That's an interesting observation. That said, Alp definitely commands a double-team when he gets the ball in the low post. Of those on your list, KD has never played with a dominant low post player. So that is an interesting wrinkle. If you put KD and Alp on the same side of the court, who do you double? Then that leaves all sorts of lanes for Amen to play free range so you can't lose him on offense. Do you really want to leave FVV or Jabari wide open on the perimeter? Thanks for that. I'm actually a little more excited than before.
A lot more folks going to be watching the Rockets now. I think it's great. I admit that, when Harden was traded, I took a step away because we went full rebuild mode and I was deeply frustrated. I figured...I'll step back and loosely follow the team as the kids grow up. This meant lightly following the standings and news since the start of the rebuild. It wasn't until the improvement last season when I perked back up. I did not step back lightly. I've been a Rockets fan since I was like six years old. Years of watching games. But, this is a new experiment with KD so I expect a lot more will be paying attention. It's exciting again. Doesn't mean success as we have been through this countless times before. But, we're in a good spot if we take advantage.
that first round series got alot of people excited Alpi cooking in the paint, Amen defending and attacking, Tari battling, and I got pretty excited with Jabaris shooting
KD is a madman working out during the offseason. He looks to be in amazing shape, regardless of his age. If this has been posted, my bad. I realized that the video and images I posted before of KD working out was from several years ago, but this one is 24 hours after the trade to the Rockets.
If Chet can't guard KD 1 on 1, those smaller guys have no chance. Maybe Amen can do that in practice.
Both when KD was young and during his peak years at OKC (and GS), the best way to guard him was to attack his dribble with a handsy, very physical, shorter player that could stay in front of him. (The Tony Allen type). Putting long guys on KD doesn't work. Once he raised his handles to another level (this began his last 4-5 years at OKC), there was no successful formula to single-cover him. Then the Achilles injury slowed him for a while but it seems like he's back to being unguardable. I've seen enough from Suns highlights to say KD's handles right now are the best of his career (including his GS days). Same for his shooting touch. I need to watch him for 10-15 straight games to confirm, but his foot speed and change of direction also seem pretty close to peak form. This is crazy! I cannot believe this could be true for a 37 year-old player. Just blows my mind to think about it. My microscope is going to be heavy on KD every bit as much as Amen and Alpi when the season starts. Not to discount Tari/Bari/Reed/etc, but it's those 3 guys who will determine how far this team can go. EDIT: For those who don't know, I was a KDOF during his one UT season and OKC years. He was in a galaxy by himself as my favorite NBA player. Watching and nitpicking his improvements over the 9-10 years before he wimped out and went to GS was amazing. No other player has ever captivated me nearly as much. (Amen is close to being on the radar).
Yeah. I'm not a KD fan. But I can't deny that he's one of the best offensive players of all time. LeBron can play at high level at old age because of his freakish physical body. KD can play like this at age 37 because his game is so skilled it seems effortless. He doesn't seem to strain himself to get the shot off and hit. It's almost like cheat code in video games.
I left off one thing: Despite having more shooting and dribbling skill now than ever (IMO), what is KD lacking from earlier in his career? I think he settles for jumpers more than he used to. At OKC, he drew beaucoup fouls taking the ball to the rim and took a decent amount of punishment. End of game possessions were almost a guaranteed trip to the FT line. The current KD doesn't like being hit often. He's more likely than before to pull-up or fade away. I believe this is why he looks even more "effortless" on offense than before. LeBron has done similar.
Yea, for large parts of the season, I really just want him standing there and getting his shots off or making the smart pass. He’s going to create a lot of spacing as is he doesn’t need to go to the basket often.
