Guess which player shot 47% from 3 - and only got 4.8FGA a game

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Smith and his potential, but it seemed that Udoka was intentionally limiting his usage during this series.

That isn't to say that Smith wouldn't have gotten more minutes had the Rockets played some other team. But against Golden State in this series, I think Udoka favored other matchups and adjustments more.

 

Especially when he tried to post up Steph, and shot that weak ass turnaround shot....I've been saying he's soft like Charmin! He should have manhandled Steph in the paint! You're 6'10" bro, dunk on Steph!!!

 

Yes - I agree. If the Rockets bring in an elite perimeter playmaker, I think we may see internal improvement on the offensive side by some guys. However - most likely, the Rockets are going to suffer some defensively bringing in a shooter and also an elite playmaker. It is a tough spot to be in but it isn't impossible.

 

Jabari and Amen need to Start.

If Jalen is not traded, he needs to be the 6th man. Coming off the bench playing against lesser talent (subs) when entering the game while having less pressure for him to be the face of the organization.

 

To me, I'd try to bring in either the shooter or a playmaker into a spot* with a weak defender with the other being an offensive upgrade, but not a defensive downgrade of who they are replacing as a starter.

*Rockets have some flexibility as they have Amen who can play guard or SF.

 

Agree here.. He's got length and maybe one-dribble pullup when he has space. But with a defender on him (even Steph) he couldn't hit the turnaround. In traffic, he is the opposite of Adams with the ball.... immediate turnover. Needs to work on the grip strength and handle.

 

Sounds like a terrible team worthy of last 30 out of 30. With all these serious flaws how do you explain 2nd seed in the west?

You state these flaws in "absolutes" which is really not a great way to express them. X has no Y game...

Yes we are hurting, yes we lost. C'mon though.

That said your eval on what we lack is good. We need a rotation that are zone busters as that was the goto defense vs. the Rockets this season and most of the time it worked.

 

Its obvious none of you know what you are talking about. Doing any of these things would not have gotten us to a game 7. Replacing Amen with Jabari when it was suggested would have lost us game 5 for 6. Playing Sheppar or Sitmore a lot during the season would have hurt our playoff chances. Playing them a lot during the playoffs would have gotten us out much quicker. Ree wont be ready to start next season either.

 

We did get worse offensively BUT Amen got better and that was important.

That's why I said in those old threads man, we should have benched Brooks.

 

The amount of times Jabari dribbled into defence or off his feet causing a turnover was way too many. He looked all at sea this series if he wasn’t standing in the corner with his hands out.

I like the dude but I found myself saying “get this guy off the floor” maybe more times than Jalen.

 

I hope all our guys (well, not Adams, and if we don't re-sign him I'll be disgusted) work on their catch-and-shoot 3s this season, but none more so than Alpi. If he had confidence to let it fly we could spread the floor, create all sorts of opportunities.

 

I completely agree, and we head into this off-season with the opportunity to shape the roster. To me, Udoka and Stone have led an effective rebuild as they cobbled together young assets and complementary veterans. Fantastic. We now have a culture and plan.

Unless you defy the odds and win the lottery, you're drafting at #9–11, but adding another college-aged player won't move the needle all that much.

Should you package a player or two and aim to move into the top 5 or 6? That might be worth it. There's serious talent in the upper portion of this draft.
Do you create a package to land an upper-tier star?

I'm not giving up the farm or anything, but Milwaukee is staring down the barrel of a restart with Lillard out with a torn Achilles.
Phoenix is cooked. I would sell even lower to them.

Let's see if Stone stands still or makes a move.

 

curry also blew right by jabari for a layup lol

 

Jabari shot himself in the foot too, dribbling and not able to back down Curry even. Jeff Green should’ve played, guy is money from 3 and knows his strengths. It’s truly mind boggling Jeff didn’t get minutes in games where we showed our youth, nerves, jitters etc.

 

Jabari shot it well. What I didn’t like was when he tried to make plays off the dribble. He fumbled the ball far too often when the defense collapsed on him.He doesn’t have the handles for it.

I would have rather camped him out at the 3 point line and/or had him moving around the 3pt line to get him some open looks.

 

Ime's just not a creative person when it comes to offense. He can come up with different coverages on defense to stymie different offensive styles real well, but he has never found any ways to get easier shots for his players in half-court sets. Players like Jabari and Reed need plays to free them up for open shots. Jabari was compared as a taller Klay coming out of college, yet the Rockets are not running off-ball actions to get him open looks. I have a similar gripe regarding Reed, but at least Reed is a rookie so it makes some sense that he's not being catered to. But Jabari's been with Ime long enough where he should've gotten more tutelage beyond just stand there and space the floor.

 

Yes and that is why Ime is a sh*t offensive coach. Jabari’s lack of minutes in the series was idiotic. He doesn’t just bring shooting. He brings rebounding and really good perimeter defense. Dillon was awful, Jalen was awful, and Tari certainly was awful in game 7. Ime’s inability to rotate off his game plan and recognize that he needed to hand over the reins to Amen and get Jabari more involved is a fatal flaw and will prevent him from being a championship coach. He doesn’t seem to have the ability for self-evaluation.

 

I’m not on board with all the Ime criticism. No he’s not a great offensive system guy, but he’s the single biggest reason we overachieved and were #2 in the west. That said, I don’t think I understand why Bari was so underused this season and in the playoffs. I’ve been a huge Bari skeptic, but as soon as i made my peace with him being a high end 3&D role guy with size, I’ve warmed up to him. He was playing his best ball right before he broke his arm, and he was very efficient in the playoffs. He’s only 20 and his best yrs are ahead of him. He has a chance to be a good 3rd option and his size and versatile defense are hard to find. I don’t think our offense is as good with him out of the lineup. We just need to put him in better spots that elevate what he does well. If we ask him to put the ball on the floor we are gonna be disappointed. But he can be a great mid-range/3pt shooter and an excellent defender 3-5. That’s valuable.

 

It's obviously Jabari and he's open in the corner all the time but somehow Sengun and FVV rarely find him.

 

He didn't lose his job because he got injured. He lost his job to a player who was better when he was injured