I don’t think you have to “squint” at all. Among three person lineups who have played substantial minutes together, the Amen/Sengun/Green combo has the highest offensive rating on the team (114.6). That’s pretty great considering Green is the oldest, and he just turned 23.
To be fair, compared to how highly he thinks of jalen, i would say it’s reasonable to call you a hater. Like do you think he’s better than Shai? Do you think he would be our best player if his FG% was 20%? Cause he thinks yes to both.
It's like the difference between being attracted to someone and stalking them. It's the kind of thing people might think is progressive but one is about lateral connection and the other about hierarchal dominance - which are actually opposites. It's not true that the stalker loves that person more, although they may think so. I don't think he's better than Shai but at the same time I don't think pre-championship Kobe Bryant is better than Shai so it's a very high bar to clear.
Yeah I'm not surprised. It's rare you have a player with Jalen's stats who then randomly dominates everyone for a month as though he's the best player in the NBA. His highs are unusual so it will generate some crazy takes. If you go purely on stats, it doesn't even make sense we take him seriously right now. I don't know another player who averaged what he averaged flat for 3 years and a serious coach says "trust me, ignore the first 2 years, clean slate, it's worth it". There's something that keeps people tuned in, as though they expect a surprise ending.
You're blind if you can't see Jalen's improvement. HIs defense is way better, he's playing more under control, and his shot making is better. He's learning how to get to the line more (even though he still gets screwed by refs). He has some bad games, but way less of them and even in the bad games he will have moments where he helps us win. That's why he's out there on the floor even if he is struggling.
Definitely a great start for post-ASB Jalen. Hopefully there are plenty more games like this to come.
"post asb Jalen" had a different ring to it the first few years in the league knowing it was for nothing putting up numbers on a bad team towards the end of the season. We had a small taste of "post asb" Jalen playing meaningful games. But it was a small taste. This time "post asb Jalen" is a entire new concept because if this trend is true we are looking at him stepping up his game in time for top 3 seed push. And it would be even crazier if it applies also to the playoffs.
It's a little clunky because you don't run 3 man lineups. You run 5 man lineups. And if there's another ball handler (FVV) it gets weird for those 3 to share ball handling duties. This was the first "real" non FVV game with essentially the full team. I feel like Jalen has improved as a spot up shooter from Amen/Sengun kickouts. We'll see but I feel like throwing in FVV (or Reed when he comes of age) gets to be a little too many cooks in the kitchen sort of thing. I wouldn't mind FVV being held out a little longer so I can see the Amen/Jalen dual ball handler dynamic a bit more (with some Reed and Cam sprinkled in). I feel like with FVV there everyone just defers to him instead of doing what they should be doing.
Jalen Green is KILLING it in transition. These numbers are including the time spent without Amen as a starter, but still impressive: He's the 12th most efficient of players taking at least 2 attempts per game (by PPP and percentile) in the NBA. 2nd best among all guards. Amen and Green are monsters in transition EFG%: Jalen at 67.8% and Amen at 68.8%. Green/Amen/Tari might statistically be the best transition trio in the NBA. Remember they were saying "how are we going to add even one more point to this offense without adding a superstar or shooters???" Just like that.
I would love to see us runout a lineup of Amen, Jalen, Tari, Jabari, and Sengun with FVv and Dillon coming off the bench for the next 10 games or so. I think the youngsters would come out with incredible defense and energy and build a lead and then FVV and Dillon could come in, slow it down a bit, to avoid a TO enduced come-back by the other team. Both defensive units would be pretty good under these circumstances and it would also inform the FO of what needs to happen in the off-season.
My 2 cents: Keep Amen and DB as starters and bring FVV and Tari off the bench. I just don't see FVV and DB providing much spark off the bench. As a starter, DB is a tone-setter the Rockets need. When he shoots poorly, reduce his minutes. Other times, his early fouls will do the same. I prefer Amen to remain a starter over FVV so his growth as an initiator can continue.
Sure doesn't feel like it to the eye test ill be honest. This teams transition ranks high but constantly "looks"poor, and that includes Jalen and amen imo
