Not like a super outstanding game, but a more all-around game from him which you love to see. Kept a constant effort throughout, was at least trying to playmake some and passing and whatnot (although some of the passes were truly horrendous), few bad decisions but just kept calm and composed and didn't force things which is all great. It was clear that they couldn't guard him from the start, and I was yelling at him to just keep driving to the rim whereas he settled for early 3s at points for no reason. Could have been an even higher pt game for him easily. Overall he looks a lot better going with the flow, and if his shots are also going in on top of that it looks pretty good. I feel just keeping calm and not getting over-confident or over-anxious and tampering his reaction on the court could help him a ton towards becoming more consistent. Same with Sengun, the emotional range on display on the court is a bit broader than you'd like to see (to put in more traditional terms, I'm afraid there is not always ice in their veins) - I guess some of that has to do with maturity, but some of it is frankly just their personalities. I'll admit this is too much speculation, but both JG and Sengun don't give me 'basketball is my life' vibes - they are obviously competitive and want to win, but they seem more outgoing in contrast to say Amen who seems obsessed with the sport.
I am so freaking happy to see Jalen Green play some good basketball. Thank goodness. Keep it rolling.
It only looks like that. If you compare their finishing ability, rebounding and of course defense it is clear Jalen has worked on his strength and conditioning.
I think Jalen is finally getting conformably being top 1-2 guy on a GOOD team. I think the good record was making him almost psych himself out. He's never experienced that before lol
Jalen looks like he's improving his spot up shooting. Feels like that to me. I almost trust him on kickouts, especially those where the ball is being whipped around by 2-3 teammates. I'd love for him to eliminate the movement 3s entirely outside of Sengun screens once or twice a game or end of clock situations. Honestly the only time Jalen scares me is when he's "feeling himself". Because when he does here comes YOLO ball. Also have a sneaking suspicion that Amen makes him better but the sample size is too small. Wouldn't mind more "FVV is out" games tbh.
I've said it before many time, but I'm of the honest opinion that we have two franchise-type pieces in Amen and Sengun, and a wonderful complementary piece in Bari. What does that core need? A true #1 guard scoring option, and, by far, our best case scenario is Green developing into that role, since that would allow us to preserve our draft assets, which will be critical under the new CBA. The good news is we have time -- let's see if Jalen can keep up this recent solid play. If he remains streaky, I do think it wouldn't be hard to move him in a package towards what we need.
Can anyone explain to me how Jalen Green is tied for 11th most defensive win shares in the NBA behind Alp and FVV, in front of Brooks and Smith??
You have to realize that the biggest reason Jalen isn't getting more of the kind of shots you want to see (and everyone else in the building) is because of how he's defended. He can't get to those spots when His Defender is going under screens and sagging into the paint - it's only when Jalen is making those outside shots that defenders have to honor it and play him closer which allows him to attack the defender and get to those spots. It's as clear as night and day when Jalen is on and when he's not.. He has to help create the spacing.
Really tired of this circular logic. No I don't see it that way. Most teams don't see it that way. The way it's mostly seen is if you have two primary scoring options, you surround them with shooters. That applies even if they were good shooters, it's totally independent of the fact that they're not good shooters.
both things are true. He needs to improve spacing and the spacing around them(jalen and sengun) needs to improve. he does have an elite first step, the reason he always does the step back is because he beats his man just to run into a wall of 3 defenders. oh he does 100%. his defense is great and both of them are able to run with amen being probably our best fast break player and fast break passer.
You can't have two primary scorers both of whom are not good outside shooters. You can't rely on the role players to bail you out. This is especially true if your primary scorers aren't good playmakers too. Sengun can't shoot outside but he's a good playmaker. Jalen isn't a good outside shooter and he is not a good playmaker. So the paint being clogged is at least partially on him. Even if we surround him with good shooters, is he capable of finding them when the interior is crowded? One of the problem with Jalen is that he has only one speed going to the basket. He is fast but he is not crafty like some other guards who can change speed, hesitate, accelerate again, get to the good spot, etc. The only thing Jalen can do when he turns the corner on his man is go full speed to the basket. At that point he only passes when he has already made up his mind to pass to the roll man. You rarely see him kick out or hit a cutting teammate other than the roll man. Teams know that and they have two or three guys down there waiting for him. So putting good shooters out on the perimeter just won't help his drives. He has to be able to do at least one of two things: (1) shoot pull up shots accurately from outside, or (2) see his open teammates in the perimeter. Until he can do that, he will not be a numero uno that we can depend on night in and night out. He does #1 inconsistently. When he can hit those pull up jumpers, he looks like a superstar. But those games are too far apart. I've pretty much given up hope for him to master #2. Court vision is mostly innate talent. (See how Amen does with much less experience than Jalen.)
It is if Jalen can consistently play like he did. Amen is our pg of the future and it has been obvious from the start. Whether it's Jalen or another star we trade for is the question. Amen should be starting, but he has two vets in front of him, so Ime won't make the move until we have a losing streak of some length.
