferential lineup (T. Eason | J. Green | K. Martin | D. Nix | A. Şengün) (-39.0) are only one player different. Either Nix is too detrimental or KPJ is too good, there's a 69 points swing. Lol.
I’m convinced our fan base looks at stats/analytics more than the FO and coach while we’re looking at lineup data/Ortg & Drtg - they just look at Silas smiling 24/7 and everyone is hypnotized - wtf
The 3-guard lineups with Gordon, KPJ, and Green will continue to be killed because there are so many liabilities: Gordon is clearly playing it out and preserving his body. He sees no reason to push his body, and who can blame him? KPJ is erratic on D and is regularly beaten in a footrace down the court. He doesn't change ends, preferring to crash the glass. He's a poor help defender as well. Green is a below-average college-level defender. He sags off and gets blown by, the slightest hesitation, and he's beaten. And he doesn't get back as a professional athlete should on D. But he has less than college-level experience. The guards at North Carolina (like Love) would torch him. Sengun catches a lot of flak, but he's undersized as well. Jabari Smith at the power forward, is giving up 15 lbs when facing starters Aaron Gordon. So what can Stone and Silas do? They've decided to ignore logic and stats and keep rolling out small-ball lineups. I guess that's good fuel for the tank. The answer has to be to go bigger by playing Martin and Eason and sitting Gordon. They at least can give you energy and size. And I like the idea of seeing if Smith can't take minutes at the 3-guard. Maybe if Tate ever plays again, we could try that. Until Gordon reaches his "John Wall moment" with the front office, we're stuck.
A lot of what I saw on the DEFENSIVE end of the court is a lot of standing FLATFOOTED and not being able to move laterally from Sengun, Gordon and Nix. Not being able to get rebounds outside of their area. KPJ, got to emotional at times last night and it showed but he did calm down and he played better. Green, Green, Green! I must admit, I was most disappointed with his play.....I just dont get it. He looks good 2 or 3 games and the next he just does not show up. If he would've showed up in the first game, I think we could've won. Out of all our players, he's the one I'm most concern about.
I think Green is just inconsistent right now. The team is in general. His flashes are superstardom levels. The disappearing or not doing the other little things when shot is off is where he has to improve. But, that’s literally every one on the team
Yeah idk what he’s talking about. KPJ has the best handles on the team without a doubt. I may not trust him to make the best decisions, but he handles it well
take Gordon and replace it with KMJ and wow look our defense is so much better. I'm a tactical mastermind.
I think KPJ has been doing his job. I think last night he has 20/6/5 in the flow of the offense. My problem like I said is with Green. I love the kid's potential, he's just too damn UP and DOWN. You know what you're going to get with Sengun, offense and spotty defense, KPJ consistent 15/5/5 and occasional high turnovers, Smith is starting to come on, EG should not be on the court right now BUT Green is the CATALIST, what makes us better and I think he needs to step it up!
He had 23, but I agree! Their inconsistency drives me crazy. Idk about y’all, but I like KPJ when he’s focusing on his 3 ball rather than taking it up amongst the trees
One big issue its the roster set up. Our "best" defenders are forward tweeners, and we are allocating a lot of minutes to a project at the 4. One that is performing as one of the worst in the league.
