Cam and Jalen have a frighteningly similar profile. Jack up 3 or close eyes and drive to the rim. Neither can dribble or break defenders down. Jalen has less tunnel vision. Cam is a better shooter. Idk man.
Cam has more time to develop. I'm not panicking about Jalen or Cam yet. OKC is elite. And still the preseason. Hopefully they both blossom as the season progresses. The gap in talent between us and OKC is a bit depressing though.
The medical concerns were and are real. There were teams who had their doctors tell them to avoid because of long term concerns. Can is very young, sometimes young people heal and past issues don’t return… Jordan got hurt badly his 2nd year and they had chronic concerns and he was never hurt again… I do believe some teams used medical concerns as a cover for the fact that they just didn’t like his personality of demeanor…
Cam is very young and missed a season in HS and was hurt in college and was not used properly… so he is raw from an age and experience level. Having said that - in the back of my head I am a little concerned he is one of those guys that can give you numbers and highlights but doesn’t help you win… my opinion is written in pencil but it would be lie to say I haven’t been a little concerned.
I don’t think the talent gap among young players is that big, if it exists at all (excluding Shai). However OKC has superior offensive coaching and an ingrained philosophy that better sets up their players to thrive on that end. OKC’s guys know exactly what they’re supposed to do when the ball hits their hands, and they do it decisively on a spaced floor. The game is simple, easy, and repetitive. We’re constantly asking our guys to figure out what to do flat footed on an unspaced floor with no advantage getting passed to them. Ask Jalen Williams or Chet to self create against a loaded up defense and they struggle too (see the DAL series last year).
I feel the same way about him and Green to a lesser extent right now, they just never seem to have a real plan B. There's just no advanced offensive processing if their initial plan of attack isn't there. It's all explosion.
The advantage Whitmore has over Green is his strength. Jalen with his frame will always have to finess his way around the defense to score, Cam can go through people and make the space. His bbiq is currently very low, but he is young, and he did show an effort at the end of last season to pass. Today he lead the team in assists, as crazy as that is.
The difference is that all of their guys have real skill. No glaring holes in any of their games. Our only offensively skilled players as of now are Alpi and Reed. The rest are speed, power, and athleticism that we hope can develop. Even Cason Wallace came in the game last night and made it look easy. Ime needs to define everyone's offensive role eventually. I agree that they look sloppy and unorganized without Fred which is another issue. This can be a solid team that can make playoff or play in games in coming years. But contending with teams like OKC seems like a pipe dream currently. I'm starting to realize that I may never see another Rockets title in my lifetime. But at least we can have a fun team to root for. So be it.
He is a powerful and exciting player with the BBIQ of an amoeba. Would not hesitate to include him in a trade, sorry to say.
Tilman has improved and even Rafa Stone has improved but I agree from the bottom of my heart. Houston has been a lesser Dallas in the last years. And if Dallas can't win it, Houston isn't either. To be able to catapult yourself to the stratosphere of great management you need geniuses once again.
We have so many 2s and 3s that it really starts to become more about fit. Whitmore is probably the guy who fits in least seamlessly with the rest of the group. There are also some questions with Green, but he has made some progress in that regard. Although, with Cam we have some time to see how he develops--with Jalen, time is almost up.
Cam has all the tools to be a superstar. His mindset is what sets him back. I watched tons of Kiyan Anthony videos and his team always loses because he thinks he didn't shoot the ball enough. You'll hear Carmelo say shooters shoot and defenders defend. This is what Cam heard on a daily basis under Anthony's AAU team
I don't think his BBall IQ is poor, I think it is high, I think he is valuing himself as only a scorer, like a lot of young guys do and need to be taught to use that IQ on defense and passing. His cutting is timely and sharp - high BBall IQ His passing is crisp and timely when he does it - High BBall IQ Defensive recognition needs work - but he plays passing lanes well - Decent IQ So for me it is youth, and inexperience more than IQ..... He is like Kobe was at 19-20.....youthful and aggressive, not saying he will be Kobe - that would be a major ask, just saying there are similaraties. DD
I thought Hollins had some interesting quips today on the Jackson podcast. Let it slip when he said "if for whatever reason Cam were to find himself in the starting lineup...." which I wonder if it came from somewhere. Also said he predicts Cam to be the one on the roster to have a breakout season. He accents Sengun more than Dillon/Jalen do and frankly the roster at this point needs to be built around players that accent Alperen.
This. I love Ime's leadership but so far he has proven that he needs a better offensive system that makes everyone on the court a weapon. We are still more or less playing some version of hero ball only without a Luka, Harden, or Jokic to facilitate it. We rely too much on spacing and there is little movement. It's time to make more drastic changes to the offense.
Wonder what work that is, since he’s shown little improvement. Crazy that with that talent he might be sooner out of the league than freaking Wafer! My prediction, we trade him this year to a team where he can get minutes, he looks good for a minute and then is soon forgotten as he bounces around the league. I still hope he turns it around but it’s not looking good.
