I think its a solid list. The NBA is in a transitional phase in regards to superstars. In 10 years I think several guys here who are scoffed at will be in some generational type conversations.
SG is not typically a premium position, there are just extreme outliers that give a false impression. Typically the best players are centers, small forwards, and point guards are the more premium positions. Shooting guards are more often really good shooting role players.
There's not a lot of true combo guards like a James Harden though, a lot of "combo guards" are just shooting guards who want to dominate the ball to pad their numbers or point guards who want to call their own number more than they want to pass. True combo guards, point forwards, and point centers are amazing though. It's just a situation where there are a million pretenders.
I think if you are a NBA coach who has Jalen Green on your roster you hope you can make his ability to beat perimeter set half court defenses in such a effortless manner that collapses defenses and places them out of position into a weapon that generates easy looks. He's the only one on the roster that truly has that ability and he's one of the best in the league in this ability. You hear opposing team announcers wax lyrical about how effortless it is for him to do that. Hence why it would be smart to gro him into a combo playmaking guard. A lot of playmaking stars are playmakers not because they make advanced reads all the time, but rather because they collapse defenses all the time that allow them to make easy reads.
The issue is that he lacks the BBIQ and skill to be a true combo guard. He lacks the shooting ability or passing ability/court vision/instincts to keep defenses honest and he lacks the ability to efficiently score at the rim to make his quick first step a quality weapon. So, just like was the case before he was drafted, he's got the raw physical traits to be special, he just lacks the skill to do anything positive with them.
I keep seeing you post this. Please explain how he lacks less than the average player's IQ? Missing shots doesn't mean he's a low IQ player... he usually takes shots within the flow of the offense and within the role Udoka has designed for him.
Ya when people complain about Green as a passer they mean at a level where you can trust him to be a full time pg in a heliocentric type offense. For a combo shooting guard he's like average to above average. There are levels to this. Plenty yof wings and guards at his age that averaged more turnovers than assists for example. Those are the guys who are what Bobby thinks Green is.
He takes dumb shots, he has poor court vision so he doesn't see the obvious pad he should make and instead just goes up to get easily blocked at the rim, he has no clue what to do on defense 90% of the time.....I mean, he's the exact opposite of a smart player. Every way a player could demonstrate low BBIQ is effectively his game.
No, I mean at a level where he could be trusted to ever make the correct pass he's a bad passer. That's not to say that he never makes the easy and obvious pass... it's just that he can't be trusted to ever make it. We celebrate every single time he makes the most basic of passes for an assist In his third season he's a step ahead of Cam Whitmore
This is what I mean. You are incapable of measured criticism. No he isn't so horrific where Everytime it's a miracle he made the "right pass". When there are a plethora of wings and guards who average more turnovers than assists a 19-22 year old off guard like Green with his assist to turnover ratio is "meh" to above average. It isn't young Jalen Brown or Cam level bad.
As I said, in his 3rd season he was a step ahead of Cam as a rookie. He rarely even attempts to pass the ball.... he'd rather get blocked at the rim and pray for a bailout whistle. I get it, you can't see his flaws due to being blinded by emotion One of the keys to improvement last season was having FVV and Sengun taking the ball out of Jalen's hands so that competent players could control things. I hope for that to continue and add more possessions where Amen or Sheppard control the ball to limit Jalen's possession even more. When Jalen has the ball, it's usually a bad thing.
I think this is quite a bit of an exaggeration, but that was expected. I think that most of the time, when he attacks the basket and gets blocked, its usually a good read but poor execution... usually due to lack of strength and size as he gets thrown off his trajectory against bigger players. He has to learn how to absorb contact better (like Ja Morant). He has an above average feel around the basket and have seen him bank shots off really tough angles. Poor court vision is another exaggerated assessment as he usually makes solid reads. He does get picked off lazy passes sometimes but usually the reads he makes are correct. I do agree he gets lost on defense, especially when he favors the weak side and loses his man but he has shown improvement here,
Jalen Green as a rookie was already far ahead of Cam as a on ball guard lol. There was no point in Green's career that he will ever average more turnovers than assists like a young Jaylen Brown or a Cam.
That's an interesting statement! Change a few words and it completely changes the narrative, but the outcome remains the same. Hoping the Rockets have an exceptional year, with or without Jalen. Go Rockets!!! ....... ....... .......
I think the disparity between the delusion of what Jalen is and the reality of what he's actually been is what derails conversations on the subject. Many conflate what they hope he becomes with what he actually has been. He has never been a competent ball handler... he's just a guy that's really quick and really athletic.
