Basically Tari is working well with everyone except Landale and Cam. I suspect the playing poorly with Landale and Cam is just random bad luck.
I've been screaming this for more than 2 years. It's the only consistently good duo we've had even during the Silas era.
95% win lineup (no ball movement, just shoot) FVV (sharpshooter) Jalen(most efficient) Whitmore (blindshooter) Dillon(HustleShooter™) Jeff Green(Ime's secret weapon)
The much bigger issue with Alpi that continues from last year is he refuses to instantly attack when he has an advantage. Instead, he first looks around for an opportunity to pass and gives the defense a chance to adjust. Udoka needs to beat the pass-first mentality out of Alpi the way JVG did Yao. There is a proper balance and he does not have it.
I think that the no-pure PG lineup with Green, Brooks, Amen, Tari and Sengun is very interesting. Despite the absence of a natural PG, I think that all five men in this lineup can handle the ball, and all of them (well with the exception of Dillon) can also pass the ball. You also get excellent defenders in this unit, and a high pace which may compensate for the lack of 3 point shooting from Sengun and Amen. Also it is more realistic that at least one of the Brooks-FVV duo will remain in the starting lineup as they are Udoka’s favourite, so it is hard to imagine a starting lineup that excludes both of them. I do hope that by now Udoka realises that FVV is taking too much valuable minutes from other guys.
Situational Small ball, defense: Brook, Eason, Smith, Thompson, VV/Holiday Small ball, balance: Brook, Eason, Smith, Green, VV/Holiday/Sheppard Big ball, defense: Adams (when healthy), Brook/Thompson, Eason, Smith, VV/Holiday Big ball, balance: Sengun, Green, Eason, Smith, VV/Holiday/Sheppard My default lineup would be the big ball, balance lineup.
I think Jalen works better with Adams' screens, while Whitmore works better with Alpi's pocket passing. Jalen and Alpi together doesn't work as well.
I checked, and we have never played that lineup. We played 12 possessions with that lineup with Holiday instead of Brooks, and we were in the 1st percentile (worse than 99 %) in terms of scoring.
Based on performance this season we should be starting Amen/Jalen/Tari/Jabari/Adams. Everyone else has been largely trash. The lineup I want to see moving forward (and what is likely our future) is Reed/Jalen/Amen/Jabari/Sengun.
Really shouldn't use x/per minute as anything to go by. If that was the case Cam Whitmore last year would've averaged 40 points a game or whatever. Tari has a case for starting but starting him and Dillon together is suicide. Like saying Jabari Smith should start at the 5 over Sengun because he'd stretch the floor better. Tari almost lost us the Spurs game because of a reckless closeout. Jabari is a better shooter, better rebounder and better defender (as a 4). Tari is a fly on the windshield of a JJJ/Julius Randle/Zion Williamson. Jabari has improving to do but benching him in favor of Tari is just.....not happening. For so many reasons. If we're using current percentages to prove points then Amen Thompson is a much better 3 point shooter than Cam Whitmore. I still think Tari is more Patrick Beverly/Marcus Smart than he is Jrue Holiday/Derrick White if I'm keeping it 100.
Forget about "per minute" then, Sengun is top 5 in rebounds in the entire league (in fewer minutes than the top 4, hence why I mentioned the "per minute") and no. 1 in boxouts, top 5 in screen assists. I wouldn't call that trash. The only thing that has been "trash" so far this season has been his touch around the basket.
Hey if we could win 40 to 30 I'd take it I think Brooks alone would avg 30 PPG with the shots he would jack up in that lineup
That's ironic - my take is that Alpi started the first part of this season trying to score too much and forcing shots into a collapsed paint when he had open teammates. I thought he needed to use the pass and the threat of it(the REAL elite skill he has - not the post scoring) to set up the isolation score. I have seen your point about Alpi waiting too long to attack though - that's real. I think he is just struggling a bit with understanding when to attack as a "numero uno" and when to do what comes natural to him. I think he just needs to get out of his head a bit about trying to "be" a specific role and just play his game. Overthinking it will kill your game and Alpi has the type of feel where he doesn't need to think - just react and trust instinct.
And that whole shooting 39% from the field thing. It's fine, he struggled last year in the PS as well and he'll figure it out. Im not worried about him and no one outside of the weirdos think much of it. Biggest issue plaguing the team is rotations, coaching, trust and playing less talented players because they're trusted more. Like today Amen could play 15 minutes or 35 minutes. Anthony Edwards averaged 30 MPG his rookie year. Jalen Williams? 30 MPG. Amen is averaging the same number of minutes as last year. Sengun is at 28 MPG down from 32 MPG. I've seen this team win 50% of its games with FVV starting. Seems like we're headed in that same direction this year.
I'm very disappointed this has lingered over to this year. He carried a heavy burden as the #1 option all least season and should have learned by now. Alpi must master the very basic issues of NBA decision-making: Being decisive and quick while also being right. For his age, he's played pro basketball for a very long time. Like Jokic, he must discard some of his Euro mindset and incorporate the NBA mindset that says "destroy weakness" the instant you see it. The whole point of an NBA half-court possession is to gain an advantage. When it's presented to you on a platter early in the shot clock, seize the gift. Defenses should instantly be on edge every time he touches the ball in good scoring position the same way they are right now with Jalen.
