When will Reed be placed into the starting lineup?

If they envision that this is going to be the starting lineup in the playoffs, then they should reduce KD's (and to a lesser extent Sengun's) iso game and try some synergy plays.

Giving the ball to Durant and stand around to watch him get his shot is not going to improve how this lineup plays together.

 

I saw him as a viable option to filling the Okogie role. Granted, Okogie is a much better defender against quicker players, but I do think DFS can hold his own while playing much better team defense (not that Okogie is a slouch either). DFS also brings a consistent 3 point shooter (as we've seen with Okogie, he has slowly come back to earth), so he just seems to fit the line up a lot better. My thoughts come from Reed not adapting well with three players that need the ball. Ideally, I would love for Reed to stay in the line up and not lose his aggressiveness on the offensive end, but so far these last couple of games he has regressed back to not being as involved. If he can get his confidence up and develop the chemistry with KD/Bari/Amen/Sengun, then I'm all for leaving Reed in the line up, but if he isn't going to play up to the standard we all know he is capable off, I really want him back on the bench as a 6th man (thus my hope for DFS to be healthy to be a starter once he comes back).

 

We sometimes go match up dependent with our lineups, but I kinda like him more 6th man. He's going to be inconsistent with his production as the league scouts him more and schemes against him more.

 

When will Reed be put back on the bench so he can freelance and score ?

thread soon

@Snow Villiers

 

When I've seen DFS, he has been better at guarding 3s than either JSJ and Tari (though this was pre-surgery). DFS is not good on the quick little sh!ts. Reminds me of a Dillon Brooks without the kicks to groin, fouls, and reckless bouts of hero ball (though Brooks is doing very well this year). Struggles on the really quick players, but can be switched onto a wide variety of players for a decent period of time besides those guys. DFS should fit better with JSJ or Tari better than they fit with each other. I'd also expect he will fit well with Durant.

He doesn't have the offensive game of JSJ, but is perfectly fine sitting in a corner knocking down threes.

 

DFS is a PF but versatile enough to guard wings. I don’t think he’s redundant on our team. He’s is a big that can guard guys like Gordon, Markanen, and James. Despite being just 6-7 he plays big. Jabari has struggled with the bigger PFs and this is where DFS would be able to step in as a defender. Tari is also an exceptional defender but struggles with size down low. I felt this was part of the reason Amen was moved to PF last year and at times Dillion was switched as well. But both are SFs where as DFS is a natural PF. Versus certain teams the Rockets actually lack size at PF when Sengun is at center and Amen is at PG. Jabari is getting there but DFS is capable now. I don’t think he should start over Jabari, but he’s more than just a body out there. His speed and footwork is exceptional as a big and will make a defensive impact on this team once he plays.

 

Yup.

Our team is down a lot of physicality and fight compared to our previous identity. Without Dillon/FVV/Tari we are not a team that has much dog in us, tbh. And then if Adams is also resting, personnel-wise we have a soft underbelly. Swapping Dillon/FVV/Tari/Adams for KD/Reed/Holiday/Capela is an enormous difference. Utah just walked through us last night, and they're a soft team.

The secret sauce has been being an aggressive, energetic, physically strong team with juuust enough offense. OKC, DET, ORL, TOR have followed similar recipes.

We've been coasting a little on reputation on that end so far this year, because of the personnel mix. DFS would go a significant way towards bringing us back into balance - he's as tough as they come.

 

11-1 with Okogie starting. 1-3 with Reed starting. Everyone flamed me for saying it, but I’ll say it again….start Okogie as we need Reed’s shooting and no defense off the bench!!!

 

1-3 wtf? We won bot games when KD was out and Reed started
For the most part Reed actually plays solid D. The numbers back it up

 

3-1 with Reed starting, not 1-3.

It was 3-0 before last night.

 

It's not about sarcasm. It's about him not understanding the concept of role vs. actual player. If the Rockets drafted a Hakeem clone n 2024 and play him in a Steven Adams role, that doesn't make him exactly Steven Adams. It just means he's miscast as one. You wouldn't say, "Well he should be playing like Steven Adams that's how it should be and he needs time to work with others and be more supporting guy." You would say, "Well that's utterly stupid."

 

Except no one is saying “Reed should be like Maloney” … except Sam, sarcastically. We are all saying “just wait and let the lineup work through it - he will take a much bigger role in the starting lineup eventually, but it will take time.” You just keep asserting that what you see today is also the final vision, or that the Rockets FO/coahcing is too stupid to realize Reed can do more than just spot up and shoot. Given they have said he might be their best offensive player, I am going to go on a limb and say they don’t visualize Matt Maloney’s role for him.

 

I'm saying it incredibly sarcastically because that is how my position has been characterized. I understand that players on ball usage typically is higher with bench players than starters.

If there were a Hakeem clone, I would want to start him as well, even if his stats would probably be better on a per-minute basis on the bench, and it might take some time to get it to work with Sengun.

Just to add, as bad as Reed has looked as a starter, his 4 games starting are already better than Maloney's best in scoring (nearly 50% better) and assists. Reed actually shoots what he's expected to shoot from 3, and he will be scoring about 70% more per game than Maloney's best. I don't think having better players on the court is why Reed is struggling from 3 when starting.

 

Well if no one wants Reed to play like Maloney, why is he playing like Maloney? That's the thing, right? Is the coach telling him to play like Maloney? Is he incapable of being himself when he has starters alongside him? Are other starters not giving him the ball cause he's a second year player? If everyone knows this is not his role, and he's playing this role, then it means something is wrong. Pointing that out isn't some big deal people are making it out to be.

 

Is there a chance that it is a 4-game sample?

It seems like it was just 3-4 weeks ago that Rockets were sacrificing the season to a good chunk of Clutchfans if they didn't replace Reed as the backup PG. In 6-8 weeks, I think one of the following two situations will occur:
1) Reed will be the starter, and there will be no question that he's a starter.
2) He's on the bench, but not playing as well as he did when he was coming off the bench in November.

 

Well, it looks like Udoka answered your question at least in the short term by putting Okogie back into the starting lineup. But that just means something was clearly wrong and not just he needs time to adjust. Which was my original question way back earlier in this thread. So clearly even the Rockets brass asked the same question I did and their answer was that he needs to be moved back to being a bench player. Not everything needs like 30 games to clarify. We can question things without just waiting and waiting.

 

Reed played like Maloney yesterday off the bench. Why aren't you up in arms that the reason he played the Maloney role is that he was on the bench?

If Reed plays great, he will go back to being a starter at some point. If Reed keeps playing poorly, he will stay on the bench. I'm not too concerned with the short term.

The way Reed was playing in November, you put him in the starting lineup, and you force the other starters to adjust to him. If November was just a fluke, sure, put him on the bench. I think chemistry is the only thing keeping Reed out of the starting lineup right now, and it will develop slower off the bench as he's playing less with the starters. I could be wrong and Reed just isn't good enough to be a starter now or in the near future.

 

Reed needs to regain some mojo, but kudos to the coaching staff for reverting the lineup and not being stubborn.

Let's see...

Kid plays really well for weeks straight, culminating in a breakout career performance. Then he's asked to play in a starting lineup where he's at best the 4th option and he struggles, negatively affecting his confidence and aggressiveness.

Now you give him what on the surface looks like a demotion because things aren't working -- whether it's truly a demotion or not, I'm sure it doesn't inspire confidence. Now there's added pressure on Reed because he's back in a position where he's expected to succeed. So when he comes in and misses his first few shots, he gets tight. Combine that with the fact that KD, Amen, and Sengun all had it going, and it makes sense that Reed would take a back seat.

We'll never know, but I think this could have been avoided by simply not screwing with what was working.

 

12-1 with Okogie as the starter is hard to argue with.

 

I really want Reed back in the starting lineup. We had just one letdown game against the Jazz on the second night of a back to back and as I predicted, Ime freaked out and reverted to the Okogie lineup. That's too small a sample size and we were 3-1 while Reed started. He won us a game against the Warriors (Durant injured).

If he's getting benched because he's not improving his defensive positioning, I get it. However, let's not keep him there long. Let him get familiar with the starters. That lineup would light up the league offensively and Amen would catch fire with ideal spacing around him.