Jalen doesnt have to be him because he is only making 33M. We are paying him like Derrick White who is a good player but also the 3rd/4rth option on the Celtics. I am not sure Jalen will ever be a superstar, however his current play is def trending towards a 30M+ player to me. People forget this game Jalen just played 45+ mins yeah he would prob make mistakes at the end, y'think? lol This whole fascination with a "Him" is a nonsensical argument made by people conditioned on Jordan highlights. Rox got 2nd seed without a him and lots of teams like Suns have 2 Hims but wont even make the playoffs. The whole HIM style of roster construction is already obsolete. Celtics literally won last year with Tatum playing like ass. They beat Mavs who had two HIMS pretty easily. If you have the same guy getting the ball every time that just makes you predictable, thats why Jokic despite being the best player in the world for 5 yrs now and the biggest HIM only has 1 ring.
Suns don't have any Hims. They have one guy who used to be a Him and is a shell of himself, that's it. I don't think it's that crazy to talk about though, as nba history is very clear that outside of a rare exception, you need a guy.
So you are saying Booker isnt a him when he lead the Suns to the finals? KD isnt a him when he is a top 10 player in the league? lol We got 18 guys on the team. If we didnt have a guy how come the team just battled back from 25 down? Rox are 2nd seed so nobody else aside from OKC has a him? This whole him thing is so subjective and arbitrary. All history has shown is the best team wins. When a team wins, people just retroactively think they have a guy.
Booker has never sniffed it, absolutely not. That's an INSANE thing to say. KD isn't a top 10 player, we're talking about current KD, not what he used to be. KD is 36th in EPM, 29th in VORP. If KD was the guy he used to be, the suns would be an easy playoff team.
So being 4rth in MVP means you arent even the guy? Leading your team to the Finals as the best player doesnt mean you are a guy? KD in the past is one of the best players in the world. Even if he fell off he is consensus in the top 20 best players in the NBA. What does being a guy mean to you? Top 5 best player in the league?
It depends, every year is somewhat different but generally in the top 3 to top 5 range. Someone that i would expect if healthy will finish top 3 MVP every year. Currently it's Jokic, shai, luka, giannis, and very fringe tatum (i would say no on tatum generally).
For the most part, I am reactive on rockets issues. I express my opinions based on how they differ from others. My opinion on Jalen Green, while better than before the season (but worse since mid January) is farther from the average vocal opinion here than when the season started. I had no idea prior to this season how different my opinions on FVV and Brooks are from the rest of the board. I didn't choose for people to think FVV should be cut, traded at every opportunity even if his inclusion in the deal is not meant to get the Rockets anything, or that he's viewed as "atrocious". I am going to react like Tari Eason after seeing an opinion that drastically differed from mine.
If that is your rule there is no way we can get "a guy" unless its via draft and we get lucky. There is no way a top 5 is available for trade unless ots Luka to Lakers.
All I know is that every time we reach the 2-minute mark behind 10 points or so, I find myself wishing we had someone on the team with the mindset of doing whatever it takes to drag his team to victory, and the skillset and confidence to actually get it done. Team ball is wonderful, but there are times when the team is lacking and you just need that one dominant star to take over. I want an alpha dog on this team, and so far Amen appears to be the only one who might one day be that guy.
Rockets have been getting it done so much they have the 2nd seed and more wins than teams with alphas like Jokic, Ant, Lebron, Luka etc Not sure why those alphas couldnt get it done more than the Rockets with no alphas according to you. Dont these alphas have the mindset of doing what it takes to get the victory and skillset and confidence to get it done? Somebody tell the Rox they shouldnt be winning all these games cuz they dont have an alpha. In fact Rox have won every game without Amen who is the only one with the alpha gene.
It's pretty disappointing that Jalen still cannot create for others. With FVV out, we really could have used Jalen to take the reigns. He just can't. That wouldn't be such a problem if he were more consistent. Yes, when he's on, he's great. There's just no telling when or if that will happen on a consistent basis, and at this point...4 years into a career, he just is what he is. Barkley had a great quote that, by year 3, you are the player you will be. I think we are seeing that with Jalen. A hyper-athletic freak who is a streaky scorer, who cannot routinely create for others, and who appears to have a low bball IQ, or at least too high of a turnover clip.I wanted us to take Mobley from the start but have supported Jalen and understand why we drafted him. That said, his inconsistency will kill this team more than his play saves us. I really hope Jalen proves me wrong. Would love nothing more than for him to show out in the playoffs. Fingers crossed. I think with the right team around Jalen, he could thrive...but lots of contingencies and other needs unfortunately will dictate his success.
That's the sad reality of the NBA though. Look at who won the last 15 championships - it's Kobe, Dirk, Lebron, Duncan, Curry, Kawhi, Giannis, Jokic, Tatum. That's what you need if you wanna win, you need a guy on this level.
Good analysis but you think Jalen is 3rd or 4th in way of importance to the team? I think differently. No one else other than probably Cam can get their own shot at all three levels. However, he is deficient in other areas.
In the regular season, stuff like depth and effort can win you a lot of games. Come playoff time, that stuff is mostly worthless because everyone is trying.
If you can't see the growth by now, the only thing that will change your mind is a championship. I think all of our players are developing. All of our players were products of the AAU, except for Sengun and Jabari who went to college one yr. I think you all forget these players were 18, 19 and 20 when they got drafted. And finally, if you would have taken an analogy from anybody else other than CHARLES BARKLEY, I would have taken it mores seriously.
That's survivorship bias. You are ignoring all the other superstars who didnt win a ring Jokic for example has been the best player in the world for over 5 yrs but still has 1 ring and prob wont win a ring this year. Best team wins not the best player. Rather than hyper focusing on one guy its better to look at the team as a collective. Rox are still too young but if Stone can keep the together I believe they will be contenders in 3 yrs.
It's not survivorship bias, if you think so you're missing my point. I'm not ignoring all the other superstars, and I'm not suggesting the team with the best player always wins. What I am trying to say is that UNLESS you have at least one player of that caliber, you are not a contender. It does not matter how good your team is if you don't have one of those guys. That doesn't mean those are the only guys, James Harden was a guy. He was obviously the same caliber, and thats why we were true contenders when we had him. There are a lot of guys in this category that never win. For current players you can pretty easily add Shai and Luka to that list, they've never won but they are obviously on that level. But if you listed all those players and then put "Jalen Green" or "Alperen Sengun" I'm think you'd get laughed at.
