I do hope that Tari gets 25-30 minutes a game this year and plays 70+ games. He does so much that leads to winning.
Maybe for 10 mins a game. Ime is not stupid enough to go with a two big lineup as the primary offense. Sengun would be terrible as a defensive PF and we still don’t know if he can shoot from the outside.
Why? He has never showed anything at the NBA level. Okogie and Tate are much more likely to make an impact before him.
Agree there. I am an Ime skeptic. I hope he is not as bad at offensive coaching and rotations that he was last year. Not having FVV is going to test him more than any other aspect of losing FVV. We have the horses, do we have the coach?
I tried to tell you man, that dude can ball. He has everything a guard needs to succeed in the nba. Good pacing, good size, decent defender, decent play maker, good on catch and shoots, can create his own shots, good mid range, and a nice floater. He just has a good feel for the game & he never looks like he’s in a rush. He reminded me of a bigger more athletic Brunson last year when I saw him in the G league. I honestly didn’t expect him to be such a good shooter coming out of college. Very good signing by Stone, but im sure it was Ime who asked for him since he coached him in Boston
I want to see Amen/Reed/KD/Jabari/Sengun the first 10 games and let's see how that goes. If Reed and Jabari start living up to expectations, Sengun keeps knocking 'em down, and Amen is shooting around 33% from three, that should be plenty of shooting. It'll be a mixture of different guys handling the ball. Side note, the overall height/length of that starting lineup is pretty ridiculous, despite the lack of an old-fashioned rim protector at center.
Provided Reed can start, your lineup would work. I'd prefer Tari over Jabari (at least until he shows he can make what looks like a great shot be a great shot), but I do hope Reed is good enough to start.
What other available coach will be your solution? I think Ime has done an excellent job given the roster he has to deal with. The best NBA teams has the following: 1) Superior guard in pick-n-roll action who can create their own shot and make the right pass 2) Wings who can shoot and hit 3s 3) Big man who can switch, rebound, and catch lobs Now, evaluate our current roster vs other contenders and you'll realize Ime is doing a great with what he has in hand
In Ime's 3 years as head coach (Celtics and Rockets), his teams look like junk the first 2-3 games. I expect the same this year.
I hope you’re right. He did look good this first game, although a great deal was against scrubs. Ime did say he has been playing great in camp, so maybe you’re on to something. I don’t think he gets much of a shot unless Reed totally sh*ts the bed, but I’d rather he get his shot than Holiday. FVV’s injury has put a lot of pressure on guys who have never played a significant role before, especially for a team that has the talent to compete for a championship. Ime needs to show he deserved that extension.
The question is whether the roster was really as bad as you are making out. 1) He didn’t start Amen until an injury forced his hand. 2) He regularly played FVV forty minutes a game and never reined him in when he was running the shot clock out and chunking up low percentage shots. 3) Barely played Jabari in the playoffs when he was clearly outplaying most everybody in the starting line-up. 4) Continued to run the ball through Jalen instead of benching him when he was playing bad and letting some of the other guys get some experience so that he could run more than an 8 man rotation in the playoffs. 5) Sat his starters the last 3-4 games of the year and the rust clearly showed. He has been handed one of the best shooters in the history of basketball and budding superstars in Sengun and Amen. This year will tell us if Ime can perform as an all-round coach or just as a defensive savant. He has lost his crutch. I’m hoping he can grow as a coach. There is no reason that this team should not be a top 2 seed again this year and make it to the WCF at a minimum. I don’t know that there is another available coach that would be better. Still doesn’t mean that Ime is a championship level coach. Hope he is, but I am skeptical. Steve Kerr (who may be the best coach in the league) schooled him big time last year. Ime is still very young and inexperienced as far as head coaches go, so there is hope.
1) Who spot Amen would have taken prior to Jabari's injury? Our starters were playing great and can't disrupt the chemistry...when Amen took Jabari spot, the team was playing even better. Just gotta roll with the hot hand 2) I agree FVV has lost a step, but the ball movement and fluidity of the offense was worse when Jalen or Amen were primary ball handlers. I argue this is a skewed stat because we weren't a great 3 point shooting team so clogging the driving lanes was a key defensive focus from our opponents. 3) Jabari was playing well in the playoffs, but when GS went small ball, Curry got a favorable matchup when he Jabari switched on him. Our best defensive lineup in that series was Adams/Amen/Tari/Brooks/FVV - we hid Adams on those switches and he was a beast in the rebounding that series 4) Whats your solution? Play more Cam last season so he can chuck up bad shots? Reed wasn't ready for a larger role last season. Jalen Green was unfortunately the solution as streaky as he was when he got hot he was unguardable. 5) Don't forget Amen rolled his ankle leading up to the playoffs to pad stats...Jalen played every game and still sucked in the playoffs! Was it the rust for him choking? I guess rust was the reason for our poor free throw shooting. We had our chance to beat the Warriors, but we didnt have any "Alpha" scorers. Also, the Warriors always been a bad matchup for us.
1) Ime did play Amen starter minutes and Amen would probably have played more minutes than any other sophomore if not for missing a few games. 2) The Rockets won FVV's minutes much more often than when he sat. Rockets went from 2nd seed to 5th while he was hurt, and then clinched the 2nd seed with 3 games to spare once he was back. Reason suggests playing FVV a lot was the obvious move. As long as Jalen Green was starting, FVV should not have been looked at as a way to get minutes to others. 3) FVV, Amen, and Sengun outplayed JSJ in the playoffs. Though, Jalen Green should not have been starting. 4) Jalen Green played way too much. I think Amen showed in January that he had developed his guard skills enough to replace him in the starting lineup. This is my biggest gripe with Ime. 5) Maybe he should have played the starters a little more, but I think the players needed rest as well as could not take off many games as the West was tight. If the Rockets don't win the number 2 seed, FVV being out will likely be a big contributing factor provided Durant, Amen, or Sengun don't get hurt as well.
Durant will very likely miss games. I'll be happy if he plays more than 60 regular season games. But then I also want him to be fresh rather than banged up and tired in the playoffs.
