How different would this season be if Jalen and Cam's minutes were switched from day one?

Cam is still not the difference maker/needle mover that he will eventually/hopefully become.

I see Cam more of a puzzle piece his first year where you can experiment with taller lineups.

 

We would've lost more games and Cam would be a worse player right now.

He's being developed the right way.

 

Tough question. Considering that I can count at least 6 - 8 more wins if Jalen would have just shown up. I'm tempted to say play-in. Jalen's numbers don't lie. Cam's don't either.

 

I see 6 more wins or so....but, just with a competent starting NBA 2 guard that can play both ends. Cam's being brought along the right way. That said, I'd like to see him start tonight.

 

There is no way to predict the hypothesis of this thread. Throwing Cam to the Wolves did not make sense at the start of the season. We also needed to see how Jalen responded to a real coach. Cam was brought along slowly and is now showing he is ready for the starting role. He was definitely not ready to start the season. We now also know Jalen is the same player, a bad one, under good and bad coaching. Making the switch makes a ton of sense now.

 

I think the biggest difference is that Jalen would have been traded already. If he started the season in the G-League like Cam did, he would have been gone by now.

 

Being thrown to the wolves is what you call being coached by Silas. Udoka never would have left him on the floor to learn bad habits if he was struggling.

 

We would be a lot better.

DD

 

Lol. Because throwing Jalen into the starting lineup worked so well for his development?

You're the one who's been b****ing so hard about handing a starting job to a rook who hasn't earned it. Cam was nowhere near NBA-ready at the beginning of the season.

 

I don’t think it’d be that much different. Cam needed time to develop and it was nice to have him develop in the G-League and off the bench instead of throwing him into the fire. He may still need time to develop, but right now I think he’s playing better than Green and should start.

 

Cam is getting developed the right way, that player right out of summer league wasn’t going to win you any games. He’s still quite the project, but he definitely shed some of the bad habits before our eyes

 

I don't think that much different. Jalen has single handedly lost us games and won us some games. I don't think Cam moves the needle that much this early into his career. He's a good spark off the bench right now.

 

Cam isn't a weak minded Jalen.

DD

 

Probably not that different and it may have been bad for Cam’s development.

Instead, what if we’d signed someone like Malik Beasley and traded Jalen?

 

Go Rockets!!!
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As other posters have already said, I'm not sure it's fair to say they'd have won more games if you switch their minutes from Game 1. Cam has been eased into his current role and he's been developed as needed for his age and maturity. Now if OP had asked the same question but for a smaller timeframe (early January maybe), I could see that switch resulting in a few more wins. That being said, I don't think the Rockets would suddenly be a top 5-6 seed in the West. Even if that switch happened tomorrow, this roster still has issues that one roster change won't fix.