Both Fred and Dillon might be coming off the bench next year or traded. And I understand that logic. Frankly, I am starting the 2024/2025 Dillon Brooks As long as the shooting continues. He has been phenomenal this year in scoring. Despite what might happen next year, those two players have earned the right to lead us into the playoffs this year. They have done their job with the young core and I don’t think that we would’ve seen the development that we have with the young players without these two guys around them. Maybe this team flames out because they don’t have a superstar, but they have played hard enough to earn the opportunity to go into the playoffs and let it rock.
I’m not even saying that, although I agree. I am flat-out saying Reed and Cam have (and will in the playoffs) hamper the development of the Core 5. So, to discuss development vs winning. … I’m saying they go hand-in hand right now for the Rockets. The only ppl who say otherwise are talking about the positive affects of Cam and Reed minutes … and ignoring how those minutes affect the Core 5 development … ie the Core 5 can benefit greatly from deep playoff experience, and a playoff ramp-up preceding it. Playoffs Is a completely different season …
is Reed out of the core because he was out of his depth this year and slow to develop or because the core 5 is so far ahead in their development and they’re winning so we are going with them going forward?
I don't think 5 minutes then the hook and never seeing the floor again, or sporadic playing time is development - honestly, if they weren't going to play they should have been in the Gleague all year. It was a wasted year, Ime did a **** job of developing them, and now Stone has to make a decision with incomplete data. Honestly, Stone should have traded Tate and Holiday - and forced Ime to play them. HP is full of it on this point, Holiday and Tate aren't helping the core 5 and Reed and Cam aren't hindering them, and BTW - they won't be the core 5 forever at least 2 will be traded. DD
I’m not interested in that question…and since I’m not the coach, I don’t have to answer boring questions. I’m discussing why the veterans play, and how a Coach can further accelerate the development of our 3rd and 4th yr kids (plus Amen) … ie they need significant Team IQ growth and playoff experience, at this point in their careers. Most all discussions of “development vs winning” fail to address that they now go hand-in-hand.
Mostly #1. Reed was so bad it was an act of mercy when Udoka pulled him out of the rotation. He was not showing signs of improvement.
While there are no guarantees in life, the following is near certain: The Rockets will get blown out in the 1st round no matter who they play because their offense sucks; and The team will panic and trade Brooks, Reed, and Cam plus picks for Durant.
Our core is shrinking… we done gone from core 7 to core 6 to now core 5. Stone needs to make a move before it drops to core 4
We have a core of 1, that is it....right now. The only player we are GUARANTEED to keep is AMEN....that's it. DD
I’ve been studying Coach’s offense system development vs same actions by other notable NBA teams and have come to the conclusion Sengun and Green are both having problems developing their Team Game (ie, Sengun’s when on ball, and Green when off-ball) … and that ripples throughout the Team Offensive development of Bari and Amen. (I’m not worried about Tari.) Guys like Jeff, Tate, and Aaron are limited in talent and not part of the future … but, imo, these three actually demonstrate better knowledge of our off-ball actions…which, imo, helps raise half-court offense,Team IQ. (And it goes without saying Adams might be our smartest offensive player.) Anyhoot, the fact is (as you state), Jeff, Tate and Aaron are trusted more by the Coach. It’s an interesting observation as to why. Sengun and Green need repetition in half-court offense in order for our Team IQ to take a step, resulting in more free-flowing actions … and the vets simply are better at helping with that. but, in the end, it’s just my theory as to why … I certainly do not buy that any of this is hurting our development (now or the future) … like .. at all
imo, that’s old news … we are running way too much split action sets, and enough weak-side action to begin to say Coach is trying to develop team actions/concepts with these kids. Even against zone, when you can’t really run split-action effectively, our offense v zone is developing, imo. It’s very interesting to me why our split action reads often get run the same … and our weak side picks go unused. especially when the vets are most definitely being demonstrative on the court in pointing out motion mistakes and positional errors.
If minutes going to Reed and Cam over scrubs like Holiday and Tate hamper the development of whatever you are calling "the Core 5", then they aren't "Core" caliber players.
derailing my post into a discussion of semantics is boring ... you know that, right? But since I'm bored today, I'll eleborate ... just for you, Spoiler: honest reply The 5 young players in our rotation are trying to add various split-action reads to their arsenal of half-court actions. This is very important. It requires increasing our Team IQ via repetition. Not just reads once in the action, but also getting into the sets. (I see problems with both, every game.) It's apparent the staff wants them to start running split-action instincitvely (and in variety). But we seem to only do it when Coach holds their hands, and calls the sets from the bench, and we definitely favor the DHO option of these ations over anything else ... like a crutch. Recently, coach even commented about wanting to ween them off of play calls from the bench Watch, our highest growth-potential series of actions come after a toppage (beginning of Q, timeout, long delays) when we show split-actioins from Zoom, Delay, Princeton, Horns/Stak Out, or Stagger Away, yet most commonly end in a DHO, still ... like a crutch. With the vets mixed in, we're actually demonstrating the other options, more often. And film of that is invaluable. I actually believe Reed was going to get another round of opportunity prior to the injury, but I also don't think it's critical to his development for next year.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...-sheppard-return-injury-g-league-20247864.php Sheppard played five-on-five during the Rockets’ practice on Saturday in Phoenix and should be cleared to return “soon,” said Rockets coach Ime Udoka. But when Sheppard is back, will the Rockets have minutes available for him? “We'll see,” Udoka said. “(The rotation) does tighten toward the end of the season, for sure, and kind of implementing him back in there in these last eight (games) might be tough with the time he's missed. But we also do want to see him get some live action. So whether he gets some practices in the G League or whatever it is to get that in, being that we don't do as much here, we'll see.” The Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, have clinched a spot in the G League playoffs that begin April 1. Sheppard played three games with the Vipers in January and averaged 30.7 points, impressive enough that the league selected him to represent the G League in the Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star weekend. Now, his best shot at consistent live reps might be a trip back to the Valley. The Rockets’ remaining regular-season schedule is jam packed with little time for practices. After back-to-back games in Phoenix and Los Angeles on Sunday and Monday, the Rockets have Tuesday off before a two-game homestand against the Jazz on Wednesday and Thunder on Friday. Then they hit the road on Saturday to play three games in six days against the Warriors, Clippers and Lakers before returning to Houston for the final game of the season April 13 against the Nuggets. Udoka said he would like to expand the Rockets’ rotation to nine or 10 players for the final stretch of the season to help rest some of the regulars and get a last look at different lineup combinations, but playing time for Sheppard isn’t assured when winning is a priority in a tight Western Conference race.
Holiday last 12 games: 48.8% (3P%)....3.6 (3PA) Jabari last 11 games: 39.3% (3P%)......5.1 (3PA) Dillon B. last 11 games: 42.9% (3P)......7.0 (3PA) This is the kind of spacing I preach about. Spacing allowing Sengun and Jalen Green room to maneuver and make the offense more efficient. basketball-reference and statmuse First 60 games (24/25): 112.6 pts/gm.....114.5 ORtg....#16 NBA rank Last 14 games (24/25): 118.4 pts/gm.....121.4 ORtg.....#7th NBA rank Hope to see you next season Reed....lol
