The answer may surprise the most vocal members of this forum. The best iso scorer on the Rockets last season was not Jalen Green or Alperen Sengun. It was Amen Thompson. And the previous season it was Fred Vanvleet. Amen did not even start most of the season - the best is yet to come. This is just a taste. https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/news/who-led-the-houston-rockets-in-isolation-scoring-this-season "For the Rockets to take the next step they will need to become a better isolation team especially in the playoffs when defensive pressure is turned up and individual offense is a necessity."
Looking at the data on NBA.com, a few preferred targets do well in PPP with Ty Jerome at 1.24 and Cam Johnson at 1.09. Neither isolate a whole lot but both are very effective and efficient when doing so. I am surprised to see FVV leading the Rockets in points per possession at 0.95 Jalen and Alpi both at 0.86 is really disappointing. We need more efficiency from our top two scorers. Amen was even worse at 0.85. Truly terrible in isolation are Cam Whitmore at 0.68 and Jabari Smith at 0.59. Neither should be trying to take defenders off the dribble. Based on all of this, we need a better isolation scorer to drive the offense. Jalen is just too inefficient. We can do better.
The real answer is no one. Amen had the best FG% in isolation but it's still a bad percentage (48%) and it's on very, very low volume. Sengun and Jalen both had more volume and they both sucked in those situations. So the Rockets still need to find that isolation scorer. Whether through internal development or by trade.
I always consider #1 option vs #2 option vs ......say, #4 option? 1 & 2 have a much harder path to the rim (tend to be higher FG% closer to the rim) than others flying under the radar. Jaylen Brown gets the full brunt of the defense without Tatum. Jaylen Brown couldn't hang as the #1, filling in for Tatum. Some receivers in football are #1 receivers, while others are only number 2 or 3 receivers. But Amen is still young and has a promising career ahead of him.
Thompson had a decent number in the playoffs (1.09) and all the stat sites tend to default to that - but anyway, he barely did it at all - according to NBA.com, something like 12x total in the playoffs. By way of comparison, over a 7 game series, James Harden had over 50 isolation plays This is all kind of moot in a world where the Rockets are running out 2 and 3 non-shooter lineups. Isolation doesn't work as well when you can back off 2-3 of the 5-out.
When James started really dominating in isolation he mentioned he started playing a ton more one on one in practices and workouts. Hakeem would play one on one with guards as well as bigs. Kobe was dominant as well, but mentioned he had to be a team player to win a championship. Not sure how often our core guys implement that, but it makes sense to strengthen your isolation game while still being a team first player to get everyone involved with playmaking.
Aren't Post Ups considered Iso Alperen Sengun I think is the Answer. If Alperen Sengun doesn't shoot 3 pointers and midrange his FG% would be higher.
Alp didn't shoot well at all this season .... the number of 3's or middy's isn't the problem. He was below the norm from everywhere. He had career lows in 2pt Fg% (.020 lower than his rookie season), from the FT stripe and the 3pt line (only took 90 3's). Most definitely a difficult season offensively for him - he absolutely has to do better.
It's definitely complicated data but it's interesting. Another thing that stood out though was how effective Durant is in isolation. 1.16 points per possession with a lot of iso attempts. It's not surprising as he's an all-time great but it's a point for those who advocate for a Durant acquisition to propel us to contender status for the next few years. He really would solve much of our offensive woes immediately. He's not so much a bandaid as a tourniquet. Solves the problem almost completely but cant stay in place forever. Also, SGA is really good. It would help our offense to someday acquire that guy.
Well, except for the fact that Sengun had improved significantly over the three prior years - the other guy, not so much.
system is bad for Jalen but not for everyone else truly the fanbase of excuses and blaming and inaccountability
You'd honestly think that players like Jalen Green or others of his ilk would spend a lot of their money learning from anybody they can how to be absolute wizards at breaking down the defense. Have you seen how much more money modern players make? I'd be hitting up every single legend I could offering them a bag to share that knowledge. Do that with your summer instead of fashion shows or half-speed "runs" with no defense. Just go work out every day with a different legend and add another trick to the bag. I just know if I had even a 10th of that opportunity I'd be doing a **** load more with it.
Jalen Green commercials : 3 (Google, David Yurman and Wingstop) Jalen Green efficient seasons: 0 If you look hard enough, you'll see where his priorities lie. Used to be that you had to be a somebody to be in commercials.
I have never seen so many blown under the basket layups over and over than Alperen Sengun. Many Times this Season. Alperen Sengun Antics - Missed Layup, Rebound, Missed Layup, Rebound, Missed Layup other Team Rebounds Fast Break Points, Alperen Sengun still lying on the Floor.
