Aside from not well utilized on offense, lesser playing time. I always liked Jabari. I see a Juwan Howard, Rasheed Wallace midrange that can't be stopped. He was number 1 rated I think for that reason. Until now, he is mainly being used to stand in the corner because Sengun can only operate inside the shaded area. But I don't know why Ime does not make plays for him to cut to the shaded area or something just to get a midrange shot. He has the perfect midrange. He can be a Durant lite just by his shot and basically shoot around the midrange and shaded area. He has the perfect shot to shoot over. Not only last game, but there were times he could have posted up not only with the mismatch. I see that he can do what Dirk did before. Post up is the key for him too I sometimes cringe the difference between the attempts of Jalen and Jabari. yes I do feel sometimes Jalen deserves to have more shots but not all the time. The discrepancy between shots of Jabari to Jalen and Sengun is really far and most of his attempts are always on the 3 point line. I remember when Stromile Swift was acquired by the Rockets and he can't do anything if Yao Ming was always on the post up. Yes Swift is not Jabari but what I mean is good players are always under utilized not only with the Rockets but with other teams as well. Another example would be Chris Paul when he was with us. You would just wait for Harden to do his thing, then wait instead of cutting in or doing the plays Anyway, hope there will be plays for Jabari. I think he has no plays made for him since he started, and some other team will utilize him better.
The only person utilized well in our offensive scheme is Alpi and maybe Adams We don’t create easy attempts for none of our core players, we only play with pace when certain players push the ball which then helps (Amen and Tari and JG) we have shooters who we don’t setup to get open looks (DB and Bari) specially corner 3s …the most you see someone take corner 3s is when Jeff Green plays We had 2 weeks to prepare for GS and we made no changes to how we played or attacked them in the previous 5 games this season… we did nothing to try and counter how they defend JG this goes back to Ime being incredibly stubborn and defensive minded
I also think Jabari should get some plays ran for him through out the season. Last game we all looked lost and not ready.
Our vets don’t pass him the ball. Dillon and Fred would rather go iso before deferring to any of our young players. Ime just watched it happen all season & didn’t see an issue with it.
I like Jabari. But Jalen takes the shots because he asserts himself to receive the ball and shoot it. And Jabari, conversely, doesn't because he doesn't. I love it when Jabari cuts to the hoop or at least cuts or drives to the foul line for an easy jumper. I wish he'd do that more.
We have a head coach that views offense as that time when you wait around for a bit before going on defense again.... he's not going to have any interest or ability to use any player well on that side of the ball.
yeah it’s pretty obvious. Coach Pop and the Spurs would have turned Jabari into the next Duncan Robinson by now. Ime just gives his players too much free reign on offense. He needs to give them roles
really glad you made this thread. Jabari has been so mismanaged from both coaching teams he's had with the Rockets. Dude needs to be taking the 3's FVV and Jalen seem to be hogging. No clue why the coaches let Jalen and FVV get away with what they do.
Jabari's usage on this team should be a punishable crime. Udoka's single biggest indictment during his tenure has been his handling of Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr. His affinity to revolve around this god forsaken backcourt is getting to Draymond Green/NBA officials levels of weird.
Maybe a greater ballhandling role for the guy who committed 4 TO's in 25 minutes on Sunday is not advisable? Jabari is fine, he's a role player who does role player things. The Rockets obviously need more than just Sengun to have a good game on offense, whether it's Green, FVV or a wild card like Dillon or Thompson or Eason or Smith hitting from outside. Not all that hard to diagnose. Hit shots, play harder.
He's one of our best shooters and he's open in the corner so much but our guys never see him. Our guards almost never pass to him and Sengun misses him a lot too. Our offense is just poorly coached. Ime Udoka the type of coach that needs scoring superstars to carry his teams. This is why a trade is definitely coming this summer unless we get an offensive superstar like Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey. I'm convinced now that Booker will elevate our team to another level, just tell him his job is to score.
Who is utilized well in this offense other than Sengun and Brooks? Maybe Adams? We have the most athletic team in the playoffs and we play slower than the oldest team in the playoffs. We lack shooters and our answer is to play fewer shooters and more rebounders. Having said that, of course Jabari deserves more shots. Fewer dribbles, but more shots. He was open a few times and they constantly miss him when he's open. I'd MUCH rather Jabari take contested jumpers than Jalen or Fred. He's taller than all of the Warriors starters and his release point is difficult for them to contest.
Jalen just doesn’t fit Ime’s system. I don’t know what the consensus with the fans is but I would much rather have a winning coach than one player. Wouldn’t be suprised if Green is shipped out if he doesn’t perform even if it’s not 100% his fault. Ime single-handedly turned this franchise around from a lottery team. I’m also enjoying our style of play much more than the offense centric teams under MDA and Harden. Defense wins championships because it’s more consistent than shot making. Can’t 100% fault Ime either for our offensive woes. We don’t have a star player who can get buckets 1v1 like most teams in the league. Those Celtics teams had Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
It’s so frustrating to see us underperforming due to inept coaches and players inability to recognize what we all see. If Jabari gets traded, watch him explode on another team and get shots left and right.
Jabari’s midrange is money, but he’s stuck in the corner way too much. Would love to see Ime set some screens and let him cut into that sweet spot.
