Yeah, that's why I am not worried about Jabari's shooting. He's going to be a very good shooter. I am worried about his mentality. He needs to toughen up mentally. But this is not a Jabari thread.
This particular preseason, the games didn't count in the standings but they weren't meaningless for the young players. If Jabari snaps out of it starting Wednesday, all good. If not, oh well.
"He has to get used to the speed of the game". "He's having back issues". "He broke a nail". "The Sun was in his eyes". "Its Imes fault". "The team is not good enough for him". "He's missing his shots because the lights are too bright". "Its too hot in Houston". Man, the excuses just keep piling up!
You know what's most important? "He's a Rockets' player." Get use to it. He's not going anywhere anytime soon, and hope for his success.
Doesnt sound serious but i think a lot of people missed it when Fred mentioned it: It was also mentioned in one of the Locked on Rockets episodes.
There's really no need for excuses with good players. Despite Sheppard not shooting well, he's not hurting the team because he's solid on both ends of the court and isn't a chucker. The fundamentals of his shot are flawless, so it's just a matter of time until the results match the fundamentals.
you know how he significantly improved his shooting across the board from his first full season to the second full season right?
I'd like to point out that Cam was 2nd in assists per minute behind FVV this preseason among the Rockets 15-man roster. His turnovers were a little high (not too much worse than Jalen Green at the same age), but it was a big step forward for Cam in regards to creation if his assist numbers carry over to the regular season. A lot of simple assists based on his rim pressure pulling in a weak side defender.
That might be what the raw assist numbers say, but i don't feel like the coaching staff thinks Cam made any progress.... he's looking at being 10th man.
I saw most of Jabari's games at Auburn and blew the horn for him more than anyone else here when he was drafted. I'm well aware of his yoy % improvements. But this season, the competition for minutes will be very intense and he won't get the slack he got last year. As the season drags on, both Amen and Tari could force Udoka to play them 25-30 mins/game each. I really want Jabari to step up and succeed but unlike Alpi, Jalen, Tari and Amen, he looks out of step. I suspect he is the reason the starting lineup appears stale. We'll see.
As long as those are mere issues and not injuries......I trust Udoka to not run him into the ground in Preseason. We all know back spasms from past players.
He wasn't treating them as if they were meaningless. He was trying to hit every shot he put up. What excuse will there be when that kind of play continues into the regular season?
We heard from Alpe last year that he had back issues before the big one against the Kings. There was a stretch he didn't look that sharp.
He got called cocaine curry before the season. If you can glaize him before his NBA debut you can also criticize him before his NBA debut. Thats just fair. As a top 3 pick he shoulders high expectations to perform similar to JG and Jabari.
