Jalen is so bad that this fanbase would rather see a 19 yo rookie take his minutes. It's unbelievable how a 2nd pick overall in his 3rd year can look this bad. He's definitely one of those players that relied on his athleticism his entire life and now that he needs to be making snap decisions while driving, he can't handle the pressure.
Oh it's because he had 5 turnovers and 15 points on 15 shots. That's a bad game, he should have done better. That should be his worst game in a ten game stretch. Udoka should be threatening to bring him off the bench to let him know time is running out. Prefer a tough love approach at this point. At the same time, Udoka has to ask himself how come only catch and shoot players are succeeding outside of FVV-Sengun? Can he not leverage Cam, Jalen and Amen's athleticism more through a different pace? Cam Whitmore should've received much of Green's minutes tonight, but it looks like Udoka had 0 trust in him? His box stats have been excellent recently so it must be he's not earning Udoka's trust in other core areas. With Jalen I'm resigned to the fact that Udoka sees gradual improvement happening rather than a turning point. I agree that if we're developing Jalen in a slow, motionless half court offense, we have to temper our expectations. I'm 100% sure Jalen would be materially more efficient on the Pacers (fast pace, low mid range, lots of spacing, defense taking a backseat). However I know that a true big scorer will eventually have to be good in a slow half court so while this process is cringey more often than I'd like, it's a worthwhile endeavor.
If he is able to improve his catch and shoot percentage and develop stronger hands so he wouldn't get stripped all the time on drives he would be a much better player. Those are low hanging fruit things he can improve upon by putting in work. You would think he would have improved those things over his first two offseasons but sadly he did not. He is starting to finish through contact a bit better and change speed some on drives, slightly.
I'm not really sure how but each year Jalen Green has regressed in shooting. Rookie - 42.6, 2nd year - 41.6, 3rd year - 40.1 Same with 3pt shooting Rookie - 34.3, 2nd year - 33.8, 3rd year - 33.1. Usually players improve their shooting, because are usually being coached. Maybe Jalen doesn't like being coached? Anyways The Rockets are not going to get far with an sg shooting well below league averages in fg(.474) and 3pt(.367)
Even the most staunch Jalen hater would have to admit that none of the way the team is setup on the offensive end is to his benefit. We have some of the fastest players in the league and we play at the slowest pace. We have no alley-oops, dunks in transition, hardly anything of the sort. How many easy alley-oops did Green,KJM, hell even Nwaba get in a previous system? Udoka's slow grinding, everyone get back in transition, walk the ball up the court with Fred, offense has been snuffed out and it's been well time for adjustments.
When we decided to sign FVV, it was decided that a lower pace was going to shore up some of our greatest weaknesses. Transition defense and turnovers. It is Jalen’s poor play and untimely injuries to our 2 best sf’s that has derailed the team for now. FVV is not suddenly going to turn into Magic Johnson. I’m no longer on the patience train with Jalen. He and FVV cannot be effective together unless Jalen suddenly becomes a 38-40 per cent 3 pt shooter. Time to move him to the bench and sign a complimentary shooting guard to play on the first unit. It is also time for Ime to trust Amen for 20 mins a game at pg and reduce FVV’s minutes to 30 a night. We still might not make the playoffs, but we surely aren’t going to make them with the current rotations. By moving Jalen to the bench, you can better develop our young players at the fast pace they will be best at.
That's a fine take but what shooting guard are you adding to the team? For me, to sign a veteran SG that is going to compliment FVV drastically lowers the ceiling of the team for the future, which should be the end goal of a developing team right? the future?
No he's not, he got benched after 15 games because he was unplayable on a worse team that desperately needs scoring and can afford to have a small guard on the court. His defense and passing is so bad the he is a negative on the court if he doesn't score 30 efficient points. Also, Cam Whitmore is full sized Cam Thomas. We're good.
5 of our 6 core young players would be better with more space and pace. The turnover problem we had doesn't exist, this is a brand new roster effectively. What the pace is doing is hiding Sengun's defense. Do you really think that's worth putting 5 core young guys at a disadvantage? I think the solution is simpler than you think. Go to an average pace instead of the slowest in the universe. Give everyone a better chance if we want their help. Absolutely nothing is working for our young guys except Jabari and Cam catch and shoot. Who believes that's the only talent we have in those 5 players? Not a reasonable argument. Give them transition and space like most other rookies are getting. Adjust the offense to our core personnel. Green and Whitmore will not turn into Kawhi Leonard this season or maybe ever, you still need to make it easier on them like we do for Sengun. Jabari is doing well when we trust him. Amen needs to run the offense without a tight leash. Tari outruns everyone in transition if you allow him. Sengun needs help man, almost all the players are not able to drive into the paint or run in transition. This can't be brushed off. I don't know how it can be argued that hiding Sengun's defense is more important than easing the offense for 5 other guys who - entering the season - 3 of them had done just as much in their career as him. Who sets out to have one of the slowest paces with one of the fastest and most athletic rosters? That could not have been the plan.
Epilogue: The Blame game It’s Udoka’s fault. It’s Fred’s fault. It’s Sengun’s fault. The three people most responsible for everything positive this season, let’s blame them. It can’t be Jalen’s fault, who tricked the GM talking about mamba mentality when he would rather work on the catwalk than a gym in the offseason. It can’t be OP’s fault, who wrote novelas hyping up a bust and setting delusional expectations that’s now backfiring. It couldn’t be that you were just wrong, impossible. It must be the coach and the best players’ fault, that’s what’s holding Green back. Laughable.
I think the only reason Jalen is still starting is to keep his perceived trade value as high as possible until the trade deadline. That is the only thing that makes any sense given the current situation.
You forgot it was Silas' fault first and that he's has no coaching so this should really count as his rookie season.. Now it's Udoka's fault because he is running a game plan that is holding him back. Jalen was on track to be one of the best scorers in the league.
we did young gun / fast pace for the last 3 years with jalen and other young talent. how did we do ? The only reason we are near .500 is because of our Defense. If upping the pace helps jalen at the expense of our D its not worth it. I thought we were trying to win games here , not still optimize our young guys ? How is that fair / conducive to our big FA signings ? And yes , Tari outruns people ... he's been playing quite well . Jalen should give more effort. I still have not seen him dive to the floor for a loose ball. The plan was to try to win more games. Jabari looks much better this season, but is still inconsistent as we might expect a young guy to be.... buuuuut we see the effort and we saw that even last year. And , especially since we are trying to turn the corner from being a 20 win team ... we should not prioritize Cam and Amen. Sorry you guys got drafted into a situation where wins are more important than just giving you bulk playing time , but , hopefully , you will be better in the long run for having to earn your minutes and learn to play in different styles. So far jalens only skill ive really seen is getting hot. Do i need to remind yall Jaesean Tate had a 30+ point game once upon a time. The difference was in that game he also had like 8 combined steals and blocks.
You totally misunderstood what I said at the base assumption of your post. I never advocated for starting 5 young players and letting them do what they want. Your argument is misdirected.
We're wasting valuable reps trying to grow Green when he doesn't want to. He's literally just trying to have fun. He looks ready for the offseason to start so he can model and sell himself to the elites.
what is your evidence for saying that 5/6 would be better with more space and pace ? Besides the fact that in general that style is more efficient offensively ? Besides ? who provides the space ? Who will start at 5 ? We are lucky Dillon Brooks and Holliday started off the year lightning hot from 3. Jalen isnt playing with the infamous detroit pistons starting frontcourt of Josh Smith / drummond/ greg monroe. I mean we'd all like to be a top 10 offense AND defense. but realistically we aren't good enough to achieve that. I understand that you'd like to see changes to improve the offense . So would I . But i also wouldnt be tailoring for jalen green at this point..... and we have absolutely no evidence to say what will serve Cam or Amen. Those guys have only played 20 games. We have willing passers on the team. Why is Jalen not the first guy down the floor every time on offense ?
Right now Jalen shouldn't even be a starter on this team, and it's ridiculous that he takes the 2nd most shot attempts. He has the worst FG% of everyone on the team. It's just ridiculous. He also takes the 2nd most 3PT attempts, even though he's not one of our better shooters from behind the arc. Add in the fact that he turns over the ball far too much and doesn't even get many assists. Our highest FG% in order Sengun, Jeff Green, Cam, Tate, Brooks, Jabari, Eason, Amen, Holiday, Jalen. Our highest 3PT% in order Brooks, Holiday, VanVleet, Cam, Jabari, Eason, Jalen, Tate, Sengun, Amen.
