People would absolutely complain about Brooks if the only option behind him was Daishen Nix. He is one of the least likeable players in the league and his skillset (elite 1-5 defender who annoys the **** out of the other team, average 3 point shooter) doesn't translate to traditoinal stats. But, his coach obviously loves him & FVV. NBA coaches love veteran players who have reputations of focusing on defense, surprise!
So much this. Brooks is out there to support Sengun. I think Tari and Amen could fill the defense Brooks provides, but I think Amen's lack of shooting is just too much. It would make it easier to game plan against Sengun. If the argument was Brooks should be off the team for unsportsmanlike conduct, that is a better argument to me than Brooks has to be benched and have his minutes reduced instead of Jabari (or focusing solely on Brooks as if he was the worst starter and not worth playing 30 mpg). I still think Jabari is young and is going to be a fine NBA player. He's just not as good as Brooks now, and he should be the one losing time.
Dillon + Jabari is what's preventing Tari and Amen from getting starter minutes... and their PTs are creeping up. They aren't going to get rid of Jabari this soon. Trading Brooks will go a long way to giving Tari and Amen and maybe Cam more minutes. Amen's shooting is a problem. I think Tari is already at least as good as Brooks overall. If he learns how to bother bigger guys like Wemby and KAT in the perimeter, he'll surpass Brooks. Cam is his own enemy. He needs to grow up and focus on improving on his weaknesses.
Dillon is a poor rebounder, although better this year. Ime may run out of patience with Jabari’s inconsistency at some point, but you only have to look back one year to see Dillon’s inconsistency. I think this is the best defense and shape, I’ve ever seen Dillon. Just think it is a mistake to take this as a permanent trend.
Brooks and Jabari playing 30 mpg is preventing Amen and Tari getting starter minutes. I didn't say get rid of JSJ. A player can develop with 20+ mpg. Amen and Tari can get all the minutes they can handle without taking more than 4 mpg from Brooks. While Trading Brooks would get Amen and Tari more PT, it isn't the only way. You mentioned a middle ground. Trading the only vet competing with young guys for minutes is not the middle ground. There are 6 players deserving of playing 30 mpg. If all 6 were given 30 mpg and 12 was given to the backup center, that still leaves 48 mpg to develop Jabari, Cam, and Reed. I'm guessing the Rockets are playing more under 23 year olds than 20 NBA teams.
Dillon has been great defensively for his most of career outside after he hurt his oblique last season. He was getting better at defense towards the end of the year and then Sengun got hurt (Brooks's primary skill is most valuable with Sengun on the court). Even hurt, the Rockets played better with Brooks over Jabari last season. If Amen or Tari start, the Rockets are gaining on the offensive rebounding. There is a lot of trend that Brooks is better than Jabari. I suspect Jabari will pass Brooks at some point, but until that time, Amen and Tari should be eating into Jabari's time more so than Brooks's. On Brooks's offense, his usage is the lowest of his career. We have about a season's worth of data showing the Brooks has cut down his Leroy Jenkins moments on offense in half. I'm not worried about Tari or Amen's rebounding over Jabari's. Sengun is a great defensive rebounder covering Brooks while Brooks keeps Sengun out of getting attacked.
I think the key of what you are saying is that Jabari does not deserve starter minutes. I don't disagree. After thinking more about this, I realized that Jabari is actually the one whose minutes would be affected by Brooks' presence on the roster--if both Tari and Amen were given more. The bottomline for those of us who argue (modestly, not strongly) for trading Brooks is that he is basically redundant when Amen and Tari are coming to their own. Ironically, if Amen develops an outside shot, he will likely be moved to PG full-time and might free up the forwards minutes. FVV might be off the team sooner than Brooks.
Redundancy is more a problem for weakness. Having redundant good traits isn't that bad, especially if they stack. I have no issue dominanting a team with starters and having backups that dominate. Amen and Tari aren't going to play 48 mpg each even if they start.
Yeah, that's why I am okay if they keep Brooks. Redundancy is a problem when it affects either (1) PT of other players that are worthy, and/or (2) salary distribution. This is especially true when you also consider the age/potential factor.
I am a harsh critic as many of you know, but I also give credit where credit is due. My grade on Udoka is A+++++!!! Switch Udoka and Silas and the record goes from 35-21 to 18-38 with this exact same group. Amen would not be developed and the team would turn the ball over and play no defense.
I don't want to suggest in any way that Udoka hasn't been a resounding success these first 2 seasons. Given the embarrassing culture we had in the locker room when he took over, the turnaround has been absolutely amazing. However with every passing game I have greater concerns his "gotta win every single game" mentality might really hurt us in the long run. There's a glass ceiling to "playing hard", you need some offensive firepower to make the game easier. If you gotta let guys lose some games to develop that firepower so be it.
Ime needs to hire Dort’s shooting coach - after Harden and Rockets embarrassed him in playoffs he has become a great knockdown shooter on open looks
I had him at a B and might come down to a C soon, especially if we don’t hire a strong offense oriented X&O’s guy in the off-season. The negatives are getting far more obvious recently / after a while: - no self reflection. - acts like a hard ass when he really isn’t, so why keep up that appearance? - still hasn’t done much for our offense, not playing to our strengths enough. - gives veterans a pass. - does not know what to do with our big men rotation, Jock and Jeff have both produced at different times yet he goes with a bench that suggests we only have Adams as a viable option. Adams out? No big man, unless he’s forced to - foul trouble or effort benching.
Great start to the year with A- and now I would give it C+. Have to keep in mind, injuries have derailed our record
