Nah he wont find the same success elsewhere. If he is smart he signs a team friendly deal and stays. Im pretty sure he was almost out of the league a couple of times and the Timberwolves wouldn't even play him.
Everyone has improved on 3 I think we need to give credit to the coaching staff. Not sure if they got a new shooting coach but sure seems like it.
He's hyped for the team no doubt but Okogie in particular. He's played with Okogie for parts of the last four seasons and knows him well.
Okogie's never had a big contract before, only one year has he ever been paid more than $5M. He's 27 years old. If some team offers him a big contract (full non-taxpayer MLE) I wouldn't be surprised if he took it even if he would be happier on our team. This is his chance to finally get paid, he may not get it again. Dort's getting paid $18M/yr, I bet Okogie would be drooling for that money.
What's amazing is how much better Josh finishes at the rim than Jalen Green. So many times I see Josh finish a contested shot at the basket and think, if that was Jalen, that would have been a turnover.
My guess is the shooting is partly improved shooting mechanics, partly the Rockets just not settling for a three unless it is entirely open, and partly luck.
Not with better shooting - because Okogie right now is shooting a higher percentage than pretty much anyone on the Rockets ever has. DD
Now that I've finished watching the whole Memphis game, I gotta say, I don't agree with some of the initial impressions on this board. 1. I don't think Sheppard had a good game. He has not matched the aggressive defensive footwork he showed in the Celtics game and is still making hardly any effort to fight over picks, even after Holiday came in against the Mavs and showed him how it's done. Reed isn't getting blown by as much as he used to — I'll give him credit for that — but he's still ceding too much ground to ball handlers and presenting a clear defensive liability. And still with the futile, out-of-position swiping. I know it'll take time, but this kid has to get in the weight room and build more of the strength that has allowed guys like CP3 and FVV hold their ground. 2. Okogie continues to play exemplary defense: astute, diligent, aggressive, balanced, quick, the whole package. It's contagious, especially in the opening minutes of the game. We need that in our starting unit. His rebounding is ferocious, and he makes almost no bad decisions at either end of the court. He's such a good fit that — stop me before I say this — there's a good argument to be made that Okogie adds more value on defense than Sheppard or any other guard on our roster adds on offense. OK, the guy is 27 and if he's so great, why hasn't he shown it before? I can't answer that, because I paid zero attention to him until now. But he reminds me of guys like Brooks and Elie, who make everyone around them better by playing the kind of defense that kills possessions, creates additional scoring opportunities for us, and makes the game easier for his teammates. 3. Biggest surprise from watching the game more closely? Kevin Durant. I think we're fussing too much over his shooting percentage in these early games. What stood out to me from the video is that KD is taking on a much broader role than he did in the first couple of games. He's trying to manage more of the possessions and get his teammates going. I assume this is because Ime has been talking to him about it. But it's a very good sign to see that he's listening to the coach and using his skill and wisdom to do what the team needs from him, now that we've lost Fred for the season. If KD has this kind of relationship with ime and can adjust his game to be what we need, that'll go along way toward restoring our status as a contender.
I think being the #1 offense in the league already tells Durant he made the right decision by coming to this team. Only 7 points separates them from being 5-2 and 7-0. Udoka runs a tight ship and he is getting to see the culture first hand. I don't forsee any issues brewing between Durant and the coaching staff anytime soon.
The body language between KD and Ime when they're talking is terrific. You can see the mutual respect, the listening, and the meeting of minds.
1. Sheppard had a good shooting game. He made some poor decisions on offense and he's got a ways to go on defense. There are several folks here who always accentuate his positives and play down his negatives and there is one guy who is obsessed with Reed and is doggedly determined to attack anything positive about him. It is weird. Then there are the 95% of us who are realists. The current version of Reed probably would not make the regular playoff rotation, particularly if DFS returns and rounds into form. He has 75 more games to improve. 3 IMO, KD is "managing possessions" recently mainly because he's enemy #1 of opposing defenses (way ahead of Alpi right now) who are crowding and shoving him around. What many folks don't know is KD has always been coachable and very much plays team basketball. (The problem with Coach Bud last year was a Bud vs. players issue, not just with KD).
