Yeah, been waiting for that consolidation trade for a while now. I assumed it would have happened this next offseason and involve one of Jalen(more likely) or Alpi(less likely) when they are trade eligible but I think Houston's evaluation on their own guys is probably changing a lot as the season progresses. If you think you may stick with Jalen/Alpi long term - then an in season trade seems far more likely.
Our level of competition since Jabari has been out has changed markedly. Since his injury, we've played 7 of our 11 games against the other top 8 teams in the league. Two of those other games were against winning teams as well. Our defensive numbers would have been worse with Jabari as well just because of who we were playing.
There is no guarantee that Jabari becomes an above-average starter. He has the potential to become that player. He's also very unlikely to achieve those numbers anytime soon. He is currently somewhere around the 7th-best player on our roster with a lot of other young guys who will continue to improve.
Out of curiosity, what good offensive players has Jabari done well on ? I can remember some specific matchups where Brooks and Amen were great. I can't remember any for Jabari, though I know that there has to be some I'm forgetting.
No, Fred is the guy that’s expendable. Amen is going to be ready to be the floor general. We need Jabari’s elite defense. Fred is getting paid way to much.
Defense is not just point of attack. The Rockets POA defense has been great with Amen. The problem has been the off ball defense with either defensive breakdowns at the rim or open threes when Amen, Green, and FVV are all in the game. I'm not saying Jabari is a cure-all, but what he did defensively is not getting done. I'd say Brooks and Jabari handled most of the pre-switching and scram switching for the starting lineup. With Amen tied down on the POA, Green and/or Sengun need to help Brooks out in rotations. FVV and Green need to get on the defensive glass as Sengun is only one on the defensive glass when Amen is tied to a playmaker. Swapping Brooks with Jabari is unlikely to help much as long as Amen has his hands full. Edit: Maybe the defense gets fixed when Amen doesn't have to guard guards as much. It has basically been Ja, Ja, Mitchell, Mitchell, Fox lately for Amen.
That's great, but that's not what I asked. Jabari is guarding someone. I'm just trying to recall which of those players that he's done well against. I'm drawing a blank.
You made me curious, so I had to check. Before Smith's injury, we were giving up 13.5 open 3s w/ defender 4 to 6 feet away. Since Jabari's injury, we are giving up 14.6 per game. Prior to Jabari's injury, we gave up 16.9 wide open 3's w/ closest defender over 6ft away. Since the injury, we give up 16.6 per game. So, we're really not giving up more open 3s, it's less than 1 per game difference. The difference is that our opponents are shooting the open 3s better. Open 3s - w/Jabari 34.1% wo/ Jabari 41.3% Wide open 3s - w/ 37.9% wo/ 38.5% We've had a streak where our opponents have shot the open 3 very well.
Would hate so see Jabari lose his starting spot. But Amen cant go back to the bench wither. For me it has to be DB.
Dillon Brooks going to a bench role, I am worried if Dillon Brooks takes up all the Minutes/All the Shots over Cam Whitmore/ Reed Sheppard.
Tari Eason really should be a Point Guard off the bench, great passer, great handles. It will make the Rockets even more dangerous and adverse. PG Jalen Green/Amen Thompson/Tari Eason very lethal combination of Speed, Handles, Athleticism, Passing. Starter PG/SG Fred VanVleet SG/PG Jalen Green SF/PG Amen Thompson PF Jabari Smith C Alperen Sengun Bench PG Tari Eason / Reed Sheppard/ Aaron Holiday SG Dillon Brooks SF Cam Whitmore PF JaeSean Tate C Steven Adams
Yep, Jabari definitely coming off the bench...our current starting 5 is playing it's best basketball this year! You can't disrupt this rhythm when Jabari comes back...this situation reminds me of Steve Kerr's first year with the Warriors when David Lee was the starter and got hurt in the preseason. When Draymond Green replaced him in the starting lineup, the Warriors never been the same since: DYNASTY We're in a similar situation now with Amen...he's a special player and I'm the first to admit I didn't see him being this good!
I noticed that during a crucial stretch, Ime played the Alpi-Amen-Tari-Dillon combination - I can't even remember if it was with Fred or with Jalen. That 4-man-lineup with either Fred or Jalen has a ridiculous on/off rating.
