I agree that it would be nice to see some more creativity in the offense but can we really look back at last night's game, for example, and say Jalen didn't get good looks and opportunities? He is not executing well. Missing wide open 3s, blew an easy finish at the rim, a lot of bad decisions when he put the ball on the floor. He did make some nice passes here and there but overall he just looks sloppy out there.
I don't care about getting a player OFF - just win - and if he isn't fitting in with us as WE ARE WINNING - then jettison his ass to somewhere else where he can score while they get their ass beat. DD
Think one big issue is not having a stretch 5. That’s probably why Boston has Horford and Porzingis and got rid of Williams to open up the floor to Brown and Tatum. Pacers and Sixers also have stretch capability with Embid and Turner allowing their guards to operate in more open spaces. All these teams including Sac or Den who have talented big men, the one common thing is they work off a 2 man game with elite scorers who get a lot of touches. Fox, Maxey, Haliburton in top 10. FVV num 11 and Jamal Murray 23. Green is at 69. Your best or second best scorer shouldn’t be 3rd in touches to a player in FVV who is a low efficiency scorer himself at a career 40% and .378 this year. And I love FVV but this is why Rockets go on droughts I believe is because they rely too much on this 2 man game especially with FVV who isn’t as quick to get to the paint as other elite guards. They need to feed Green and change up the offense to allow easier scoring for Green and possibly others including Amen.
What I don’t get is why fans magnify and focus on Green’s mistakes as if good players or superstars in this league play perfect games. Booker averages 3.1 TO a game. Fox has games with multiple turnovers same with Lillard. FVV is a low efficiency scorer and doesn’t finish well in the paint but yet few people talk about this. Sengun has several 6 TO games including in San Antonio and terrible outing again griz the other night. Seems to be a double standard and how Jalen’s mistakes are somehow magnified and chastised more than others. And if you look at how we play in our sets Jalen either gets a high screen on top often deferring to Sengun as the roll man or he gets ball top of key or wing gets by his man but there’s 3 guys camping in paint for him. A lot of this has to do with a slow half court offense that’s predicated on 2 man FVV Sengun game.
I like Green and want him to be that scoring SG we need, but he is just not getting it done consistently enough right now. I keep waiting for it to happen, but I am seeing more bad than good lately with him. Then Tari comes in games and you can see his production IMMEDIATELY. He is not the electric athlete Jalen is, but he just gets it done on both ends man. Then you have a young and raw Cam, in the wings chomping at the bit to get out there and show his stuff. Jalen is in trouble if he doesn't figure some things out soon.
But here’s the thing. Tari scores in other ways such as put backs, steals on a break, or cutting with occasional 3. Not the same type of player. He’s a big 3 or 4 3-D guy and his role and positioning on the court is different. He isn’t being asked to dribble drive or create to make plays. Two different players, positions, and roles. This is unfair to Green and I really don’t get the comparisons to guys in other positions. Cam is not a 2 guard. Same with D Brooks no matter how fans keep clamoring for them to start as 2 guards. Different skillset especially Cam who doesn’t pass.
Keep reading about Jalen playmaking but he’s just making basic basketball plays. He’s not out there dotting teammates up and making passes other people didn’t see. I’ll put it like this, his elementary playmaking nor his mediocre defense are good enough to keep him on the floor over other options if he’s not putting the ball in the hoop. Unless this mf turns into prime Rondo, I don’t give af about him making basic passes and occasionally being able to stay in front of his man. Increase your scoring percentages.
I've been saying for years, Jalen Green's ceiling is this team's 6th man until he proves otherwise. Eason brings everything we need on the starting lineup. Rebounding, defense, scoring, cuts.
Lol why do people keep comparing 2 players that play 2 diff positions and have 2 diff roles. Cam, Brooks, Tari aren’t 2 guards. They’re not even guards.
Cam and Tari have positional flexibility to where they can play at the 2 or 3. For them, at least they can shoot.... an important quality in a shooting guard and something Jalen can't do. I think it's telling that so many guys can play out of position better than Jalen can play in his natural position.
Good thing we still have plenty of time to not make any rash moves. Just interesting how often you put forth two extremes as the only options.
Maybe? Maybe not? But Jamal Crawford was a good NBA player that had a very long career. This extremism of options is just telling....
The same Jamal Crawford who has a career.410 FG%? And shot .386 FG% and .317 3P% in his 4th year finally starting playing 35 min a game?
That’s a misconception dude as almost all teams play traditional guards. And when did Tari play as 2 guard this year? He has for the most part played in lineups featuring Green or Aaron Holiday as the 2 guard. He only played in one lineup for 18 minutes where he didn’t have a traditional guard besides FVV. Are you comparing him and Green in this 18 minute span?
So why can't you pencil in Tari at the 2 on paper? What does Jalen bring to the game that Tari couldn't? Guys who have the flexibility to play multiple positions are a good thing and when you don't have a starting caliber SG, it's better to just plug in a SF who can handle the 2 than play the SG who can't shoot.... or do anything really.
Dillon would be the 2 guard and Tari the 3 if we replace Jalen with him. This would also put four plus defenders around Sengun, an ideal setup. I have to say, for the first time in a long time, unless Jalen picks it up big time, DD may be onto something.
The Rockets are trying to win now, but not for the sake of one more win as if that would make a difference in the long run, since they will not win the championship this season. Rather, it is for the sake of evaluating who are the winning players on the team. The Rockets had preconceived notions of its players, Jalen and Sengun, illusions that have been shattered after empowering an actual legitimate coach. This is vital in determining where the team will invest its resources in the future. I am not so down on Jalen this year actually, compared to when I was more critical of him the last few years. He has improved his defense immensely, he has been coachable so far, his offense has just not yet clicked with the new team oriented philosophy. No he was never the Mj/kobe delusional archetype that some boasted him to be, and no he is not even a “core” player that Clutch thought he was, but I do think he is showing that he can develop into a positive contributor eventually. With that said, the problem is he isn’t one yet, and boy is Eason one already. So in the spirit of evaluating our players, and upholding accountability, I don’t hate the move if they do it, especially if they DON’T plan on trading Jalen. Bench him and let him slowly improve until he is actually ready to start, if ever. Now if they DO plan on trading him, this move would plummet his value so I would rather keep him starting in that case, and move him when an opportunity arises.
