I have finally lost FAITH in Jalen, we need to trade him.

It is possible that Cam ends up being the best player on the Rockets, but it hard to know because it requires so much projection to arrive at that conclusion.

A 19-year-old putting up 13/4 in 19 minutes a game with good shooting numbers IS very impressive. It shows a real high ceiling as a scorer.

However - again, he is 19 and needs to improve at creating for others and defending....... those areas SHOULD improve, but there is no guarantee.

 

I'm not sure I agree that Thompson has "by far" the highest upside, but I do think Green, Sengun, and Thompson all have separated themselves pretty substantially from the rest of our young prospects. They are also a pretty clean fit in that you have your guard, forward, and center. IMO, you surround those three with good shooting and pray that each improves on their weaknesses (Green becomes more consistent, Amen develops a shot, etc.).

 

No, you really couldn't, not a good player anyway.

While it's true of course that some level of inconsistency exists in anything done by humans, that's not what I'm talking about.

I just showed you that objectively Jalen Green has been awful in his last several games....so you attempt to use raw PPG to deflect from his bad performance.....highly inefficient volume scoring is a bad thing my guy. This isn't the 90's, there's no excuse in not realizing that in current year.

My whole point was that you shouldn't base your judgement of a player on a fluke hot streak. If for 73 games a player is terrible, it doesn't matter that he was amazing for 9....you judge them based on the 73.....also, you don't just pretend that they were actually good when they were terrible.

When you look at his overall career stats, his overall season stats, and his stats in the last 5, it's clear that his poor performance in his last 5 is MUCH closer to who he has been for the vast majority of this season and for his entire career as a whole than the guy he was for 9 random games in March.

He's been a high volume chucker his entire career, teams focusing on him is not something new.....they have always known that he's going to be the guy chucking a ton of shots. Pretending otherwise is dishonest....and all too common. You guys are just looking for yet another excuse for his poor performance. It can never be his fault.

 

Yeah, who are you going to believe? Random people doing PR speak with the media, or the objective truth?

We know which one you want to go with.

 

Jalen's efficiency has gone down because teams are consistently doubling and tripling him since we really don't have an effective second option at the moment. That's pretty clear from watching recent games. I was at the GS game and literally saw a couple plays where GW sent four guys at him.

Tell you what -- aside form Linsanity, name another young player who had a month like Jalen did in March who went on to have a subpar career. I can't think of anyone close. You don't luck yourself into leading the NBA in PPG for a month, particularly at 22 yrs old. It takes incredible, unique talent to do that, regardless of schedule, etc.

 

At this point I'd trade Jalen for Bridges straight up. I think Sengun/Amen are the future moving forward and they need to be surrounded with players that can operate off the dribble. Jalen is a collapse the defense type of player. If the Nets want to involve another team and get us another asset for their picks back then we can entertain that but I'd offer Jalen for Bridges and groom Cam. Outside of that just roll with Green again next year and figure out a serviceable 1B at the shooting guard spot.

Our biggest issues right now are that of the starters, I only trust Jabari and Sengun to be consistent next year. This team needs consistent scoring in the worst way and Dillon, FVV and Jalen are the opposite of that.

 

The one thing I'll disagree with is that I don't think he really needs to focus on creating for others. It would be nice, but I think the defense should be his #1 priority. If he can be a knock down 3 point shooter that plays solid defense and brings energy and an above the rim presence, he is set for a long NBA career.

 

Again this is about context if how he's scoring and just looking at his game.

First it's a giant red flag that he has twice as many turnovers than assists. And that isn't just "tunnel vision". Players with tunnel vision but decent handles still get more assists than turnovers because the handle allows you to manipulate defenses to get open looks for teammates even with poor tunnel vision. Green had arguably the same level of tunnel vision at 19 but his handle was far more advanced to where he stumbled into having more assists than turnovers simply because he can handle the ball enough to manipulate and collapse defenses in a half court set with a handle.

Cam and rookie Green have the same adjusted scoring effit while Green did it on 50% self creation on fgs made and Cam at 30% of his fgs made self created.

I think you are either overselling Cam or underselling Green.

 

Off the dribble means collapsing defenses. Do you mean "off ball"?

So you want a dude with suspect handles and can't shoot who has to be used as a pseudo center due to his offensive limitations and Sengun to be the two focal points on offense?

 

Amen is not a starting player on a playoff team. In playoffs, you generally can not be playing 4 on 5 on offense.

BTW, I am super impressed with Amen. He has serious NBA skills from the get go ... defense, rebounding, cutting, finishing. We will see how his shot progresses this offseason.

 

Also if you don't like Green, fine. But why harm the Rockets by getting someone under Green's value?

Unless you can tell me with a straight face that 22 year old Mikal Bridges attracts double teams in a constant basis you aren't a serious person at least with basketball analysis.

If you what to trade Green I'd assume as a Rocket fa you'd want more than that. You want to maximize talent yet your hatred for Green means you want to harm the Rockets to satisfy your hatred. It's sad.

 

What do you mean? The Warriors built a dynasty with Draymond, and Amen's offensive upside is much, much higher than Draymond's.

 

No, I think Amen Thompson is a better athlete than Jalen Green and I am not assuming that Green will always be a more skilled player either.

It is certainly possible Green will be the better player - he is further along in his development and he is very talented in his own right.

Having said that, Thompson can do things that Green will never be able to do. Thompson as a rookie is light years beyond Green defensively already. Thompson can guard 4-5 spots on the floor as well. Thompson is also a far better rebounder, shot blocker, gets more steals. Amen Thompson has had to spend a lot of time inside, with Sengun down - as he is already a better passer than Green was early in his career.

Thompson even finishes at the basket better than Green.

Green is a better perimeter shooter, and has a better handle at this point - and a better volume scorer. I am confident Thompson's handle will improve; it already had been - the question is how much will Thompson improve as a shooter.

That isn't an indictment of Jalen Green - he joined the Rockets as a scorer and shooter, and couldn't do much else. He has improved his handle and he has improved finishing at the rim, he has improved as a defender and he is starting to go to the line more. I think that Green will always score more points, and I believe Green will be the better shooter - but Thompson can stuff the stat sheet in a way very few players can, especially if he just becomes a passable shooter.

 

Who's he holding back???

He's the starting 2 based on his defense alone.
His D is night and day compared to his first 2.5 years. He's definitely turned a corner on that end. He's finally using his quickness to his advantage. I'm not saying he's a lockdown defender yet, but his progress over a short amount of time under this staff is impressive and should only get better as he gets stronger.

His playmaking and shot selection have improved.
Yeah his efficiency has cooled off a bit after a crazy shooting stretch, but now opponents are game planning for him. They're constantly doubling him and letting the rest try to beat them. Even getting doubled he's shown growth. Rarely forces things. Gets it out quick and hits the open man.

Question... If he was such a scrub, would they double him and force the rest of the team to beat them?

He's a much improved player in the 2nd half of the season and his numbers show it, national media has recognized and acknowledged it. And yes, the true Rocket fans have loved it.

 

Amen is a bigger player and that is the only aspect that makes him a better athlete I guess? Green is still more laterally agile, still more quick and still more coordinated even when Green was 19 and Amen is 21.

Green had a better handle as a 19 year old compared to 21 year old Amen. So the odds of Amen ever getting to Green's level of handles is slim to none. Green is barely a year older than Amen also so Green still will be continuing to improve his handle even with the massive head start he has in that department.

Again. I think you are really overlooking things like balance and coordination with the ball. Green has more Kyrie like dexterity and coordination than Amen since the get go.

I think you are really infatuated with dimensions and the selling point of high IQ. He's playing a dunkers role right now. To go from that to PG is a Long long long long road, a much longer road than Green is to becoming a true lead ballhandler.

 

I'm not very high on Jalen moving forward, but I wouldn't get rid of him just to get rid of him. He had some impressive moments during that hot streak but I'm still not convinced. It was against some of the worse teams in the league and I've seen him have hot streaks in the second half of a season before. The only thing the hot streak helped him do was get close to some of his paltry career averages.

Even the things people are sayin he has greatly improved in like assists are not even anything to write home about. He's averaging less assists this season than last year. You have to struggle and pull out a magnifying glass to point out these under the radar things he's doing well to justify him continuing to be a focal point of the team. "Look he made the right pass, he's turned a corner".

Next season though, if he's still around, I'd expect the Rockets to have a legit replacement option if Jalen comes out playing like ass again. Dedicating entire seasons to a few players development and learning should be over. Also, wasting entire seasons for 12 games of excitement just to reach being mediocre overall should be over.

After spending a season with these guys I imagine Udoka has a really good feel for the direction he wants to go in. The off season will tell the tale.

 

To be fair, the Rockets kinda already do have a young replacement if Green doesn't work out in Whitmore.

 

Again it won't b a replacement because Cam simply can't do things Green does while Green if he is a consistent catch and shoot shooter can do everything Whitmore does but better.

 

Draymond might be a unicorn. Can Amen run the same plays as Draymond?

I have no idea what Amen's offensive upside will be.

 

No....that's been the case his entire career because he came in with the keys of the franchise just handed to him. He's been a high volume chucker since day one.

His efficiency has gone down (from the fluke 9 good games, not by the numbers he's put up his whole career) because he's no longer hitting 47% of his 3's. The good efficiency was the fluke, he's just returning to being the guy he's always been.

Also....of course you are going to send a lot of players at a mindless chucker with a poor handle that isn't much of a passer. That's why teams have done the same thing his entire career. The only time that changed was when Sengun and FVV were the guys handling the ball most of the time.

Fluke hot streaks happen ALL THE TIME....they mean nothing when the player immediately goes back to being the bench caliber player they've been their entire career.

I get it. You REALLY want to believe and you are willing to fool yourself into any ridiculous narrative to keep that blind faith going. That's fine.....but don't get upset when others don't go along with that.