You would know more about Westbrook bio than me. All I can say is, yes things happen. Chuck Kneublock was an All Star second baseman for the twins.....then all of a sudden while with the Yankees Chuck couldnt hit the first baseman....or side of a barn. Wild Thing pitcher from the Phillies had a similar mental breakdown issue. All I can say is.....Scoot will be lucky to score 9 points if teams go zone .....(today(
Hendricks is a good player but not a top 5 player. Whitmore has no elite talent, he is a undersize power forward….he is a nice player but he does not move the needle for a top 4 talent
I don’t know if Kobe Bufkin is a top 4 but I love his game and he would fit nicely. He measured at 6’5 without shoes, can get his own shot and has a nice handle as a combo guard. This guy is going to rise as we get closer to the draft. Hell I’d draft him over Thompson
Yes but all "looks" aren't created equal. An open look on a 3 from 23 or 24 feet is likely going to be less efficient than an open 3 from 19 feet or an open shot at the basket or in transition. I also didn't say this was all KPJ's fault. Nobody on the team did these things but somebody needs to. Possible assists means nothing more than you passed the ball to a teammate and they shot it. It doesn't take into account the quality of the shot. That's exactly what the quote I referenced from Udoka was saying.
If Hendricks is a PF only, I could see the Rockets not wanting to take PT from Jabari and drafting someone is more SF first.
You're talking about shot creation ability, not athleticism. Doncic and Jokic are glued to the floor in comparison to other NBA players and they're two of the best creators in the league. Even with elite athleticism and good scoring acumen it's not like Green is a great finisher yet. Whitmore is going to be able to finish at the rim even with contact. It's not just about his frame and strength, because Jarace Walker is built like a tank (6'8", 240lbs) and a good athlete, but still struggles at the rim.
I mean, it's all related. I'm talking about lateral agility, balance, deceleration ability, ability to contort your body in midair, leaping ability off of one foot versus two... those kinds of things. Obviously those factor into shot creation, but they're also physical talents that are components of overall athleticism. From the tape I've seen, Cam Whitmore is very much a, drive in a straight line to the hoop, jump off two feet, and power through contact guy right now. His ability to finish through contact is valuable, and it will translate to some degree to the NBA, but I'd caution you that the brute force approach isn't necessarily going to work as well against much bigger, stronger NBA defenders. That's when all-quadrants athleticism like Amen Thompson and Jalen Green possess become important.
No I get it and establishing a system where the supposed shooters on the team get those quality looks is important I agree with that premise. Not singling you out I was just taking a jab at the plenty of other guys who just casually pointed the finger at him and then glanced away when they were presented with the shooting numbers AND THEN tried to say the shooting numbers were what they were because of KPJ. I think it was @Corrosion who kept up with 'quality of shots' in an advanced metric earlier in the year I cant recall exactly what it was and if it wasnt Corrosion then my bad, and it had the Rockets near the top of those looks while not ALL easy buckets its safe to say that not all of those 'potentials' were last minute heaves either. Im hoping I didnt slip into a wrinkle in the space time continuum or something because what I do remember quite vividly was Jabari missing a freakload of wide open shots. Alpie is a nothingburger outside of 6 feet. Jalen is erratic from distance. The whole team minus one or two guys were just bad or inconsistent and ultimately undependable if the games were close. I just hope they can get up to average next year and if Udoka can implement a better method for these kids to respond to then great lets do it. I really think we have the pieces to the puzzle - just need to make them fit.
Brandon Miller and Cam Whitmore are the two players that intrigue me the most. Outside of Wemby and Scoot Henderson, of course. If Whitmore is the player left at No. 4 and the Rockets can trade down and add assets while still picking him up, all the better. As for Amen Thompson, I think he'd be the biggest gamble out of the prospects. Just too many questions about his game for me.
Thats fine let the cream rise. Competition is great for team building. I think Jabari, Hendricks and Eason would work wonderfully at the forward positions. It might be time to cash in on KMJ or if he's fine with splitting time lets ride - those 4 would be a nice rotation. Garuba is Alpies backup and would also work beautifully with the other forwards as they all offer switchability among the bigs. You want to give Cam Johnson 20Ms+ and throw him into the forward rotation instead of just drafting another cheap rookie which should hopefully hover around the 40% mark too? Which other guys are you wanting to pay instead of drafting? Draymond? Harrison Barnes? Jerami Grant? All those guys are going to command a salary much higher than pick 4. If you would rather diversify the guard room then I can understand wanting a different pick at 4.
Yes, the NBA is morphing fast. Guys like Theis as bigs and Rondo/Westbrook (smalls) were serviceable a few years back are going to find it a rough going as defenses have caught up in smarts. Looney and Robert Williams who had no problems as just screen and roll guys on offense are touch and go. Getting to where all 5 players need to be consistent knock down 3-pt shooters. This is why I like Jarace. Provide a little more muscle than Hendricks. Whitmore as well. I can probably overpay for slim Jim's in the form of Jeremiah Grant or trade for Jaylen Brown/Mikal Bridges....but muscle is also needed. But I'm not going to be disappointed Hendricks is drafted at #4
One last dig at Thompson….he is the Malik Willis of the NBA. Malik was supposed to go top 10 in draft and went late 3rd round. Great great great athlete, elite athlete but had just one negative…wasn’t accurate on his passes. Same deal with Amen everything is great except for shooting. Scouts will figure it out.
It may be subjective to my failing eyes I dont know, but I think Hendricks offers more in terms of versatility and overall switchability to defend even guards in spurts with a little bit more pure of a shot. Walker being bulkier cant get out on guards as effortless, but in defending bigs I think he is better than Hendricks. I do like the playmaking that Walker can bring and some ability to face up and make things happen -- but then you have Sengun in that role who offers a much higher level of frontcourt playmaking so the overlap may be too great to risk a lesser shooter in this comp. I see Hendricks as a Brandon Miller who doesnt murder.
Even wide open looks from a location where you don't shoot it well isn't a good shot. Great example is PJ Tucker. From above the break, he's not very good. From the corner's he's good. It I get PJ Tucker wide open looks above the break, those still aren't efficient shots. The guys with really good court vision can see when people are in position for a good shot and deliver the ball to them. We have nobody that sees the floor to that extent. Also, much of shooting is confidence. You take some difficult shots and miss and all of a sudden you're 0-4 or 1-5 and you might not have much confidence on your next shot. If you get an easier shot and you make a couple, then you're likely going to have more confidence on you're next shot. We just have to make the game easier on the offensive end. That means getting people shots that they can hit efficiently. What those shots are will be different from player to player. For Olajuwon, the dream shake from the baseline was a good shot. For the rest of humanity, it would be a horrible shot. Get a PG that can see the floor, deliver the ball from any zone (not just from the lane) and push the ball in transition and all of a sudden we'd be getting a lot more good shots and the offense would improve drastically.
