I don’t agree that we definitively don’t have “the guy”. That does not take age and experience into account. If either Sengun or Amen develop a mid 30’s 3 pt shot we have our guy. If Jalen solves his inconsistency problem we have “the guy”. Tatum, Ant, Kobe weren’t “the guy” immediately. I’m not against moving anyone other than Amen for the right guy, but I think there is really only one realistic target as a no. 1 guy this off-season and that is Giannis. I have faith that we have several perennial all-star candidates on our team and they are all less than 24 years old. Upgrade FVV be it internally or externally and add some or further develop some consistent floor spacers and we are contenders if Ime can also improve.
Agreed - and that balance between defense and offense is going to be critical. The Rockets will have to figure out a way to add more shooting and offensively talented players without sacrificing much team defense. I think that they can cover for Cam Johnson if they use him properly - but can they cover for 3-4 new additions that are average or below defensively? Probably not.
Jalen Green and Alpren Sengun have played four full seasons in the NBA - we have a decent idea of who they are and are not. So this idea that they haven't had a chance to show they are "the guy" doesn't hold water with me personally. By the time Kobe was the same age as Green and Sengun - he was an All NBA player twice and was an All NBA First team defender. By the time Anthony Edwards was the same age as Green and Sengun - he was All NBA Second Team. Is it possible that Green or Sengun keep improving to the point where one of them is a franchise player - yes, but it isn't very likely. Amen Thompson is a fabulous player - and he is less experienced and younger, so he could become a franchise guy but he has huge hurdles to get over first as a shooter and ball handler. I am not disagreeing with you that the Rockets have several players that make the all star game, maybe even a few of them.... but they lack "the guy".
That’s on Stone convincing Ime - Ime thinks if he can hold a opposing team to under 100 in a 7 game series we can win - the problem also is Ime doesn’t consider that you still need to outscore the other team Ime would start Smart Amen Daniel’s Draymond Mobley and say they need to be better on D when they average 70 points a game
the diff in both Kobe and Ant situation is - they were given the keys or allowed to become the Alpha JG was hampered his first 2 years under Silas where it was either KPJ or CWood as the “franchise guys” and now under Ime it’s more of the same as no clear role. At times we see it’s a clear effort to keep and get JG the ball and good FGAs and the other times it’s him playing off ball, while FVV or DB go several possessions playing like they are #1 options My biggest gripe with JG is, because him and Alpi came in together, they both are too nice… they haven’t cussed FVV or DB out and said listen give me the ****ing ball and get out my way …Minn had to trade Kat for it to really happen with Ant. And even to start season it was alil trouble with Randle until he got hurt.
Has the All-NBA teams been announced this year? I'd guess Sengun is at least in consideration for 3rd team team this past year as the Rockets were a good regular season team and people don't know how to credit defense.
I really hate the argument that "X won't be a franchise player because Y was better at the same age." Okay. How great was James Harden the year in which he started at 22 yrs old? He averaged 16.8 ppg. Jimmy Butler didn't average 20 ppg until he was 25. Jalen Brunson didn't average 20+ points until he was 26. Hell, even our own FVV didn't do much until he was 25. Here are the facts as I see them: (1) we don't have a true franchise player yet; (2) Green, Sengun, and Amen have all showed franchise player potential in different ways; and (3) it's too early to tell if any of those three will become a franchise player. Anyone who has absolute certainty regarding whether we have or don't have a guy who will develop into a franchise player is, well, pretty arrogant and ignorant of basketball history.
I don't think they have been named yet. I think he has a chance at a third team selection, which would be pretty impressive.
It’s more about probability than possibility. The longer a player doesn’t show it, the less likely it is that it happens for them. Of course there’s exceptions, there always will be in any situation. 22 year old harden was GREAT. He posted a TS that was 25% above league average and a ws/48 of 0.230. Brunson is a great outlier example certainly. Butler came in at 22 but didn’t become a star till year 4. There’s roughly 1-2 of these guys every decade. Lauri is another one though he’s not a franchise player.
I think we're quibbling over minor things. If you go through the list of the top 25 players right now in the NBA, the majority had their real breakouts at 24 - 25. If anything, the "exception" is breaking out before that point.
I mean, Shai jumped from 24 ppg to 30 at 24. Steph Curry jumped from 14.7 to 23 at 24. Mitchell jumped from 24 to 27 at 24. Kawhi jump from 16 to 21 at 24 and then jumped to 25.5 at 25. Jaylen Brown jumped from 20 to 25 at 24. I could list a million other examples. Before those jumps, those guys weren't "franchise" players. And that's been pretty consistent throughout NBA history -- aside from a few guys who dominate right away, most players take the franchise player "jump" around 24 - 25. By the way, I'm referring to the ages in which each player started the year. Green, Sengun, and Amen were all 22 at the start of this season.
Ya if you look only at PPG and ignore efficiency that's a fair take. Year 2 curry was 10% above the league, year 3 shai was 9% above. Of course those guys are a totally different level so probably pointless to even look at that.
This is somewhat true, but Jalen can't get by or doesn't have enough of a bag to counter that, 1 guy can shut Jalen down......that isn't elite by any stretch. He couldn't get by Curry.....FFS. DD
Ah yes, the "ts% is the judge of everything" take of basketball rearing its head again. That's why we have GOATs Rudy Gobert and Reggie Miller and Mike Jordan and young Kobe had no rings...oh wait.
Define efficiency? Shai's TS% at 23 was .55, which isn't too far from Jalen and Sengun's TS% this season, lower than Sengun's prior two seasons, and lower than Amen's .6 TS% this season. Curry has always been efficient, but his TS% his first few seasons was about the same as Amen's this season. Curry became an efficiency God later. This is why I don't like quibbling over statistical variations. I can find specific stats that support my arguments, but that's not really what I'm saying. Given the NBA I've experienced, Green, Amen, and Sengun have all showed franchise player flashes, and it's too soon to make a call either way.
