Because efficiency matters. KPJ is shooting a low percentage and turning the ball over a lot. If he was putting up those numbers efficiently while playing off the ball it would be a different story. As far as him being 22, he is only a month from being 23 and I would also put more stock into his age if it wasn't his fourth year in the league. Green is almost two years younger and has a lot less NBA experience, as well as stronger physical tools and therefore more upside. But in any case, I'll repeat it once again for those in the back. I like KPJ as a player. I think he is an NBA-caliber rotation player and that's a great pickup that we got for almost nothing. He's a nice player to have and he's on a pretty team-friendly contract. I wouldn't just cut him or give him away or anything like that. I'm only saying that I don't see him as a likely long-term starter in the NBA. Is it possible? Sure, I just think it's going to be hard for any team to make that work if they want to contend.
There's a reason we got him for a bag of doritos and some used chilli dip. There's a reason no one wants anything to do with him. There's a reason he's mostly looked down upon by the rest of the NBA, but for some reason the Rockets want to turn this into a cinderella story and make him into something he is not.
There's a reason we got him for a bag of doritos and some used chilli dip. There's a reason no one wants anything to do with him. There's a reason he's mostly looked down upon by the rest of the NBA, but for some reason the Rockets want to turn this into a cinderella story and make him into something he is not. He def has a place in the team, but the main guy or primary decision maker isn't it.
Rockets see him as their Dejounte Murray. A troubled but talented player they (think they) can flip for a few draft picks who they know can be both a tank commander and a tradeable asset. Issue is KPj hasn't been bottled up quite like Dejounte was during his SA stint. Funny how as soon as he left he started causing drama with rookies and in the Drew League. Silas/Stone aren't Pop. Nowhere close. KPj isn't part of this team's future and I waffle on him even being a bench player here. He's just not that talented. His only above average skill at this point is that mid range shot that he sometimes gets. He's got below average court vision which hasn't improved, below average game feel, below average shooter, below average free throw shooter, can't fabricate points, isn't athletic, isn't tall, mercurial, moody, average defender, injury prone....not sure what else needs to be said about a guy on his 2nd team in his 4th year with a contract that has a string tied to a grenade pin.
Just so wrong on so many levels, Lebron, Dame, Love all have said he is incredibly talented....his issues are above the shoulders...his talent, athleticism, skills are not in question. It is his attitude and mental health and whether maturity will allow him to be all he can be..... DD
A reassessment of KPJ is due. Improvements: - much less of a black hole lately - less hero ball - probably more effort on defense, I am not paying much attention but considering how bad it was before, I think it is safe to assume that - better ft% on more attempts His ts% is 2.2% up but this is solely due to the change in ft%. If he shot free throws like last year, he would have the same ts% as last year. So on the positive side he is shooting free throws better but no improvement from the field. Things that stand out for me in general: - He doesn't pass to move the ball. He passes either to make an assist or 'give the turn' to the next player without creating an advantage if he thinks he can't create something. This results in some basic assist numbers but totally kills the flow of the offense. Would be much more normal if he was a sg, his assists would be more valuable next to the pg and killing the offense would not be a problem. - With all the talent he has, I think he has a major problem that effects both his shooting and passing. If you watch his passes, even at a game like yesterday where he had double digit assists, they are almost never correctly positioned or paced. It might be too fast, too low, behind the recieving player etc. But rarely in the quality you would expect from an nba guard. You can also see this more clearly with his alley-oop passes, or passes to the running players in a fast break. - So I think he lacks talent there(the previous bullet point, something wrong with his eye-muscle coordination) and this is probably the same reason(along with bad shot choices) why he can't improve his shooting. - does not see the floor and the team as a whole, cannot process what is going on the court fast enough (much better when focused onto doing one thing.) - still doing on court antics, quits playing etc. This by itself enough for me not to keep him, but if the organization thinks they can contain it, I would respect that too. I don't respect the current way the organization handles it though. Verdict: He has some improvement. I particularly like not playing hero ball anymore but I also suspect this might be a temporary thing. Another season of more evidence that he is not a pg. I can imagine him potentially being successful under a different coach and management style. We still have one more season to see hints of it. But if something similar to this season goes on, it probably will do much more damage than this season.
It may just be a symptom of the no-play-calling genius of Silas but everyone just stands around waiting on the guy with the ball to make a play. On one hand I can't fault KPJ for a terrible system but it also leaves them to say "oh well guess this possession is up to me" and they fire off some ridiculously poor quality shot. It does bring up this thought though... a lot of folks think Silas will be given a year without the obligation to tank. Does that mean he's going to start calling/running more plays? Porter is going to be running an offense where half the time he doesn't decide to ISO? Is this really a position to succeed?
He's 22 years old and probably the best all around player on the team, but he's also enough of a head case that there is doubt about whether or not you even want him around. That's basically all that needs to be said.
What I keep thinking about is: if this roster had a normal point guard, an offense initiating, playmaking, pass first type of PG and you put Kevin Porter Jr. in the same role Jalen Green has been (2 guard, all the shots, takes the ball in the clutch possessions) who would be the better player? Green or Porter Jr?
Right this second, it's KPJ. Dude is just so much stronger than Jalen, but he's a few years older, so he should be. He's a better shooter too. Jalen just has that unbelievable athleticism that jumps off your screen and you know he's going to be special long term. KPJ is going to be great if we can get him to play off the ball and mature some more.
See, I don't see him as a HEAD CASE, but as a kid that is maturing and needed to grow up, and has made GREAT strides.... He should have had corrective action as a kid when he pouted, and sulked on the court, but he didn't ....so he gets it now..... Lots of great NBA players were whiny babies, and they got over it.....am hoping KPJ does as well as his talent is sky high. DD
It's a good question and the answer right now is KPJ. If we had a normal point guard and KPJ all season vs Jalen all season, this team wins way more games with KPJ. If we're projecting the future I'll take Jalen, right now he's got higher highs and lower lows. But Jalens ratio of good games to bad games is what's holding him back, he's got way too many horrible games and the great ones are few and far between.
Hard to tell, we don't know what extra opportunities Green would have got with an actual pg and how KPJ will play in the role of Green with an actual pg. If KPJ plays good d, the answer would be KPJ, otherwise Green. And even if the answer is KPJ, I would not give the ball to KPJ in clutch.
Silas does not help KPJ to move the ball but it doesn't prevent him to do so either. It can be an excuse for kpj to a small extent. Other players are moving the ball just well. And I have seen good movement a lot of times when kpj is out. The reason players are standing because they know how things are going to develop. Things do not develop this way because the players are standing.
Shot IQ. Not just KPJ but the entire team. This team desperstely needs to improve their offensive efficiency, especailly from deep in the current NBA, if they want to be competitive. Hopefully w/ experience, new coach & having some playmaking vets on the team that can improve. I still dont know if we have a shooting coach cuz if not... it's a huge mistake to not invest in that.
I've seen and heard a lot of things but this is the ultimate KPJ disrespect! Two guys in John and Lance, who I respect, saying KJ is more important to the team than KPJ, I just can not agree more. When KPJ was out, the Rockets did not have a chance in games but now that he's back, the team is more competitive. I think its OBVIOUS the Rockets have a nucleus; KPJ, GREEN, JABARI, TARI and KJ. The only and I mean the only reason I did not include Alpi is because I think the Rockets need to decide how they want to move forward and what type of system they want to implement. However, as I've been saying, all the Rockets need is a center, backup PG and two shooters.
I've seen and heard a lot of things but this is the ultimate KPJ disrespect! Two guys in John and Lance who I respect, but for them to say KJ is more important to the team than KPJ, I just can not agree more. When KPJ was out, the Rockets did not have a chance in games but now that he's back, the team is more competitive. I think its OBVIOUS the Rockets have a nucleus; KPJ, GREEN, JABARI, TARI and KJ. The only and I mean the only reason I did not include Alpi is because the Rockets have to decide how they want to move forward, what type of system they want to implement. However, as I've been saying, all the Rockets need is a center, backup PG and two shooters.
Dejounte is an interesting comparison. I agree with the first paragraph. Difference for our team either talent level or/and our coaches, we're not able to make KPJ look as good as Dejounte in San Antonio. Spurs was able to flip Dejounte for so much. • 2023 first-round pick (via Charlotte from New York, protected) • 2025 first-round pick • 2026 pick swap • 2027 first-round pick I doubt we'd get even one FRP.
