He is much stronger and more aggressive. Durant I’m pretty sure has been in his ear and he is taking it to heart. He can have an unstoppable mid-range jumper similar to Durant’s. Amen’s improvement, Sengun making his bunnies again, Jabari and Durant’s mid-range and 3 point shooting could make this a top 5 offensive team in the league. I do worry we will regress on defense, but still be in the top ten. I don’t like the twin towers concept on the defensive side of the ball and we should only run that unit 10-15 mins a game and only against certain line-ups. I think we might see more of Tate than people think, because of Reed’s defensive short-comings. I hope I’m wrong and Reed catches on fast on that side of the ball.
I hate to be repetitive, but the offense will be a work in progress. The players will figure things out as they play more games while, simultaneously, defenses will adapt and adjust. It's gonna take at least 30 games before things settle down and become predictable. It really feels to me like they are starting from scratch and it's gonna be a little rough early on. All we can be sure of is whatever offense we see to start the season won't be how it ends up.
He's looking more confident. Durant's presence kind of puts him on the spot to be tougher and smarter. You see Durant constantly giving him feedback. I loved seeing Durant telling Jabari how to handle a mouse in the house better. He always fades away against smaller players - he should bully them or go straight up. Very positive signs thus far. Most important of all the jumper looks more confident and smooth than ever. Maybe a little quicker release too. He is playing tough and using his height/size better.
Most impressive to me is that he is attacking the smaller defenders. Hitting them with a firm body bump and looking to assert himself towards the hoop first rather than backing away and heading towards a turn around first.
It’s funny how life works out. Obviously we likely do not land Amen had we selected Banchero, but assuming arguendo we somehow ended up with both, Banchero and Amen seem like a terrible fit. On the other hand, Amen and Bari fit like a glove.
I agree we will have some bumpy rides early on against the better defensive teams, but I don’t think it takes 30 games. Amen’s emergence as an offensive weapon capable of averaging 20 points and his ability to get to the hoop are transformative to this offense. If his free throw shooting is for real, the league will have no answer. Ime just needs to let him and Sengun initiate the offense virtually every time down the floor. Defenses can’t adjust to Amen, Sengun, Jabari, and Durant. We went from having basically one and a half (FVV) offensive options to 4 guys that can carry us in any given game. If Reed can stay on the floor with decent defense we will have also have the perimeter shooting we were lacking last year. Backup guard is our only real weakness and I don’t think the answer is currently on the roster. I am not a JD or Holiday believer.
The two young guys who care about scoring are both gone. None of the remaining young core cares that much about scoring. They just want to play winning ball. That's why I like them all. Jabari seems to have realized that for him to play better winning ball is to be more aggressive as a scorer. Sengun seems to be the opposite in these preseason games. He sees himself as the playmaker more than a scorer. And the results are great.
Jabari is looking great right now. He's dribbling more and better than ever. Offensively, he punishing smaller guys that try to hide on him more than in the past. Most importantly, he's continued making three like he did at the end of last season and the playoffs. He's relocating a little more off ball to get better shots as well. Defensively, the Rockets have a lot of big guys out there and just seem slow as a team right now. I like JSJ on PFs more than smaller players. He's fine switching.
Paolo is still young, but his game reminds me of Melo. Very skilled and very athletic, but with questionable value except as the offensive initiator. Players like this need to be ultra efficient in 1:1 offense to be a net positive. Bari, on the other hand, is a plus on defense and is becoming a plus in most other aspects of the game. He just needs a #1 option on the court with him, and he will elevate the team. If you swap Paolo onto the Rockets for Bari, Paolo wouldn't get many shots because he'd just be a worse version of Durant, and he wouldn't even be able to spot up shoot on kickouts.
I think we were right. They straight up wouldn't give Jabari the ball. Amen/Sengun/KD/Reed make it way more of a point to get Jabari in advantageous situations than FVV/Jalen/Dillon would.
him getting every single Brooks shot is going to do wonders for my sanity. don't forget all the Van Vleet chucks that are now going to go elsewhere
It's just the preseason, but including the seven playoff games this is a long stretch of Jabari playing his most confident basketball since Auburn. He's just letting it fly and finishing well.
