A lot of folks hate on Whitmore because he's "selfish" and has a "bad attitude", but I would put money on it he wouldn't go out pussified like this. Quite a few stars have some arrogance and selfishness to their game anyways.
Like a lot of people have been saying, Jalen doesn't appear to have that "dog" in him. He could possibly go off tonight but wouldn't be surprised at all if he goes out with another wimp game.
I'd be interested in seeing Trae Young surrounded by Thompson, Brooks, Smith, and Sengun. You'd have to get rid of VanVleet as well, as there is no way you can play those two together.
I just wanted to point out, some people were saying JG can't excel because of spacing issues in the rockets line up, well.. Amen just went off for 25. There goes the spacing excuse. I'm not a Jalen hater, i just think some of his because supporters are using all sorts of excuses. He's an ok player, but not a first or second option by ANY MEANS.
Upside, yes. But can he get there is the question. And it has been for 4 years. I’m a big Jalen supporter. But ngl it’s been frustrating…
Talent yes, but mindset is something else. The sad part was that I wanted us to draft Mobley, but all the talk about Green having the mindset of Kobe was what made me happy with the pick. But he has not been able to rise to the occasion in the play offs. I also have my doubts about his Basketball IQ. Furthermore for someone that is so athletic amd had such a fast first step he really has a lot of problems getting past his initial defender.
When Jalen is assigned a 6th role off the bench as a microwave scorer, he is a positive contributor. This isn’t a bad thing at all, as long as he finds ways to contribute to the team. Nothing is wrong with being a role player. However, as you mentioned, he isn’t a first or second option. He simply can’t handle that role. I hope our coaching staff realizes this as well.