No he should not, and I love me some Tari. He’s the only guy since Mutombo in 2008 that I got a Rockets jersey of. At some point, next year we have to see about Jabari vs. Tari, but as long as both guys have their moments and Tari can lead the bench brigade for now with Amen, we’re good. I also prefer Amen and Tari to grow together as they inevitably will take over FVV and Brooks. It’s almost perfect how we got replacements for the 2 vets that we overpaid for to keep the boat afloat and show the young guys the ropes, as mentors, before the students become the masters.
It’s pretty simple. Tari had a major injury last year and he can’t start even if the rockets wanted him to. Maybe later in the year
I agree with most of your takes, except on Reed, I don't know why, but you seem to have unnecessarily backed yourself in a corner there. I really suggest to just be patient with Reed, I expect a Mark Price - like career trajectory.
One, FVV isn't overpaid. Brooks was overpaid so the Rockets could get him on a declining salary such that the overpaid years occured before the salary was a hindrance. I think next year his salary will be fine and the year after that will be a value at less than 12% of the salary cap. Two, FVV and Brooks were brought in to jumpstart the competitive years (i.e., not to keep boat afloat). I think FVV has been more important than expected and will be extended. I expect Brooks will be a backup at some point. Though, I think Jabari is more likely to lose a starter spot first if one happens before/at the trade deadline. I don't expect Brooks gone unless his contract is needed to match salaries.
I love tari but he’ll foul out in the first half every game if he started. He’s obviously a key piece of this team and will eventually start once Dillon is gone; so I trust the approach Ime is taking.
Tari is the perfect bench player. It doesn’t really matter if he starts or is off the bench, but his minutes should start to hover around 30-32 after a while. Same with Amen as long as FVV and Brooks are on the team. 30+ mins for both from either the bench or starting. With Amen I think I would probably move him into the starting unit sooner, because I think he should be guarding the Doncics and Brunson’s of the world from the get go. He should be guarding the best perimeter player for the other team as much as possible and can only do that starting.
I havent backed myself on a corner I've never called him a bust so he can still improve. I'm just saying he sucks RN and we need something more since we could've signed a guy like Tyus Jones if we didnt have RS. Expecting more than 5 ppg with. 33% 3 pt is reasonable for the fricking 3rd pick imo.
I don't believe this idea that he will struggle as a starter. He will struggle at it for what 5? 10? 20 games? Most people adapt. He's earned the chance to prove whether he's a capable starter or not. He'll just adapt is all that would happen. Coach was able to teach Jalen to slow down, I bet it would be much easier to do for Tari's game. We really need him. Need the extra rebounding off 3's and middies, need him back and forth in transition, need his wingspan on defense, need him to pump Bari up (they play well together). Probably another 5-10 games to ramp up but he'll be ready soon. Sengun, Jabari and Tari would dominate the boards. Tari and Green would dominate in transition. I believe Udoka will do the right thing. It's going to give us the higher pace and space he's been chasing since last season.
Gonna have to keep posting this but if If Tari starts it's Jabari who sits - as he probably should Brooks is playing well, is not going anywhere. That's just the truth.
Brooks is not overpaid - $22m for Brooks is the equivalent of Trevor Ariza at 8m a decade ago. FVV at 40m is closer to overpaid status but even then it's arguable
It's not about fixing, more about upgrading. We're actually not losing anything Brooks gives us in terms of production (3&D&boneheaded-shots). Tactically nothing changes except we play faster and generate more transition opportunities as a bonus. Staff have been trying to up the pace forever. Also, if it's really not working we can just undo it. Very little risk involved. Could give us a few more crucial wins this season.
Most guys making 40M are better than FVV because the max suppresses salaries (i.e., most guys making $40M are underpaid). I'd much rather have FVV on his salary than two Brooks level players on theirs. On contract size, sure Brooks and Ariza had similar % of the cap. The NBA has gotten much more efficient in the last decade such that Ariza's offense was not much of a negative at that time while Brooks's can't say the same.
Dillon is playing well, but if we're being honest Tari is outperforming him as well as Jabari and playing better so far in the season. He was more impactful last year as well before injury. I like wins and what's working agreed, but if a player is better, has more talent, and gives you a better chance to win over 82 games why not give that player more minutes and a larger role over others? Let the best players play and win minutes and starting roles. He can start at the 4 as well. These past few games what has worked is letting Tari play increased minutes, he played almost equal minutes to Jabari, Brooks and has been better than all the forwards. Here are our best lineup by net points, the top three are all have Tari, including him with the starting lineup https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2025/lineups/ Also as far as the injury last season, that's a red herring imo. He's also not on a minutes restriction and dominated for 35 minutes against GS who has one of the best records in the league. By that logic, Sengun shouldn't be starting since he had a season-ending injury with less time to heal. He's healthy and playing well.
The sample size(time) are too small to qualify anything for those 5 man rotation stats. Dillon spot in the starting line seems solidified and justified for now
Among our rotation players, Tari has led the Rockets in Plus Minus his entire career, Sengun, Fred, Jalen, Dillon/Jabari everyone. That's a 112-game sample. You can start him at the PF spot as well if you want to keep Dillon, he's been a better player at forward for years.
I think Tari’s play style is more effective off the bench. Coming in with a jolt of energy after the game has started and the other team isn’t quite ready for it. If he starts then the bench comes in and is a let down. Also Dillon’s slow playing bogging down the second unit that wants to run sounds like an odd place for him. I like that he can hound the best offensive player and maybe pick up fouls and then have tari and amen to change it after. If tari is getting cooked then you bring in brooks what is he going to do? I love tari and think he should get all the minutes he can handle especially finishing games but not starting just yet.
Most good and better players are more effective as bench players as they are playing against worst players on average. The question is whether or not his defense and offense are more important against 2nd units or against starters. JSJ's big advantage over Tari was Tari's slow release from 3 and Tari missing easy shots at the rim. Early returns are that it appears Tari has been able to get off more shots even though he still pauses too much on threes, and that Tari's problem at the rim may have been injury related as he has been great there so far in efficiency and volume. It is still a small sample, but there is a chance Tari has made a big jump.
