Jabari Smith draft combine stats put him in the 90th percentile in 3/4 sprint speed at 3.1. The average for forwards was 3.5. He was also in the 90% in athleticism and quickness as measured at the draft combine. You are basing your false premise on your own faulty eye test and pre-disposition to hate Jabari, probably because of where he was picked in the draft. You can beat this drum from now until eternity, but virtually no-one in the NBA FO’s will feel the same with such empirical evidence at their disposal. Tari Eason was at 3.14 a bit slower than Jabari and is often viewed as extremely athletic and fast in transition situations. The current draft combine sprint numbers would have put Jabari in an even more lofty position relative to his peers.
Cooked to me means they're going nowhere this season and possibly beyond that for years to come. Let's not kid ourselves. Not only are they not winning anything in 2026-27(no way in hell does this team get out of the first round), but they're also banking heavily on a lucky ping pong ball bounce next summer in what's looking to be a lousy draft regardless. And BTW, it's not unthinkable that this isn't even a playoff team next season. We're clearly worse than the Thunder and Spurs. The Nuggets are still better. The Lakers could be better if healthy. The T'Wolves if they address their lack of size will be better. The Warriors if healthy and if LeBron signs there will be better. Even the Jazz could take a huge leap forward with all their young talent and no longer trying to tank. Hell, don't look now but the Suns could possibly be better. They've quietly had a solid offseason. And the Blazers could sneak into the playoff mix(again, if healthy). Keep in mind that Ime's first year here when the Rockets started to turn things around, they finished 41-41......and missed the play-in by 5 games! It's absolutely possible the West is so deep this year that even winning in the high 40s/low 50s isn't good enough for a top 6 finish.
I am genuinely surprised that KD still hasn’t pouted. I really wouldn’t be mad if he forces his way out given the circumstances.
I’ll note… I hope I’m wrong. I just think we got really really lucky to have a healthy KD last season and will be shocked in a good way if he is as durable and reliable as he was last year. I also don’t trust or want to rely on Adams and FVV at their age and health issues. Adams hasn’t had a healthy season in how many years? That’s where I’m predicting a decline from last season. Not a huge one since I suspect some slight improvements from Amen, Jabari, and maybe even Sengun on the margins. But if we are honest about the situation, and betting man would not put money on KD, FVV, and Adams to be readily available and productive all season long. A betting man would probably assume at least 1 of those 3 will miss significant chunks of the season, and all three to miss at least some time with various issues. I also think the West is going to be more competitive which could naturally drop our win total a bit with less teams tanking.
Given the culture change in this country if Ime screwed a cheerleader he’d probably get a 20 year extension and Tillman would sue the cheerleader for a billion dollars for defamation.
The idea that you have more information and a better understanding of the past accuracy and supposed biasedness of my eye test than I do is crazy. If anything just proves you have a pre-deposition.
You just got owned. Physical attributes can be objectively measured. Your whole thesis has been torpedoed. Just take the loss and find another reason to hate on Jabari.
That's true. I've been pleased ever since Rockets mouthpiece Kelly Iko said the Rockets would listen for deals with KD and Segun. That's the Rockets saying they want to trade the guys, but they can't say that in case the offers aren't good. The Harden trade from OKC was made on October 27, two days before the season. I'm staying patient that KD will be traded before the season. This feels like deja vu after a season of Scottie Pippen.
Thats why we hear the rumors of the Rockets poking around to see Durants value. To me that tells me they are operating to offload him at some point it can be now or later. So technically without saying we are choosing to go young again. Thats why Fred and vets are leaving soon.
It was awful to read the Rockets are planning to end their roster by adding Crawford or Tate. Crawford has some potential as a 3 point shooter, but it’s not enough to help the Rockets in a major way. Stone and Ime don’t have the guts to improve the team.
To all of the people who want KD traded, I get turning him into future draft picks if you can .... but he's the only guy on this roster that can shoot. They are going to struggle offensively with him, without KD the offense is going to be putrid and they'll probably be a 30-35 win team. They could only manage 79 points in a playoff elimination game - that's embarrassing, without KD they will be lucky to get to 70. We really banking on all those old dudes staying healthy all season long again? Last year taught us nothing? Adams playing on one foot at 33 and can't shoot. (1 career 3). FVV with a flat tire and is a career .401 shooter from the floor (That's terrible), he's 32 Smart coming off a severe knee injury, can't shoot and is 32. Bogdan is washed at 34. Capela is a shell of what he was early in his career, he's 32 (1 career 3). And then we have what some of you refer to as "The Young Core" ..... Core of what? Sengun can't shoot and is a defensive liability. Amen can't shoot and has no offensive bag. Shepard can't defend. Tari can't stay healthy, is a streaky shooter, only has one hand, is a bad decision waiting to happen and his mom is annoying as FK. 5/81 really?! Jabari is just average. Thornton never saw a shot he didn't like and he's another midget guard .... JD Davison .... who? How the hell did Stone, Ime and Patrick come to the conclusion that any of this is a good idea?!
I can understand your pessimistic analysis, but still, let me share some optimism - Regarding the old folks - Adams, Smart and Bogdan should only provide 10-15 minutes off the bench, nothing more. Despite their injuries history and age, I think that overall it’s not that bad having them. Unlike KD, none of them is expected to be a starter. I do agree that Fred is a risk - before injury, Ime played him at least 35 minutes a night, including in games he was horrible. I hope he doesn’t rely on him heavily now when he’s older and coming back from injury. Trading him before the deadline will be ideal. Same thing goes to Capela - you are correct, he’s not at the level he used to be, and even if Adams is not available, I rather we use he’s contract value for a playable player. Regarding the young core - Bari and Reed did make a significant improvement last year. They also functioned really well in the game 5 win on the road vs. Lakers. I do agree that both Alpi and Amen have to show improvement in their shot. If they have another season with barely 30% 3-point accuracy - we can’t avoid but trading at least one of them. Having both of them with limited threat from beyond the arc hurts our spacing, and our overall ceiling is a 1st round exit again. Regarding Tari - we needed to sign him so we can trade him. As much as I’d like to trade Fred or Clint, we might need to throw additional assets, and we couldn’t insert Tari if he wouldn’t sign this extension. So overall - I understand your point of view, but I do think that if - 1. kd will have another healthy season and 2. We make a reasonable trade around the deadline, we might raise our ceiling to.. a 2nd round exit lol..
If the Rockets had a real head coach, I could get behind some of this but Ime is likely to play the old guys as much as possible no matter how dumb it is. Could a solid coach do something with this roster? Absolutely, but that's not the position we're in. You always have to factor in Ime's sabotage.
Yeah, sadly I cannot disagree with this. The Ime factor is a thing alright.. Watching our games is getting worse in every season since he got here. The 22/23 squad, with Fred and Dillon as the experienced leaders, surrounded by are very young core, was refreshing to watch. Despite the poor offense, it was fun to have a competitive team again. A year later, we improved our defense with healthy Tari and Adams. Our offense still looked like sh*t though, and people here started criticising Ime style, but with the 2nd place in the west it was forgiven. Last year was just horrible to watch - no normal ball handling, lots of kd iso moves, not enough drills of a catch and shoot by Reed and Bari who had relatively good season… Seems like this year won’t bring any news, unless you bring back a class A coach like Adelman.. He would have done nice things with this roster.
I agree with what you are saying. The team as currently constructed will still be able to produce regular season wins as long as KD, Amen, and Sengun stay healthy. My question for most folks is what is the goal? Is it to make the playoffs? To have the greatest number of regular season wins as possible? If the goal is to win a championship, why waste a year with a team that is so obviously not in the same stratosphere as the contenders? Why not start the process of re-tooling this roster and further the development of the young guys that would be a part of any championship run. FVV, KD, Adams, Smart, and Capella will be out of the league or limping around on somebody’s bench in the next couple of years. Take the hit in regular season wins by building up your asset bank for meaningful addition of players and draft picks that will put you on a reasonable path to be a championship contender. Trade KD now, before he wrecks his trade value. Showcase Adams if he comes back healthy and then trade him at the deadline. If you can trade any of those guys into cap space, do it tomorrow and free up money to pursue younger FA’s that fit modern NBA offenses. We should be pursuing Rui Hachamura, one of the best 3 pt shooters in the league, instead of wasting our time with guys like Marcus Smart, but we don’t have the cap room, because of Stone’s idiotic 2 timeline roster construction.
Unless something significant develops like Amen learning how to shoot the Rockets are in play in territory this year imo. Teams clearly better OKC Spurs Nuggets Wolves Rockets are in the same tier as Lakers, Blazers, Jazz, Suns which means they will be fighting to avoid the play in.
Rockets aren't cooked, but I might be. I was so sick of Ime's frustrating lack of an offense, Durant's turnovers, Sengun's whiney-ass antics, Tari's pouting, Fred's plump face, etc, I was glad when they were kicked to the curb. Might be time to become a generalist NBA fan for a while, because it's hard to maintain any interest in this team.
I think the Lakers roster is beginning to take shape. They will certainly be in a better position to succeed in the playoffs. The Kessler addition was a good one and they added a ton of shooting with Sexton, Grimes, and Hardy. They will miss Lebron, but this is Luka’s team now. They are formidable if he is healthy. The Jazz are done tanking. If Peterson is rookie of the year, then they will be a much better team and knocking at the door of 45-50 wins. If Portland is done for the off-season, I’m not impressed. Suns are not on our tier yet, unless Jalen magically becomes what he was supposed to be. I was not impressed at all with their off-season moves. I think we will be in a dogfight with the Lakers and Jazz for the 5th and 6th seed, if we are finished with moves. If any of KD, Sengun, or Amen has a significant injury we will be fighting for the playin. I would prefer we go ahead and start the re-set and try to build up more young assets and draft picks then go through this obvious season of mediocrity.
