The warriors game proves this. Reed was getting gaurded just like Jalen was against the warriors (doubled, fouled off ball, etc) yet he not only dropped 31 but was making winning plays. Not to mention we owe the Magic and Buck wins to him for a large part for keeping us in the game so KD and Alpi can takeover in clutch time. This is why I said Reed is an untouchable. High ball IQ, can shoot, can score, can do anything
If Jalen was automatic from the mid range (or even had a mid range) he'd still be here. What Reed provides is very hard to defend. What Jalen provides is very easy to defend.
NBA is rediscovering that an open or at least decently open midrange is a higher quality shot than a contested 3.
I don't think this is true at all, unless you have one of the few elite mid range shooters. Rockets have kd/reed, denver is kinda like this but jokic is the best mid range player ever. For almost all players on all teams it's still a terrible shot.
This is exactly what was wrong with Jalen in a nutshell, and ironically the reason why I think he'll do well on the Suns. People said Jalen was "inconsistent," when really, from what I saw, he simply wasn't good enough to break defenses when they really started paying attention to him. That's what separates a scorer from a star. However, I do think Jalen will be eatin' good with defenses keying on Booker. This is also why Reed's last game intrigued me so much. The dude was doubled by Butler AND Draymond and handled himself like a pro at 21 years old. That's what budding stars do.
And you know when we used to say this on this forum years ago dumbasses like @SamFisher worked to protect Morey’s honor and be his online harassment force, acting like they and a dude that never played basketball know more than the players themselves. now they’re like him sitting in the corner being ridiculed
I'm not sure if it's even true that Jalen got doubled by the Warriors. They just put a guy kind of lurking behind Jalen's defender close to the basket to discourage him from driving. And Jalen had no clue how to beat that.
You're right, he wasn't doubled much. This was a myth created to try to explain why he was so bad against GSW in that series. Game 1: From the Jalen all 86 shots video: Game 1 Gm1 1st Q 8:45 Jalen blows by Kuminga on a crossover. Takes a layup up against Draymond and gets blocked. 7:37 Jalen can't get by Steph Curry. He is taller than him but has to settle for an ugly looking, leaning back shot at the FT line (probably a good shot if not ugly). Brick 4:02 Single coverage against Payton. Drives into the lane (there are defenders there!!!) and does a nice looking reverse layup that scores. 2nd Q 5:05 Shoots a 3 guarded by Curry. Brick 1:51 Drives by Curry into Draymond. Blocked at the rim by Draymond. :37 Jalen tries to drive by Kuminga and can't. Takes a weird, falling back jumper from the FT line. Brick 1.3 Payton on him. Green shoots a leaning back 3. Brick. NONE of these shots were double covered. Some were funneling Jalen into Draymond which is what every player would face against GS. In two shots, someone flashed like they might double Jalen but then went back to their man. 2nd Q 11:26 Jalen misses a FT and scores on a layup from a nice pass from Brooks. 10:52 This is classic Jalen. Gets a pick at midcourt to get by his man. Draymond is in the lane and has to backpedal as he's the only person between Jalen and the basket. Jalen is probably going about 80% full speed, driving at a backpedaling Draymond. Blocked by Draymond at the rim. 3rd Q 9:42 Sengun misses a shot and he rebounds and kicks out to Jalen. Wide open 3. Brick 4thQ 11:38 Adams passes to Green. A WIDE OPEN 3. Brick Amen rebounds and passes to Jalen who drives from the 3 point line. He blows by Steph for a wide open layup that....bricks. 8:23 Drives by Payton and gets to Draymond in the lane. Every team that plays against the Warriors will get to Draymond in the lane, that's how they play D. Blocked at the rim by Draymond or Payton. 2:05 Drives past Kuminga for a WIDE OPEN jumper at the elbow. Brick :59 Drives by Kuminga. Draymond is there but Jalen scores a layup around him. Game 3 1stQ 9:14 Screen from Sengun, Draymond moves to the 3 to defend Jalen, Jalen gets blocked on a 3 pointer 5:10 Jalen dunk on a fastbreak pass from Amen 5.5 seconds Jalen guarded by Draymond at the 3. He swishes a 3 over Draymond. 2ndQ 22 seconds Amen screens of Podz. Jalen is covered by Post who slides over. Draymond leaves Sengun to defend the rim. Jalen throws up an airball that may have been blocked. Draymond likely left Sengun all alone because he knew Post couldn’t guard Jalen and that Jalen wouldn’t be able to handle the double team. 3rdQ 8:59 Pick from Sengun around midcourt. Jalen gets to 3 point line and Draymond is there. Jalen tries to dribble around him to the basket. Airballs a layup (he did hit the backboard). 8:12 Wide open three from the corner. Brick. 5:27 Guarded at halfcourt by Hield. Crosses him over at 3 point line for an open 3 pointer. Bricks off back iron. 3:10 Blows by Hield at the 3 point line. Dribbles by a big man in the lane and lays it in. 1:47 Jalen inbounds to Adams. Adams with a nice pass as Jalen drives to the hoop. Jalen with a nice layup. 4thQ 7:49 Drives by a defender and a new defender meets him at the rim. He tries to pass out but turns it over. 3:27 Jalen gets a pass from Fred at the three point line. Podz rotates over to contest. 3 pointer bricks off the back of the rim. Jalen was doubled once, maybe twice in this game. He bricked many open 3’s and was pretty bad at driving to the hole. #16jogo, May 31, 2025
It’s crazy , and I’m not trying to jinx Reed after he hit that middle a couple times he did the hesitation in the lane and got open layup a number of times. His awareness on the ball is something that I’ve only seen CP3 do at that size
Jalen was getting doubled the whole series while Reed was basically left open the majority of the game. He’s not better than Jalen.
