ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Sixers 1/15/2024

People want Jalen to be a finished product and at his peak in his third season. He is still young. We have a young core. none of these young players will be at their peak for another 3-4 years when they enter their prime.

 

Free throw shooting has cost us quite a few games

 

Improvement or just expected growth? I like Jabari showing that he is comfortable at the NBA level now. He still takes bad off-balance shots from time to time and has a very stiff shooting action on him. He doesn't adjust his shot in traffic and has been blocked because of it. He is continuing his growth from year 1.

 

I'm getting pretty tired of seeing another man's defender make a beeline for Sengun who has his back to him - and not a single teammate screaming at Sengun to watch his dribble and look out for the other guy.

Also getting pretty tired of seeing a noticeable uptick in movement through the paint and around the perimeter when the bench guys are on and it's kicked into the post, and precisely none of it when Sengun is in the post.

The thing I'm most getting sick and tired of though, is seeing the ball passed out to a wide open man for a 3 to be bricked. Meanwhile down the other end you're surprised when a team misses a 3 against the Rockets.

 

This is why I've been somewhat in favor of going out and getting Lauri, even if it costs a lot. We need a reliable outlet for Alpi where he can just be like, "I'm getting swarmed? Pass here and we get an easy bucket". We need somebody who can just reliably take his man 1-on-1 and get buckets. I love what FVV and Dillon have brought to the team; I'm still willing to give Jalen a chance to turn things around; and I think Jabari has a bright future. But we have nobody who I am strongly confident can be a #2 option from the perimter, and that's what we need right now.

 

We had our asses kicked from the beginning to the end. I was against bringing back Boban and Landale 's injuries finished him off even before the season began. Sengun needs help on defense, he's average on it. He will run out of gas soon. This is our biggest need.

Additional 3 and D can be useful too. I don't think we can make it to the play in with our current squad.

 

Festina Lente

 

Saw it on twitter! Loved it!!! He's a personal hero of mine. What an entertainer. Best wrestler to ever do it. (and by that I mean entertain me and make me laugh my head off)

 

Just read up the preseason predictions thread it's all there.

 

Markannen is 26, Sengun is 21. By the time Sengun is Markannen age and ready to do something Markannen will be washed. Anybody you bring in has to be 23 or younger otherwise they'd be washed by the time Sengun is ready.

Markannen btw only blossomed as the no 1 option, Bulls and Cavs tried to make him a 3nD for years and he sucked at it.

 

lol!

 

Should be mainly infamous D-List members. I can't see their posts because of "ignore button". No need to learn their names then. Usual suspects.

 

If it were up to the road games, it is not that easy to determine.....tough nights.....

 

That's more than half of our starters. We won't be true contenders with starters who need another year or two or 3 to compete at a level with the best. We either start them and suffer the losses, or bring players already at that level while working the kids in.

You can usually judge a player's potential by year 4. No sense trading him before next year. I just hope we see a big change in the next year, because this is year 3.
Right now Jalen is our starting SG. His ranking against the other qualified shooting guards in the league is TS% #77, Assist ratio #47, and Turnover ratio #36. It is what it is No cherry coating. We are playing a kid in training year 3 as SG with a long way to go compared to the better players at his position.

 

I am not in favor of getting guys like Murray and Bridges for the reason you mentioned; at age 26, Lauri is almost too old to fit, but he does give you an extra year versus those other guys.

Theoretically if Sengun starts to peak around age 23 (similar to, say, Luka) that would give you anywhere from a 4-7 year window depending on how well Lauri ages into his 30s. I don't think a guy needs to be 23 or younger to be a good runningmate, although obviously the younger the better. I'd say 25 and under ideally, age 26 is borderline.

I definitely wouldn't play Lauri as a 3&D guy if we got him. He would be the secondary creator tasked to beat his man 1 on 1 whenever he gets the ball, unless doubled.

 

The Rockets were never gonna win any of these games against the top of the East on the road. The losses that concern me were the bad losses such as in Chicago, at home to Atlanta, at home to Philly without Embiid and a couple others.

Regardless, basically since the win at New Orleans this team has looked like garbage. The good defense to start the season with perimeter guys flying around on rotations like it was the playoffs seems like a distant memory. The Rockets will miss the play in if they don't get close to that type of defense again.

 

where is this rule that players have to be on the same timeline?

shaq/kobe? shaq/dwade? lebron/kyrie? duncan/robinson? or even with our best team in yrs with cp and harden? none of these players were on the same timeline. and if one gets older, and the other is still in his prime, then just retool once the older player is out. just bc someone is 5-6 yrs older doesn't mean they shouldn't be considered by some arbitrary age/timeline rule.

 

Similar timeline helps maximize the number of opportunities.

I don't think they have to be on the exact same timeline, but closer is better because it increases the number of playoff runs and chances to contend together. Makes it more likely to win a ring. When you start talking about adding a #2 guy who's age 27-28 or so, there's almost no window with Sengun as the best player. Maybe just two or three years at best. (Or even if it somehow ends up being one of the other young guys who emerges as our best later on.)

Of course if we were getting a guy who is already a proven superstar and Sengun is going to be the second best player on the team, that might be different, but none of the guys discussed fit that description.

 

I don't think bench marking yourself to Luka Doncic is a good idea lol. If Luka is ready by age 23 then age 25-26 is a good time line for Sengun. Markannen is a good second option NOW, not 5 yrs from now when he is 31. Markannen actually has quite bit of injury history, he has been healthy now but in 5 yrs when he is older he might relapse just like Galinari. Gallo is actually very similar to Markannen he was a borderline all star in his prime and just faded quickly due to injuries.

But the most important thing is it's Danny Ainge, since when did Ainge do a fair deal? After he ripped off Minny and Cleveland you want us to be the third team he destroys? Guarantee any Markannen trade is gonna start with Jabari.