Reminder: Running an NBA offense is a steep learning curve

Agreed. And since we are already good, the ceiling is incredible.

 

I don't think Ime has a clue how to run a complex offense at all.

DD

 

And yet we have one of the best offenses in the NBA.

 

The offense is mostly not working because we have Jabari, Adams and to some extent Durant can’t put the ball on the floor and not good passers. Sengun and Amen non-shooters. Or players being stagnant in offense. Guard play is the last thing on the list and Reed and Amen are doing pretty well compared to expectations.

 

I don't believe that is true, I think we are more talented than a lot of teams, but our schemes are simplistic, if we were running Rick Adelman's offense we would be so much more efficient.

DD

 

He’s a “vibes” guy, not unlike DeMeco.

 

Totally agree, a play harder guy.....I get it, but those guys usually fail unless they surround themselves with some thinkers.

DD

 

Lol the Udoka apologists' ceiling is incredible.

 

DeMeco has produced the best defense in the NFL and immediately made our defense good from the moment he walked in the door.

He is much more than a vibes guy, his scheme is very good. This is total nonsense.

 

I've been wondering about this and I'm not so sure it's true honestly. The conclusion I've come to is there are two types of players:

1) The natural PG who from the month they started playing basketball, they display floor general instincts. These people have almost no learning curve and it doesn't seem to vary by whether they're a high schooler or 4-year college player. These guys are uber creative passers who can learn how to be safer with the ball very quickly.

2) The guy who is not a natural PG and needs to be taught the fundamentals from scratch, put through loads of repetition and then you'll get a safe PG moreso than a creative one. These do take a long time and it doesn't always work. Sometimes they can take all the way till the player is in their absolute prime. When you're teaching the wife beater KPJ how to play PG, there are signs of hope along the way, but 3 years in he was barely closer to being a PG.

Unfortunately I think both Amen and Reed are in category 2. Fortunately, Sengun is in category 1. That mix is perfect though and Reed/Amen are learning a million times faster than KPJ did for example. It's worth the investment and the patience.

 

Can we really say Sengun is a non-shooter anymore?

Maybe a non-spacer for another month or so, but can't really say he's a non-shooter. He's abusing teams on 3's (almost 40% and nearing 30 attempts).

Amen's jumper I'm really disappointed with tbh but Sengun showing up with an improved jumper changes all that. Once DFS replaces Okogie in the lineup as a far more respected shooter, Amen is going to find it hilariously easy to explode to the rim.

 

Yeah, DeMeco and Ime are "motivators", who are often challenged by ingame decisions.

 

I think between Amen and Reed the Rockets have their lead ball handlers of the future. But I think Amen (and the rest of the starters) struggle sometimes because they dont have another ball handler out there.

I think its a double edged sword that Fred got hurt. It obviously hurts having him and his cap space not helping the team...but I also think its speeding up the development of Reed and Amen.

If Reed keeps showing progress on both ends of the court, I think they should go ahead and start him and I believe that will make everyone else better.

 

I don’t agree with that at all. We are starting two great offensive players (Sengun and Durant), two guys who are a blend of offense and defense (Smith and Amen), and a pure 3&D player (Okogie). I just don’t buy that we are the # 1 - 2 offense in spite of Ime due to sheer talent.

 

I don't think Amen can't "run an offense" in terms of seeing the floor & knowing where people are, he's probably good at thst

-his passes aren't really that great when he does drive & kick, the shooters frequently have to jump or dive for the ball (see eg Paul or Harden hitting them perfectly by contrast)

-his dribbling from a standing start in the half court still seems to high & loose, vulnerable to pokes (I bet Reed Sheppard actually could give him a hard time)

-obviously, he isn't a pull up threat at the top

I think Amen is fine as a Scottie Pippen. Actually maybe the Rockets should run Triangle

 

Good luck arguing against someone who responds to the factual statement that we have one of the best offenses in the league with “I don’t believe that is true.” Tough to counter a disbelief in facts, as we have learned painfully in the last few years.

 

I've heard it said by writers & others (Lowe, etc) that even the least cerebral seeming "vibes" based NBA coaches - are , in general able to break down Xs and Os & recount plays from memory on a level most amateurs aren't able to fathom, especially in today's NBA with its army of assistants, player tracking & video

Udoka spent many years as an assistant so I'm sure he's pretty fluent in this

 

Finally a reasonable person on this board. Good job.