I was so mad yesterday I almost changed my avatar, thankfully I did not and am thinking more clearly today.... While it seems like Sengun played poorly, I think he did it on purpose so The Rockets championship documentary has a great part about struggle and not giving up. Sengun is a great guy for making us an underdog that overcame everything in order to win it all... How sweet it is!!!
Sengun was horrible yesterday. His defense was decent, but his reads and passing were off (especially in the first half), and his shooting was at a career-low level, including a few airballs. After showing he could rise to the challenge in the Golden State game, he failed miserably in an even bigger challenge. A good sign followed by a bad sign - it’s a glimpse of what you might expect from him come playoff time. But, I fully expect he’ll learn from this and bounce back stronger. He didn’t, in any way, play horribly on purpose, lol. ps. Teams will continue to pack the paint until the Rockets prove they can hit their 3PT shots.
Sengun didn't play well, but they were swamping him every time he got the ball. It was an elite defensive performance by the best defensive team in the league. Sengun is not our problem, but he does need to get back to being the steady offensive player he was last year.
I don't even think it was OKC's defense. He just continues to miss the shot puts and bunnies he's been missing all season. Yesterday was no different. It's like he reworked something over the Summer and his cadence is all off.
I think being harassed constantly effects all parts of his game. His decision making on passes was very poor this game. It is all connected and all goes back to the inefficiency of the guard play. His shot is definitely off this year. It will come back.
I completely disagree and I would argue he is our biggest problem. Franchise players have to step up in these moments and he did the opposite. Every player has to be judged differently. If Ariza put up 15 we were ecstatic, if Harden put up 15 we would say he sucked. Last night Hartenstein scored 21 and it was a career night for him, but if Shai scored 21 they'd be disappointed. Sengun has been a huge letdown this year and unless you've given up on him as a franchise player, I think he's the biggest problem.
He was bad this game and his offensive has not been up to his standard this year, but saying he is the problem with this offense is ridiculous. I'll leave it at that and let segunatics supply the stats.
Do you think he's going to be an all star starter this year? Do you think he deserves it? Do you think he'll be all-nba? Do you think he'll get any MVP buzz? Do you think 18ppg on 53% TS is good? If you answered "no" to every single one of those questions, then you agree with me. We just had different expectations, I expected a lot more from him.
There is a difference from being disappointed because there has been an offensive regression so far and saying he is our problem, when you have had absolutely putrid guard play.
Our starting backcourt is the problem and has been all season. Essentially only FVV knows how to run an offense and defense. He just can't shoot and can't create any separation. He's essentially worse Jalen Brunson. Jalen should be coming off the bench at this point. If he doesn't it's solely so he doesn't nuke his trade value. The parallels to Jordan Poole are hilarious at this point even down to the contract extension into subsequent trade.
I think it all starts with your superstar. That's the responsibility of being a superstar. If Harden was averaging 18 a game, I'm not looking at anyone else until he figures that out. I'm not going to blame Patrick Beverley or PJ Tucker for having off nights.
We don't have a superstar. If you're judging based on superstar expectations then that's a miscalculation on your part.
Right now he is a borderline star player and most of the 'role players' are talented, borderline 'very good' players as well. The line is blurry. Fred is definitely not PJ Tucker, he is more Jerry Stackhouse or Damon Stoudemire. Tate is PJ Tucker level but in the dog house.
I would agree with you if the team had clearly designated him as such, and created that pecking order. I am not under the impression that that is actually the case yet. And in my opinion, that is partly the problem. That said, he needs to fix his shooting. Needs to somehow regain that touch.
Well yeah, he's not, and that's the problem. He was supposed to be, I thought he could be, and so did a lot of people. This was the year to step up, and instead, he's taken a step back. He's not living up to the expectations.
Your avatar still looks like the one dude in the Trump threads, I always cannot tell those 2 apart....
This is the first time he is dealing with stardom, his first real big contract.... opponents swarming him. Also I think he is probably grappling with the mass (muscle) he put on this offseason..... I would think the next 2 years are going to determine if he is either going to swim or sink as a star player. He would still be a very good player if he sinks though that being said. Just another Fred Van Vleet Center.
I think he is designated as such; he's just doing an underwhelming job so far. In the first quarters he touches the ball on nearly every possession. He's definitely the focal point of our offense, even if Green attempts the most field goals. If Sengun was more efficient, he'd attempt more field goals. Unfortunately, he mostly starts the games poorly and switches to facilitating more than scoring. Then we still go to him in clutch minutes. That's a player who is encouraged to play that 1A role. Coaches don't prevent him from taking over and dictating; quite the contrary, in my opinion. Sengun is just not able to do that right now because of his broken touch.
