ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pelicans 12/26/2024

Good Jalen game, Fred actually kept shooting and it actually started falling. Usually h s cold and maybe makes one at the end after missing 8. Sengun played ok but it seemed like he wasn’t needed so he didn’t press. Jabari was flood but still good on defense. Cam has been making his shots again. Still gets lost on defense sometimes but he is a bulldog. It would be so funny if ime sent him back down to the g-league after his revival. Reed still can’t make anything but it is nice to see the team trying to get him going and he was looking to find cam because he was hot. I’m glad he is getting minutes still (as long as we are winning) but I think he will be on the g-league next week. Amen was everywhere, I swear he got 6 blocks in the first half and I looked and he only had 3 and Jabari had one but I saw in one sequence 5 blocks in a row so idk. He didn’t hit his 3s tonight but he is special. Now we are done with the cupcakes and we move on to the meat of the schedule. Last year this is the part of the season we really dipped but we aren’t the same team as last year. Hopefully we stay at the top of the west and don’t have to mix it up with teams 5-11.

Another boring win! Go rockets!

 

Jalen Suggs looked utterly hopeless for his first two seasons in the NBA before breaking out as a role-player all star. I don't **** on rookies on principle, and made excuses for Jalen and Jabari early on too.

 

Jalen and Jabari got starters minutes from day 1 because the team was bad. Even Sengun, who didn't get the starting job right away, got a whole lot more minutes than Reed. This team is just in a very different position. Amen and Cam are more comparable situations as they joined this team when we began competing and trying to win. I don't think that's apples to oranges though, because Amen and Cam are both guys who came into the league at full NBA size, strength and athleticism. Reed will have a much bigger adjustment, but man, I still would have loved to see at least one hot shooting night thus far from this kid came in with so many people likening him to Curry.

 

This shows tough love on Cam worked. Maybe Sheppard needs the same. Banjsh him to the GLeague!

 

What year did Jalen, Jabari and Sengun play this bad where 3 ppg is the norm and a bad game is 1 pt in 18 mins?

Its one thing to play bad like Risacher or Stephon Castle its another to play bad like Sheppard so far. Even the less mins excuse dont work he got lots of burn the last 3 games man.

I thought Sheppard was Mark Price but now Im starting to think he is just gonna be Tim Connelly. He doesnt have that dog in him I expected, he plays soft af with no desperation. If shots arent falling he should be putting his head down trying to go to the line instead only 6 ftas in 30 games.

 

His shooting is an abortion. I'm not sure how the Rockets broke him, but they need to fix it.

 

I told you his shooting mechanics need fixing you didnt believe me lmao

 

G-league development >Cream Biggums > Ime development

 

Suggs was put into his place early on, when he could not shoot he would see limited minutes.

He gradually took Garry Harris and Markelle Fultz's minutes.

Never was anything granted and given for free.

 

People still worrying about Reed? Lol. Much bigger things to worry about on this team than Tax Man. He's getting adjusted.

Tari health meanwhile.....

 

Suggs also did more than 3 ppg and he played great defense.

His rookie year Suggs had 11/3/4. Sheppard has 3/1/1. These comparison never make any sense.

 

Tari is like the 18th pick Sheppard is the 3rd pick.

With the 18th you are happy to get a Tate nobody is worried about Tari.

 

Exactly lol. Suggs was an elite defender from day 1. He's showing more offensive skill but there was something there defensively. He was looked at more like a Marcus Smart type which he's showing he can be more than that now. Reed just needs to give us something because he looks completely shook. The saving grace for him is that the spotlight is on the team winning and not on him. That's a luxury our past lottery picks didn't get.

 

Well yeah... because that's stupid, his mechanics are the closest to perfect that is humanly possible.

It's a lot like seeing someone driving 10 mph in an F1 car and determining it must be a slow car.

There's plenty of things it could be, but the most likely is that it's mental. He'll either work through it, or his future in the league will be brief.

He's even missing FT's at this point, so i think it's pretty clearly either mental, or they have him lifting too much during the season trying to get stronger.

 

I really am not gonna cry over a rookie not shooting well lol you wont know what he is for another 3 - 4 years

 

If he is missing his mechanics are bad. His mental is affecting his mechanics which means his mechanics are bad. Mechanics are your shooting form and the force you shoot with if they are all correct that ball is going in majority of the time.

You cant have good mechanics but miss every shot you take just common sense.

 

Jalen only his 4rth year how come you complained about him a lot last year?

 

Now the tough stretch starts, come back into game Alpi

 

This team is much better when Tari is there. The weird DNPs is getting a little eyebrow raising.

 

The difference was that Jalen was a scorer from the start, you did not know with Suggs because he was not a uber scorer, coming out of College he did several things well enough, he was athletic but not Jalen Green athletic.

He could have been a lot of things but yeah the hope was that his Offense developed and he could be a 2 way guy but right it seems he is more of a 3 and D guy that can just score a little.

The tough love act on him worked early on.