Apologies, I haven't read the whole thread. But in response to the title, have we had the "that's what she said" comment yet?
Some of both. The Rockets were interested in trading for a franchise player - no match was available so they punted. Udoka made a statement when the season ended he expected internal improvement would be biggest addition this year - so it’s something they said before.
Separation. It's the one quality that delineates true superstar players from wannabes. It was immediately evident in Hardens season opener against the Pistons (I believe). He was able to create space where there was none, usually off the bounce. It's evident with Ant, evident with Brunson, evident with Tatum, etc. Jalen has not, to this point, shown me any of that ability, short of his explosive jumping ability that will assuredly dissolve with time. His handle is loose, his physique does not allow for seeking contact to create such space, and I have yet to see off ball movement and creativity that would set up a deadly jump shot. Is there time still? Yes. But I don't see the tools in the bag yet. Jalen needs an elite skill beyond a vertical threat and streak shooting off the pull up dribble, because I've never seen that equal an NBA ring as the lead man. Someone will bring up Kobe, but I never viewed him as the true lead man. As is, as IS, I see Jalen as the Michael Porter role on a truly championship squad. Dangerous and valuable, for certain, but not to be counted on to tow the load.
It's funny how in reality he created some of the most effortless separation in the entire league. How can someone be so wrong? We have multiple former NBA players who are opposing team commentators sitting courtside watching these guys play waxing lyrical about how Green is in the Ja, Fox, Maxey tier of separation ability with the ball in their hands. Go watch the last Rockets and Wolves match up. Green is straight up a better ball handler than Ant and someone who creates mor effortless separation. Look at how many times in a single game he makes defenders like Lu Dort look like clowns with his effortless separation.
That being said a large percentage of even good scorers do not even come that close to the Championship.....see Harden, Paul George....etc. There is no such thing as championship squads.....either you are a Champion or you are Also rans.
and then his response will be that he is in fact a fan of both jalen and alperen, when we all know he's just a jalen fanboy. it's like when people said "i love sengun, but....". stop with the bs.. we all know this dobizzle guy deep down hates sengun and hates how sengun is now the face of the team. how else can you explain him calling people sengtards and the fact that he can't wait for sengun to be traded so he doesn't have to deal with sengun fans..
I know why. Its because Green is the most polarizing player on the team. Despite the stats, despite the eye test, despite all that is written about him, two camps of folks reach radically different conclusions about the player he is, the player he has been, and the player he is likely to be. While their is also a camp of moderates that believe elements from the former two, the polarized camps speak the loudest and the most often.
Green was one of the major reasons the Rockets were a .500 team last year. Unfortunately, that's a bi-directional sentence.
This narrative must make you feel really comfortable but it has no basis in reality. Majority of nba fans and analysts see a guy why has been inefficient for a variety of reasons but on the upswing and with a bright future. This includes Udoka and Stone, who were criticizing Jalen and wanted to trade him but then saw gold and they were slowly won over by Green’s mental toughness and resilience. There’s one tiny fringe contingent of rockets fans who are extremely pessimistic about his future and assume his inefficiency is all about just the caliber of player he is. To treat the ultra negative minority as though it’s half of all opinion is comical. Even just on this website, the polls heavily favor green and not the extreme critics at all. Outside of here in the real world it’s even more positive. Anyways, there’s still a few months remaining to keep repeating this melodramatic criticism so best enjoy it while you can. No games being played is a great environment to allow people to remain stuck in the past.
I think you drastically overestimate the size of the cult, they are hilariously delusional and really loud about it, but most people consider Jalen either an outright bust or bust adjacent....and a fluke 8 game unsustainably hot shooting streak doesn't change that. I kind of ran into this a while back when talking to OKC fans about how Russell Westbrook was one of the most detrimental players to his team in the league....a lot of them were REALLY upset and wanted to tell me how he was actually amazing and all of his problems were other people's fault....then a couple years went by and the delusions dropped and just about all of them admitted what I was trying to tell them all along. I imagine unless Jalen plays next season (not just 8 games) significantly better than he's ever managed in the past, just about all Rockets fans will be on the same page about him and the loud delusional cult will sulk away since their guy will no longer be on the roster increasing the collective IQ of both the Rockets roster and this board by a substantial level. That said, it's the offseason and there's no games being played, and I think it's fine for his ridiculous cultists to enjoy the last remaining time they can worship their guy because the final season will be here before we know it and that spells the end for them.
Most superstar potential, and most superstar performances of our rookies by far. It's very telling you can do this with several of Jalen's games where it's clear you're watching superstar talent (ie all the monster games where he scored over 50% fg and 35% from 3 which is most of his 40 and 30pt games) and yet you can't do this even once with Amen (who people like to gas as the "best prospect" lol) Cam, Bari or Tari, and you can only really do it with a couple of Sengun's games in comparison. The peaks are just different. When Jalen's on he's so much of a better prospect than his peers it's laughable that he's so hated by "fans" of the team he plays on.
I guess this makes sense, it's easier for casuals to see flashy offense than it is for them to recognize superior performance overall. That's how we end up with takes like this trying to prop up one of the worst overall players on the roster over 2 of the top players on the roster.
The Startroopers & I Think You Should Leave meme: Alpi: I'm doing my part. Amen: I'm doing my part. Cam: I'm doing my part. Jalen: I didn't do f*****g s**t.
