Hi all, I’ve been working really hard on this video, a full look back at Christopher’s performances in Vegas. I think I was lower in some areas than others seemed to be, but some real positives for sure. He’s a really interesting prospect to try to evaluate, if you could take the time to watch and give your thoughts I’d appreciate it.
My concern from watching Christopher highlights after the draft was that he's a 19 year old who's gotten by on great athleticism in high school and to an extent in college without actually learning how to play basketball on a higher level. He seems to be a stereotypical AAU athlete, but a good kid that seems to want to be better. I don't know, but there are times you seem him play and you think the Rockets did ok for where he was picked, but other times you realize he's got a ways to go. His mid-range numbers you mentioned are, for the most part, depressing if it means the summer league shooting from that distance was a fluke. BTW, you missed arguably the most inane play of his where he attempted the over-the-head no-look pass downcourt for a fast break. I thought he had lost his mind on that play. I get what he was trying to do, but couldn't believe he tried to do it. I still laugh thinking about it.
He’s Monday Night RAW. has all the tools, needs to tune it all. I like the risk…. But I was biased on Grimes, hope Chris develops to a good nba player.
i noticed trying a fancy pass is a hallmark of a ballhog.....a simple but effective pass wont do it for those people except perhaps if its a direct pass for an open layup or something... theyre so reluctant to give up the ball, so if they gonna do it, it must be something of a spectacular reason for them to do it... SMH
He showed genuine promise with good basic plays against Portland. This gives me hope regarding him in the future. He needs to play PG/SG in the entire G-league.
I don't know how he'll develop, but in all likelihood he'll get better at quite a few things. We do know that Stone sees him as a Jrue Holiday type so point guard it is until we know more. Hopefully that midrange game won't disappear as easily as doubting begins and that can be a go-to for him. Or perhaps that go to midrange will slowly get stretched out into a 3 point game over time? I see the issues with his mechanics, but I do believe that three pointer will be serviceable once he gets worked by a professional shooting instructor that jives with him. I think we have 2 such coaches in Houston.
A realistic appraisal is very good. To say that he won't become a good 3 point shooter is a good guess. However, he can overcome his weaknesses with hard work. He does have tunnel vision too, but he showed improvement in his last game. I think his passion for the game will help him to become a reliable off the bench guard, which is the best that one can expect from a 19 year old, 24th pick.
good athlete, good size, gets separation on his shot, drives well to the cup. bother on defense, despite the mistakes that you highlighted. The Austin Rivers comp is a good one, I totally see the similarities. Full-court defense can be useful in situations: I can see in playoff battles of attrition if this kid can stay on the court and give you 15 minutes against some of the aging point guards, picking them full-court… There is value in that…
It can provide energy off the bench and I he seems to have an infectious, fun attitude and is clearly close with a couple of players on the team. We saw how down the group was in the 20 game loss streak last year and how effected Silas was in press conferences. I didn’t think it was healthy. Christopher could help with that with his energy off and on court. It’s important to a young, rebuilding team.
He def wasn’t passing but I think in part he just wasn’t looking/hasn’t trained to be a facilitator. Green clearly just starting as you could see him take that extra second to process and make a late pass but JC just flat out missing the passes tells me he doesn’t even know where to look yet.
Isn't it Will Weaver and John Lucas? I thought I've heard KJ Martin talk about Lucas helping him with the long ball and Tate credits Will Weaver. Maybe I have that wrong but I do know that Tate and Martin's shots improved a lot during the year and that had to come from some kind of shooting development program within the confines of the Houston Rockets organization.
and you are right to do so...i was just mentioning a prototypical behavior of the prototypical ballhog...of course universe is fluid and i have had high hopes for Chriss from the day 1...
I don’t know, I hasn’t read or seen anything on their shooting credentials. Will Weaver was obviously with Tate in Australia but he didn’t shoot any better throughout the season if you look at his splits. His form looks the same to me as it was in Australia. Looks it comes out of the back of his hand at times like a floater
Great job, man! What a nice video. I like how you showed the reality with his defense... In my opinion, he shows the typical scorer's defensive approach: inconsistency at effort and level of focus, a lot of ball watching... a mix of great possesions with bad possesions...So far from being solid. Just naming Jrue Holliday right now is a sin, I get the comparison, has that pontential on-ball, but overall level is about much more than potential on the ball. Talking about his shooting, he's still 19 and with scorers that's the thing they improve the most with time. I'm not assuming he will become a good shooter, but fore sure will improve those %s. His mechanics are not very good, but you got plenty of shot makers in the NBA with questionable mechanics. I'd say that with scorers is more about repetition, confidence and shot selection. Bad mechanics will limit your potential but you can become and OK shooter with bad mechanichs as a scorer. I highlight "scorers" because I'd say is a worst indicator at other roles or with big men for instance. That's why I'm not very optimistic with Garuba there. (What do you think?) Playmaking wise, he's already a solid ball handler. I really liked what I saw in his last SL game after the appropriate video sessions and talks with the coaching staff. He showed capacity to create game and find his teammates open. And even showed good passing ability off the bounce (more natural than Green there to me). Overall, I think we should very consider Rockets' injuries impact at valuing his game level. He was not supposed to have that much offensive responsability playing along Khiri Thomas, Armoni Brooks and/or Jalen Green. He turned out to be the primary playmaker and scorer at the same time. Was put on a very challenging position as a 19 y.o. 24th draft pick and natural scoring SG (not PG), and no doubt that affected the quality of his decisions and his %s. Probably even his defensive consistency. He has some interesting tools with that mix of scoring ability, ball handling+passing ability and potential on-ball defense, but will have to get minutes, poise, repetitions and improve at everything to become a quality NBA player. I still would have picked a different player (Springer, McBride, Butler, Grimes, Thor.....) but he deserves to be watched... In the end Stone could be right, we will see. Again, congrats on your high quality video and thanks for putting your time.
Agree completely on the 3 point shooting. I dont get how people's analysis is "he will do better than that", there's not really a basis for that. But I look forward to seeing him work either in G League or NBA. Right now, barring any improvement which is entirely possible, he looks to be a Corey Brewer or Austin Rivers.
