Scoring more than the other team also involves stopping the other team from scoring. Basketball is played on two sides of the floor. Reed also is not yet elite at creating his own shot, but getting better at it. I do agree that his 3 pt shooting is elite and why he was drafted. If he develops the defensive skills and the ability to create for himself and others, he can be an all-star. Right now, Castle is contributing more to winning, but would not on our team.
It does, and it doesn't....the single most important factor in winning a game is being able to score the ball effectively. Defenders that are elite are important, but they don't lead a team anywhere, you have to be able to score the ball. Reed isn't just an OK scorer, he is a generational one, and his efficiency is starting to show it, and the fact that he can get his shot off on the dribble and still be efficient, makes him have a very bright future. It is much easier to teach a good offensive player how to play defense than the other way around. The team outscores the opponent when Reed is on the floor, he may not have conventional defense that casuals are looking for, but his steals, blocks and ball pressure leads to opportunities - his STOCKS are very high, making him an unusual but very effective defender, as evidenced by his plus/minus. I know he is not a lock down stay in front of his man guy, but he is a guy that makes the team better - and when he is on the floor it is way better. DD
Reed is amazing but definitely has many areas of improvement. I'm eager to see how well he performs heading into the playoffs where teams play an entire series where they can dissect certain players and plays. I feel like adding another guard that can shoot/create should be a priority at the deadline.
The Spurs are better with him off the court ...while the Rockets, checks notes, have been putrid for a month and a half with Reed off the court. Now this isn't meant to be Reed is magnificent...just that the Rockets are shooting starved and Reed (with other shooting) allows the rest of the team to play to their full potential (also know as Reed contributes more to winning).
Because you can't play a game with all DEFENDERS like Ime is trying to do, or only 1 offensive guy......you need a balance. 3 and D players are nice but if you are playing more than 2 at a time, you aren't winning ****. DD
Defense is very very important, you don’t wing rings without it. However, sacrificing offense to run a JVG offense is many fold the worse choice. In the NBA offensive players will often have made the same shot with 30-50% better defense (if we were to quantify it off the top of our head). I don’t think most people understand how tgifted offensively even the average NBA player is
If you are saying 3 & D players are those that can’t create, I think you can easily have 3 and win. Having a lots of long guys that can play D and shoot 3’s is different. There is nothing that precludes them from being able to create as well. You are right that running a bunch of defensive guys that are very limited offensively (double bigs, double midget), especially at shooting, will not win anything. We no longer have that situation. Reed, Tari, Jabari, Durant, DFS, and even Okogie shoot well from distance. Sengun could also shoot 3 pointers at an acceptable rate if he kept taking them and let his confidence grow. Most of the problems this team has had have been defensively and due to Ime’s rotations. The double bigs and Reed/Holiday pairing in the backcourt were idiotic and was also the reason we were running out a terrible version of the zone. The double bigs and Durant ISO only offense has slowed the development of Amen and Reed as creators on the offensive side of the ball. If Sengun and Adams are out this game, it is the perfect matchup to start Amen, Reed, Durant, Tari, Jabari because they don’t have a center that can bully us. Knowing Ime, instead of giving Amen and Reed the green light he will start Capella and run heavy ISO with Durant once again.
Shooting is more important than playmaking in terms of team needs on offense. If you have two playmakers on the floor, that's pretty much enough. If you have only one, you are a bit low, but if that one guy is elite, you can still be quite good if you have enough shooters. If you have fewer than three shooters on the floor, spacing will be a big problem. Your offense is going to be very inefficient. We already have two non shooters playing heavy minutes in the rotation. We just don't need another non shooter taking up rotation minutes. Castle wouldn't have got a lot of chances to shine if he was drafted by the Rockets. I've said many times. Castle is a poor man's Amen. He would be playing behind Amen for a long time if he was on the Rockets, unless he developed a respectable jump shot.
This has always been the answer for those debating Reed vs. Castle. FWIW, Tari is a (currently) less expensive poor man’s Amen who would be ahead of Castle in the rotation. Also, the roster construction for the Spurs is AWFUL in Wemby’s absence. That team has zero shooting. If I was guarding Castle/Harper I’d pack the paint and take my chances that someone would beat me from outside.
please gawd let this curse skip a generation. PLEASE. it's 2026.. please spare him lord. spare my goat REED SHEPPARD! he is a young white boy from Kentucky! his haircut is bad, but his heart pure and sturdy! DD stands for DUMMY DEMON! I REBUKE HIS DEMON CURSE IN THE NAME OF THE BALLER SON, HANDLE, AND THE HOLY JUMPER! PLEASE GAWD PLEASE SPARE REED SHEPPARD HE IS INNOOCENT!!!! STEPHON CASTLE WHEN I SEE YOU!!! I HATE YOU!!!! PLEASE TAKE STEPPN CASTLE GLAZERS!!!
I agree with this, but evidently our coach does not, despite decades of his approach being proven to be wrong.
DD's ego is too big for that.. it's all sabotage. he sees the team crumble around him and he doesn't care. its so sad. DD has seen so many players careers die and he doesnt care!!!
Also, Ben Simmons was a playmaker. Arguably an elite playmaker for a minute. Was talked about in the same way people talk about Amen now. His lack of a jumper and any desire to work on his game cost him a career.
