[I.D.I.O.T.] Jabari Smith Jr is the Real Head Honcho™

Yeah, i dont disagree with this at all.

But i ALSO note, he gets plenty of open looks he still can't hit.

I'd go as far as saying part of the problem on offense is Bari can't hit shots. YES, ABSOLUTELY, he's 19 and you'd rather get him in spots that are 100% perfect for him... but it'd be nice if he could just hit an open 3 more than 30% of the time you know?!?! [maybe the data says he does, but whether its 3s or layups or midrange, we're just holding on to hope on the occasional good quarter or two and that's it].

This is not an excuse coaching post by any means though.

I'd 10 million % run a motion offense around Senhub, which would benefit Bari and JG imo

 

You are one of the best posters evah.

 

Yeah, his biggest problem now is not hitting open shots. If he was, we probably would have won more games. The offense would have opened up more.

Earlier on, I thought his biggest problem was strength. That's now a secondary problem. Making shot is #1 now.

The good news is, that is a problem that can be easily fixed. We know that he can shoot. I still refuse to believe that a good shooter can suddenly become a bad one. What he needs is confidence.

 

I agree with this. Bari absolutely needs to hit his open shots. I just want the offense to help him get more comfortable and confident for when it's time to shoot, he's not in he head.

Bari's first open shot will be at the end of the first half or something crazy sometimes. No rhythm, no warmup, no midrange shots and we expect him to just hit a three. Players like Ariza, that is his specialty - He is a player that will hit a three from cold because that is his role. I think Bari is a player that needs to be involved in the offense for him to shine not just wait in corner.

 

Related comment...

How about the Rockets hire an actual proven and good shooting coach??

Their two "prize" picks over the last 2 years can't seem to shoot even though neither was "bad" and at least one was exceptional in this category before coming to the Rockets...

No bueno

 

Green had half a season stretch of shooting at a high volume with high efficiency from 3. So we know it's possible.

Green has slightly altered his form a couple of times by now also.

With both Green and Jabari, they are also slowly gaining muscle mass as time moves forward. That also is going to make them have to adjust their shot. We won't know how consistent of shooters they will be untill they finish developing their bodies.

 

Yeah, it is uncommon, no rookies are telling coaches to put somebody on the bench.

 

nope. players say all types of **** on the bench and in games. this is hardly some once in a lifetime revelation.

that's why nobody gives a shitt besides some dramatic CF's and its non news

 

Everybody out here knee jerkin'. There's nothing wrong with what he said. If he's focused on getting guys more involved first and then getting his points, we will improve.

I'm having a major issue with how Eric Gordon, our sole veteran, is playing. He could be having a hard time relating to all of the youngsters and seems to have totally checked out.

 

Its a huge difference from being frustrated to yelling at a coach to bench his ass.

That's total disrespect, and we know Sengun is prone to picking up cheap fouls.

Why is he not calling for Green to get benched or would you like that as well?

 

No they don't.

It's huge news because players, especially rookies, don't call for the benching of other players.

Don't bother to respond because I already know how you like to just dig in.

 

yeah its huge news. that's why we heard everyone form the organization address it. oh wait just some crybabies on cf's

oh dig in like you? you're literally one who does that all day long. foh with that. of course you would hate folks who do it right back at you. and yeah I am one of those

 

So you think telling a coach to bench a guy is not personal?

It's evident you probably have not played much high level team sports because It's hard to come back from that, especially with a rookie who is underperforming and is not as impactful as the guy he is calling out.

**** like this ripples through the team and players start taking sides, if he felt that way about this, address it to Alpi personally, which I would have respected more.

 

LOL.

Banchero and Ivey have at least flash generational talent, while Smith has flashed as a little better Trevor Ariza.

He does not need more muscle and experience to start doing the one thing he was supposed to be good at, shooting at a high rate.

He can never be great if can't consistently create his own shot or can continue to be guarded by players under 6'5, he is currently being guarded by the weakest defender and still can't exploit them consistently.

 

They changed the offense because Banchero can thrive in that offense and make guys around him better, Do you think making Smith the hub of the offense makes this team better?

Are you trying to say Smith can be as impactful as Banchero if he had the same responsibilities as Banchero?

No Bari is not Ariza, Ariza was a better player.

 

LOL.

 

?

 

Long post warning that goes off in tangents, lol.

Yeah, i don't understand the constant changing of form.

And while i agree about the growth... i also disagree.

And just more generally would note, i don't like the "they're young" excuse as a whole. I don't discount it by any means. It is based in truth. HOWEVER, in my looking around the league and watching the league historically, i see GENERALLY two types (and a hybrid third) of future superstar progression. Type 1 = they come in and IMMEDIATELY you know they are a different level. Luka, Lebron, etc. I'd personally put Paolo in here, some may disagree. Type 2 = you kind of have no clue rookie year EXCEPT they almost universally operate with a high IQ, skill-sets are there, and then most importantly, year 2 you start to see strong improvement and you continue to see gradual improvement year after year after year with some of those years showing exceptional growth. Kobe is the obvious example here. But Jokic, Giannis, Harden, Steph, etc. Often and typically, these guys will "STAND OUT" when it comes to advanced analytics even early. If you look at a Jokic, even his rookie year, he put up a 21 PER. The "third" is basically a hybrid of the 2. Which Paolo "might" be better suited in. But someone like KD would fall in. Cause his rookie year indeed you were like "wow" a lot and he put up 20 ppg, but he was INCREDIBLY inefficient with just an average 15 PER. But his 2nd year he increased his scoring 25% while increasing his TS% from 52% to 58% and his PER from 15 to 21...

There are definitely all-star players that don't necessarily follow this exact route. JG trajectory is kind of Devin Booker like right now. Now Devin almost doubled his PPG his second year, but his TS% stayed bad (actually was slightly worse his 2nd year, both years at 53%), and his PER just improved from 12 to 14.6. Bradley Beal is VERY VERY similar.

My point is... sadly, JG appears to be more on the Booker/Beal track as an upside (which could still be fine, but is NOT tier 1), and Bari we won't really know for another year, but remember those things about advanced analytics highlights the type 2 guys in some way? Yeah, Bari is BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD at pretty much every advanced analytic... and from the eye test the only "mega" upside appears to be defensive potential. Yr2, better coach, better system, etc. will maybe tell the tale though of if he can get into that Al Horford-esque tier at some point - very solid player, 5x all star.

Now... SPECIFIC to shooting... again, i agree pure physical growth has an impact, but again, i see a lot of growth there similar to what i laid out above. They come in as great shooters and are immediately so. See Steph, Klay, Tatum... a guy like Haliburton has shot 40%+ from 3 every year, etc.... REGARDLESS of the fact that their bodies need to mature also.... OR they come in inefficient and improve regularly. Even generally inefficient Booker went from 34% to 36% to 38% progression. Beal was 38%+ each of his first 5 seasons. Etc.

Like... some people can just ****ing shoot.

I brought up the shooting coach specifically because everything i had been told and seen with my own eyes said that Bari WAS one of those guys. Its EXTREMELY surprising he's struggled here. Like maybe the MOST surprising thing this year. I generally always wanted Paolo so was pissed when the Magic took him, but i wasn't down on Bari cause if anything, i thought this will be a great fit cause worst case you throw him out there, he doesn't do jack offensively, but spreads the floor by hitting shots.

Finally... this post is getting long, but since i went into my type of star progression rant... the other thing that you will see from stars EARLY ON, imo, is a "purpose" to their play style. Like it might not always be a style I prefer, and there's always lots of growth to come, but you can quickly be like "this is how this guy plays, and it makes sense from an offensive purpose perspective". Harden is the easiest example. Yes, he did a TON of dribble dribble dribble ISO ****... but it was always with a clear purpose that ultimately got him into his couple of moves that CONSISTENTLY worked. From almost day one, Harden had some of this. A crossover into a left-handed drive, use your body to shield and/or draw contact. And he just got better and better at it, added to it (the step-back). KD, very early, you could see his play-style. The "purpose" to each of his moves, and how you can build an offense around it. Steph with the motion. Zion with the bully-ball. Giannis is another great example. My son has said multiple times to me, "dad, really all Giannis does is bully ball". And I'm like "yeah, but if everyone his size could do that, they would. That's Giannis basketball and its made him a top 5 player in the world for each of the last 4-5 years". Some people refer to this purposes as a "bag".

What is JGs "bag"? Is there a single move you can point to as his move, that consistently "works" and he can go to? What is his best play-style? We've seen iso iso iso and there is little evidence that works at anywhere close to a star level. The ONLY thing i can say that i definitely HAVE been impressed with and can put in his bag, is a PnR with competent big on the wing. He's gotten really solid at that. The JG-Alpi PnR just works. But, effectively, he has no layup "bag". Its basically pure speed. There's no outside bag. It's dribble dribble dribble and hopefully just use pure speed to eventually get by. Basically, his "bag" is pure speed, lol. KPJ is similar - i'd say he has more of a "bag" and think he worked a lot on that over the summer, but its still similarly basically just dribble dribble until maybe he gets a step by. Again, we all laugh about "his turn to cook" type comments... but again with Harden, with Giannis, with Jokic, we know EXACTLY what that means and what type of play we'll see and how effective it is likely to be, and its the exact same "style" as they had early on, just better with expertise.

One of the things I like about Bari, to bring it back to Bari, is I can definitely see his "style"... but like JG... since he's so inefficient with it now, I'm not sure if that's what it will ultimately be. But the pull-up 3 of the dribble up, the mid range post and turn, the occasional strong drive... DESPITE the fact that there is likely an offensive system and spots that are MUCH better for Bari to be in (corner 3, more post plays), what we are seeing from him, again, i think SHOULD work.

He just has to hit the shots....

 

Is the only young talent you've watched is Luka and Harden or something?

Green DEFINITELY has a bag lol. His ball skills are a much different level than 20 year old Beal or Lavine for example.

If you want to see a 20 year old who just used pure speed with no bag look at Westbrook and compare Green and Westbrook's fg% in the restricted area their first two seasons. Green's is significantly higher. Unlike Westbrook, Green has shown many plays where he had a soft touch around the rim while going full speed something Westbrook still hasn't picked up as a vet.



Show me a similar highlight package of rookie and sophomore seasons from Lavine or Beal that Green showed in one quarter in the Garden all against elite defensive players also.

 

I don't think he's actually "calling for Sengun to be benched", like, if you showed him this play on film the next day and said "do you think Sengun should be benched for this play" I assume his answer would be no. He was heated, he was frustrated, it was an emotional outburst from a guy who cares about winning and cares about his teammates doing what they're supposed to do. He wants them to rotate properly and he wants them held accountable. I don't think benching Sengun here is the right decision, I think the coach should recognize that it's just a young kid being emotional and not take it seriously. I'm just saying I have no problem with a minor outburst like this from a guy who cares.

Why is he not calling for Green to be benched? I don't know, you'd have to ask him. But if Jalen was screwing up a bunch and he screamed this about Jalen I'd be fine with that too.