So few teams are even worrying about defense that we might end up being the best defensive team in the league.
I'm surprised to see some of the negative reactions here. Josh Okogie is a massive steal for $3M. Okogie made $8M w/ the Suns/Hornets last year, so he's not an average "minimum level" player. Actually, we got lucky because teams are trying to avoid the 1st/2nd apron, which leaves most teams with very limited money non-stars or high level players. Okogie is 6'4 with a 7'0 wingspan who is an elite guard defender that's not even 27 years old. He is not a good shooter, but has improved the last 3 years, especially with his 3 point %. He shot 34.8% on 3s last year on 2.3 attempts/game and 33.5% 2 years ago on 2.7 attempts per game (last 3 seasons were 34.8%, 30.9%, and 33.5%, but the 30.9% was for < 2 attempts/game). His eFG% was 51.9%. For comparison, Jalen Green's career 3 point % is 34.2% and eFG% 49.8%. In terms of just shooting, Okogie's percentages are not that far from Jalen's. I understand the sample size is much smaller and Okogie is no where near Jalen on offense, but we don't need Okogie to do anything else on offense other than shoot corner 3s and make easy plays. However, Okogie is elite on defense and exactly who want next to FVV and Reed. A player like Okogie with sllightly better shooting/offense is someone like Jaden McDaniels where they'll get $20-30M per year. If he can just shoot 33% on 3s overall and >35% on corner 3s, this is a massive win for the Rockets.
His contract is a minimum for a player entering his 8th year, it counts against the cap as a 2nd year veteran minimum which is $2,296,274. They still have $1,255,588 between them and the 1A. That's 54.6% of a veteran minimum deal meaning they can sign another veteran minimum deal (NBA contracts are prorated) after the 37th game.
Well said. There's a real chance his shooting could continue to improve too. I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up being very nearly a Dillon Brooks level player, that wouldn't require much beyond a "normal" level of improvement from him.
It's funny to me how if you listen to the really smart media folks, whether it be Sam Vecenie, KOC, Zach Lowe, etc - they're all praising the Rockets front office for doing an amazing job, but if you come here...
DD is not going to get over Cam unless/until he proves to be a bust, which he very well may Just DD doing DD things
Great post. I agree that if he could provide more offense given that he’s already a great defensive player we obviously wouldn’t be able to afford him. He actually provides a lot of quality offense besides the occasional corner three than a lot of people may realize through his offensive rebounding, put backs, cutting, and drawing fouls. After studying his game I realized I had him underrated and that he brought more to the table than what I initially thought.
Pacers vs OKC was one of the better defensive matchups....what you said is probably not watching a lot of other teams. A few teams don't play their hardest during the regular Season, that one is right.
lol. however: they definitely questioned the Whitmore move (Lowe, Vecenie, etc), but decided the Rockets must be doing him a solid.
Fanbases having higher standards than talking heads is not necessarily bad, it was about time, 30 years without a Championship or a Finals Appearance...... You are getting killed in some parts of Europe or the world by fans. I think after the 94 World Cup in the United States, a Colombian field player was murdered after their exit. We are lucky to be basketball fans where it is not serious if you fail.
The biggest question is whether Durant will even be upright in April. But I get it, Ime wanted him, he fills a position of need and he’s cheap. We’ll see
If everyone on this team plays to their defensive potential opposing teams would be lucky to score 20 per quarter.
Its a damn shame there are two sides to the game. If KD is out for an extended period of time this season, we might struggle to score 20 a quarter against teams not even trying at defense.
The problem is Okogie is just on a 1 yr deal if he plays great we arent gonna be able to keep him. We dont have any wiggle room either as we traded for Capela.
