Keep in mind Jalen Green is 22 and is a 20 ppg scorer on a 2 seed team in the West. Young high usage guards usually aren't dong their high usage on elite teams or teams with elite records the vast majority of cases outside very rare circumstances like Luka or Morant. Obviously those two were far more responsible for why those teams were posting great records when these guys were 20-22 years of age. But the reality is its very hard to find young high usage guards at Green's age on teams with elite records.
Well, any scenario where he figures it out is better than the alternative. And he is improving somehow. If it weren't for the jalers (JOFs), it would be a more quiet waiting.
You hit on one of the more frustrating things about him - he doesn't really have a lot of feel so he resorts to heat check a lot. Three in a row go in because I was patient and took good shots? I must be in the zone - let me take this bad shot with a hand in my face and 18+ seconds on the shot clock! Oh I guess I wasn't in the zone after all because that shot wasn't even close but let me take one more shot to be sure. Sometimes you just want to pull him aside and say "play patiently the way you played on the first 3 shots and you would be 5 for 5 instead of 3 for 5!". It's so frustrating because you can feel when he does this - it's like, oh ****, he hit 3 in a row - here comes some absurd shot outside of the flow of the offense.
Exactly but that kind of immaturity is also normal in 22 yr olds. Hopefully as he grows older he will realize what he can and can't do.
Maybe I'm crazy, but i correlate his elevated play with Cam being back in the rotation. Perhaps having someone breathing down his neck for his spot wakes him up. It's not just the shooting, he's showing much more effort on D. He fights through screens more, keeps his position better, and even had a couple of impressive blocks in the last few games. I like this version of Jalen, and I wish he keeps this same motor from now on.
Its the tempo. Cam, Jalen, Bari, Amen, Tari, Reed they all want to get out in transition. Get easy buckets. Run the other team off the court. You cant do that with Fred and Sengun. Thats ok. The calming sureness of Senguns skill package is invaluable, but with that said taking advantage of the legs and athleticism of the majority of the core should be a point of emphasis and Freddy just kills so many opportunities.
That's a good call - I would add, the tempo gives some of those rhythm guys easy buckets that fuels their aggressiveness. When Jalen or Cam get a big finish on a fast break, their engagement shoots through the roof elsewhere - defensively, on rebounds, etc. I completely agree that the ethos to get into our half court offense to try to generate a good look for Sengun/Fred, takes away from all the other things that our young guys bring when they are playing more instinctively. You wish that wasn't the case, but that is what it is if you want to make the most of guys like Jalen, Cam, Tari, and even Jabari today. Great point there, @Verbal Christ
Given how you've said he's terrible and isn't good at anything.... if that were to happen... your conclusion would essentially have to be... he seemingly became very good out of nowhere.
What happens in the future does not change what happened in the past. His largest issue from day 1 was that he can't shoot, if he finally figures out how to shoot a basketball it won't change the fact that it was his biggest issue from day 1.
If your conclusion has you go from saying someone is terrible at basketball(which you've been saying this season) to they're suddenly good.... then there's something that was wrong with your analysis. Players don't simply go from trash to good.
LOL, they do all the time. Jalen was a bottom 5 defender in the entire league his rookie season, that's not the case anymore. Jalen for 3.5 years was one of the worst shooters in the league getting starter minutes. Again, if things change, it doesn't change the past. I know that basic concept is hard for some, but I can't help with that.
Wrong they don't... I'm not talking about his rookie season... You've said that about him this season. Try again
Yeah....he was REALLY bad most of the season. Him getting hot recently doesn't change that. Your premise was what happens if this time his hot streak is permanent. That would be a pretty massive change.
