He simply needs to stay focus and not falter after the first challenge he sees in a game. Just because his shots dont fall for a few attempts or makes a careless mistake doesn't mean he should become completely passive. Keep shooting, it'll even out.
Hard to say. Reed didn't have a great night before he was benched for Holiday. But what Holiday did out there (making shots, stealing balls, etc.) wasn't something Reed couldn't have done. That said, Reed's confidence might have shaken a bit so Holiday filling in wasn't a bad decision.
Yes, of course - but Holiday had a good game, and it is a team game, so happy for him, but Reed is a better player than him overall so yes, we probably win by a bit more TBH. DD
My only complaint is they were both on the floor at the same time. Both were bad on defense. Holiday had the hot hand last night. I also thought Reed was being more hesitant than he has in the last few games, probably because they were concentrating on man handling him. Reed should be getting 30 mins a game while Tari is out to work on his defense and so he can see more of the physical defenders they are going to throw at him. We should have a 3 man guard rotation with one of Okogie and Amen on the floor at all times, until Reed’s defense improves enough. If Reed struggles in certain games then you can insert Holiday to see if he is hot or not, but that should be a last resort. Ime just shouldn’t panic and go with the double bigs too much. We can sacrifice a handful of games, if it gets Amen and Reed comfortable by playoff time.
The problem is we need to win these games because our current schedule is more favorable on game/rest days and our strength of schedule isn't killer like it will be later in the season. Add to that KD is still likely to miss 20ish games as he normally does at this stage in his career - these games matter when your closer and maybe best offensive player is 37 years old and when we have legit title aspirations so seeding is important. Besides, Reed had 23 minutes - that's plenty of development time and there were several learning lessons for him to take away from this game so it was enough time to give Reed more feedback on the places he needs to improve. Remember we are no longer in tank mode - player development is important but not as important as it was a few years back. KD is a legit aging superstar with limited time left in the league and Alpi appears to be turning into a superstar as well. Add to that Jabari turning into a high end role player, Amen becoming a defensive superstar and trying to turn into an offensive weapon, Tari turning into a weapon, our bigs are elite offensive rebounders helping fuel our offensive efficiency - frankly Reed won't get as long of a leash as he would have 2 years ago if it comes at the expense of a team who is a legit title contender today.
I think we should increase Reed’s minutes up to 30 mins a game while Tari is out. If in specific game he is not helping us win then take him out and he gets 15 minutes that night. The last thing we should do is panic after a couple bad games in a row. If he hasn’t improved enough for more minutes by the trade deadline, we should trade for another backup guard and reduce his minutes. I see this as unlikely as he already worthy of 20 mins a game as a minimum and we can’t afford any of the star guards.
Because of depth at guard, they need to ride the hot hand whenever Holiday is hitting shots. Keeping him sharp and motivated is important. Reed is averaging 26 mpg the last 6 games. That will continue and is more than enough for him to produce, learn and sharpen his sword. There is no reason to play him more mins at this point unless forced to by injury. I don't understand a need to push him over 30, which would be a mistake IMO. Think about the long game (i.e, late season and playoffs). It's good to have Holiday as an option when his shot is falling. We'll need him again, maybe multiple times. If Reed is playing 25 mpg, getting productive 1st half mins and (esp) 4th quarter run, that's all I can ask for.
Completely agree, and Reed has 69 more games to figure this out. It's part of the process. Just like all young players, he will fail many times during the season as teams target him more on both ends of the floor, but he has a coaching staff and teammates that believe in him and want him to succeed. Reed won't mature into a 5-year veteran this year, but he'll continue improving and help this team win a lot of games.
Yeah, I think this is an important point. We need Reed focusing on stringing together 20-25ish minutes of solid mostly mistake free basketball right now. The goal is not to squeeze a few more Reed highlights into the game by giving him more minutes. He could totally deliver that but today it comes with a few extra dumb fouls, maybe a bad TO directly leading to opponents point, missing a guy in a rotation, etc. Ultimately in order for us to be a title contender, we need as deep a rotation of players who don't make mistakes that other teams can easily exploit. Those types of self inflicted mistakes can net an opponent an extra 5-8 points and you can't spare that against good teams ESPECIALLY in the playoffs when teams are scouting you heavier to attack those weaknesses. If we want Reed to get meaningful minutes in the playoffs later in the year, then we need him working on his consistency and attention to detail now and more playing time doesn't necessarily help him until he can play 25ish minutes without fouling a lot, turning the ball over, losing his man, missing rotations, etc - even if it also comes with some nifty drives, a few deep bombs, and a few deflections. Said another way - we can all agree there is a tantalizing potential ceiling there for Reed and everyone is eager to see more BUT what Ime and the team is looking for is a guy who raises our floor in the rotation. That's to say the shots may or may not fall and the individual matchups may or may not be favorable from game to game - but the execution, attention to detail, and effort is consistent every game. That is how Reed can increase his minutes and thats how he can help his team in the regular season and beyond. Once he can do that consistently - then we can talk about how to increase his time in the rotation and eventually how he transitions into a starting role.
Yes to all of this. Quality over quantity. As one of the folks here who lobbied for more PT for Reed: He's getting enough now to broaden and refine his game. And that was the point. Beyond that, Ime has other things to consider, as many of you have noted: stockpiling wins while our schedule is easy and KD is healthy, giving other guys time to develop what they need to work on (e.g. Amen figuring out what he can do in a quasi-PG role), and enforcing in-game accountability and rewards (e.g. if Holiday is working hard and playing well and Sheppard isn't, Ime has to show that he's willing to sit Reed and play Aaron). Also, as a young player it can be hard to work on multiple things at once. In the Cavs game, it looked to me like Reed was trying to work on his offense, and his mind wasn't so much on his defense this time. And that showed. I don't know about the rest of you, but when I'm making a mental list of things I need to do or pack or buy at the grocery store, I can get up to 3, and then if I add a 4th item it will push the first item out of my head. I like the idea of Reed getting a couple of good runs in each game, with the coaches giving him one or two things to focus on, and no more.
I think the NBA is waking up the idea that short, speedy, skinny guys who aren't the best shooters aren't as valuable as they were a few years ago. Have they ever been all that valuable? The zippy go-fast guys who can blow into the lane super fast and hope no one is around to challenge the layup better be amazing 3 point shooters, because the NBA has started to allow for more physical defense and that's a problem for guys who give up 15-30 pounds against defenders who body them. Ja Morant is only 26 and there are rumblings that his best days are behind him...when he should be in his superstar prime. Trying to be a physical player when you're 6'2" or shorter with a small frame and you weigh less than 175 pounds is not sustainable in the NBA when the average starting NBA guard is closer to 6'4", 190-200 pounds.
One positive I've noted is Ime's growing trust in Reed. Seems like he's giving him a longer leash and letting him play through some of the mistakes. Early on, when he was getting the quick hook, you could see Reed look to the bench when he made a mistake. Not anymore...
The NBA has gotten a lot more efficient in the last 6 years or so (i.e., the 4th-10th men on competitive rosters have gotten more skilled). It is hard for short, speedy, skinny guys who aren't the best shooters to be efficient as the NBA currently is. As it is hard for short, speedy, skinny guys who aren't the best shooters to provide value in other ways, they have lost a ton of value in the last 6 years. They'll have spurts of efficiency against some team in which they look unstoppable, but over a season, too many games that aren't efficient.
All valid dude, I think the biggest thing now is just limiting that Holiday & Reed lineup that Ime loves to throw out. I hate it
