Every time he's on the court, I have to remind myself that this kid is only 19. I think back to Jalen and Jabari's rookie seasons and how clunky and awkward they looked on the floor at times—I'm not seeing any of that. He makes rookie mistakes for sure and could work on his basketball IQ, but he's just so smooth and athletic. The way he moves with the ball and how pure his jumper looks, it's like you're watching a 10-year vet. No matter what happens at the trade deadline, the front office has to make sure Cam stays in this rotation and is getting plenty of minutes. Same with Amen—we're seeing both guys play well right now and they seem to be thriving together.
I wonder what the answers would be, if every GM in the league was asked who would they take: - a rookie Cam Whitmore - a third year Jalen Green I actually don't wonder what the answers would be, it's fairly obvious.
Man, even after a game in which Jalen drops 36 points on 20 shots, you still can’t help yourself, can you?
Cam also had a fantastic game. But you're onto something, even after the one good game each few weeks from Jalen, no I don't spark up the "OMG IT'S HAPPENING HE'S TURNED THE CORNER" nonsense. Because the very large sample size of 2.5 seasons dictates it won't happen again for a while. That's the thing some find real hard to understand. Good. Bad. Average games. The end goal doesn't change. The starting SG position needs to be upgraded. Hey, you reckon any GMs wet their pants today like a few Clutchfan members did eager to jump on Clutchfans and post their gifs!??!!?! I get it though, I get why those few people do that. It'll be mid-February before they get their next chance to.
Difference is we know Cam can finish at the rim even against better teams. We know he can shoot. Jalen unfortunately still can't shoot the 3. If Jalen can consistently put up over 35% from 3 then maybe your post would hold more weight but he hasn't done that. Jalen "showed out" against two of the worst NBA teams including one with no paint presence. I want more from a 3rd year player before I declare he has turned the corner
I'd love to hear about this defense played against Jalen. Because it definitely isn't the opposition's best wing defender, nor do they exert much pressure on him. You know why I know that? Because literally every single time a defense pushes up on Jalen with the ball, he either turns it over or coughs it up but a teammate manages to grab it. They get played entirely different by defenses hahahahaha. You're acting like Jalen is some star player who teams need to game plan for. Here's the game plan: let him shoot wide open 3s. In a way I guess you're right - they do get played entirely differently by defenses - because defenses won't deliberately leave Cam wide open.
They absolutely do. Its simply by the fact that Green plays the point of attack more often where help defenders are playing the main ball handlers driving lanes. Most of Cam's buckets come off unset defenses. An initial player collapses the defense, ball is kicked out and the defender assigned to Cam has feet that aren't set. That's majority of Cam's buckets. By just that alone should tell you that he's getting easier buckets. Green is the one along with FVV who are the perimeter guys who are collapsing the defenses. Basically Green does what he does against set defenses more often than Cam. And yes even Ime has said that Green often gets the best perimeter defenders assigned to him. Understand that playing under a screen or playing drop coverage on Green isn't defenders ignoring him. It's them being more afraid of being blown by him than shooting over them.
Besides actually enjoying the games again, watching Cam and Amen develop has been a lot of fun. These types of games are confidence builders that help the young guys see the art of the possible for themselves. They'll eventually have these types of games against better teams. That Cam got under LaMelo's skin is a bonus for me.
Lamelo definitely felt threatened by Cam with that fake tough guy act. Cam smirked also knowing that LaMelo would never try anything on Cam because he got like 30 lbs of muscle on him.
Yeah, you’re right. Jalen defenders are the ones acting reactionary, not people like you who claim he turns over the ball “every time the defense pushes.” Totally rational.
Jalen Green has great physical advantages, and he has skill and mental deficiencies on the basketball court. DD
I mean CHARLOTTE has the worst defense in the league....so my jG opinion, like many on this board, remains the same unfortunately
I'm glad what Jalen and Cam did against the Hornets, but their defense was barely trying. It's good Jalen was very aggressive and efficient and took advantage, but he's gotta bring intensity every game. Cam's shooting spree came in rec league garbage time, but I'm happy he took advantage. He needs to continue growing and acclimating. I still think the Rockets will go on a run when everyone gets healthy.
Have to agree. Of the 6 rookies we drafted, they are the most NBA ready out of the box. Much more than any of the previous 4 outside of maybe Tari.
Very impressive given Cam is so young and Amen is coming out of such a questionable league. Shows they have a lot innate basketball talent. Tari, you would kinda of expect since he was a two-year college guy, although he's obviously still been fantastic when healthy.
