Reed is playing to not make mistakes and until that changes last night is what he's going to look like. When he plays free he's a different player and the guy that sparks comebacks and wins. BTW, I'm really tired of losing because we don't adjust to the other team's adjustments. We have to be better and more adaptable.
Defense was really bad in the second half and so is partially responsible. We could've won a defensive battle but Ime decided to sit Okogie and Capella for some pretend discipline reasons. He is a POS coach.
We didn’t even break a 100 when’s the last time a team won not scoring 100 points. We didn’t have the offense to win. The reason our defense broke down was also cuz our offense was non existent and allowed the spurs to rebound and run before our defense was set,
I give him a C gets targeted and often abused on defense, and looks unplayable if he’s not hitting threes his shooting percentages are dropping by the week, and he’s taken a whopping 52 free throws in 1115 minutes played
There are times when it looks like he could get past the defender and get into the paint. But, he usually just quickly stops, dribbles a few times and then hands off to one of teammates. So frustrating. I want to see him get aggressive and impose his will on the opposition. Timid players in the NBA don’t last long.
He like Jalen avoided contact his entire playing life. Even at the highest levels of the AAU circuit and college he could get by the majority of the players guarding him. The last game at Kentucky he and Dillingham were held in check by a low seeded team with good guards. He wasn’t a driver in college either if you look at his free throws. But the writing was on the wall and in the scouting report. And the college box scores look eerily similar to what you’re seeing now. And he was the freshman of the year. Either you need to find a way to minimize what he’s not bringing on D (hint, the Rox are NOT a good defensive team this year) and run some sets that allow him to get free for good looks OR you need to move him for someone that fits Ime’s play style. And there’s not a GM in the league that’s going punt on a top 3 pick because of coach incompatibility.
I don't care if he misses shots. I am infuriated when he backs off whenever a defender is close by. He is playing scared, like his rookie season.
Being timid will lead to failure in most things in life It’s such a fundamental principle I’m surprised Reed hasn’t learned by now no room for wimps on an nba court
Report from the Hawks game: Just when I was starting to lose faith, he turns it on. A much, much better defensive performance than the Spurs game. More aggressive and above all, more alert. In the 2nd quarter, he sees Krejci open, darts out as a help defender and forces a miss. Later possession, he gets up on Krejci, grabs the ball and nearly ties him up. Later, he steps in from the wing to steal an inside pass. Doubles with Okogie to force McCollum nearly back over halfcourt. In the 3rd, he hustles back to catch up with a fast break and help thwart a layup. Reaches in to fight for a rebound on the floor, gets it. Starts the 4th with an aggressive stand against NAW, pokes the ball away, stays in front and takes the drive in the chest. Chases Kispert around a couple of screens, stays with him, forces him to unload it to Newell, and Reed bolts out to contest Newell’s 3, leading to a miss. Later, he gets right up on McCollum. Around 4:30, he dives on the floor for another loose ball. Offensively, his shooting from 3 was back up to his standard (if you count just the shots where he was given the ball in a decent position, I think he was 3 for 5), but what I loved was the experimentation. Unlike some previous games, he seized on screens or closeouts to drive and look for opportunities. Sometimes it was a midrange jumper, sometimes a floater, sometimes a layup attempt, sometimes a dish or an oop. Sometimes it was a miss, but Reed drew 2 or 3 guys and opened space inside for a teammate to finish. In the 4th, he started to get a nice 2-man game going with Capela. Credit to Reed, because his BFF Adams is done and he needs to build chemistry with the next man up, which is Clint. Also I liked the pick and pop he executed with KD as the screener and Reed driving before the kickout. My favorite play was halfway through the 4th, when KD gave him a screen to get NAW off him. NAW got around the screen, but Reed seized the moment of advantage to get a step on him and exploit it. Instead of shunning the contact, Reed used the left side of his body to shield off NAW and cash in a short jumper. This needs to be a big part of his next stage of development: learning to use contact the way other small guards do. Overall, IMO, this game showed (1) Reed getting his defense back up to a level that sharply reduces his net liability at that end, and (2) taking initiative to expand his offensive game in ways that will give us more weapons down the road. These plays where he drives inside and looks for a layup window or a kickout or an open spot to rise up and shoot — my bet is that over time, as he gets more familiar with the space, the scoring percentage on these plays will rise substantially. Many of his drives that now end in misses or blocks or turnovers will end in buckets. He just has to do his part at the defensive end, keep earning PT, and use it to expand his game.
Kind of a repeat thing. Forced some turnovers, but keeps getting blown by defensively. I like the kid; I see flashes of greatness, but he really hurts us when he’s not making shots. I agree with the poster who said that he’s playing not to make mistakes and that’s hurting his performance. Hope our coaches are pumping him up and not tearing him down. He deserves the same patience Jalen got and that Bari is undeservingly getting (in yr freaking 4)
Reed hit that rookie wall. With bad coaching it’s worse. and yes you dumb ****. He’s a rookie in my eye. @Bobbythegreat
