Sure, I don't totally object to his on ball development. I just don't think he should be pegged as the PG of the team. I know it's just a label. But labels do carry some expectations, real or not. Ideally to me, in terms of initiating, Sengun and Reed should be 1a and 1b. Durant and Amen should be 2a and 2b. Then these four and Holiday can be staggered so that at least three of them are on the floor.
Mostly agree with this. I think Reed will be the starting "PG" by label in the near future. I'd want a more diversified offense. I would still want Durant getting a good amount of usage.
The goal from what I can tell are multiple ball handlers / playmakers. Sengun is there. KD is there. Amen and Reed aren't. I see Jabari as more of connector optimistically.
What Ime said is a nuance that most Amen detractors don’t have the patience for. Here’s to hoping the FO and Ime have the patience to let this workout. Neither Amen or Reed is playing like an all-star PG, YET. There is no other alternative other than a foolish trade.
You put yourself in this predicament by trading for a 37 yr old superstar.......he only got so much time..... Personally I would not have done it, I would have gone back to the draft and made pick swaps.
If we had gutted our team for him, I would agree. We have a short window with Durant on the team, but not a short window. Durant gives us a closer and a guy that can get us a bucket when things aren’t working. We can continue to develop Amen, Reed, Jabari, etc. and still have a legitimate shot for a championship by year’s end. It is not one or the other. I understand people’s impatience, but look at the positives we have seen. Reed’s improvement on offense is pretty special. Despite the criticism, Amen is getting to the rim at will and his FT shooting improvement bodes well for everything else to fall in place later this year. We are top 10 in both offense and defense with a top 8 strength of schedule. These guys are learning to play together on the fly, folks just need to chill out a bit.
The gutted argument is not there, I give you that........ It is not about gutting or not gutting, it is about the extra pressure that you put on yourself in such a short timespan........ I doubt Ime Udoka is ready for it, he does not have that long track record of Playoffs as a head coach either. What is there to close out....when the other team is in front.
Ime is my biggest concern. I did not want him fired, but I was against the extension. I have seen some improvement in his stuborness, but still worry about his offensive acumen and game time adjustments. I think he is handling Reed correctly, but hate that he is overworking Durant and didn’t seem to make any attempt to implement some more back screens and movement into the offense. We have to live with Durant ISOs, but they would be way more effective if everybody wasn’t standing around watching. That is on Ime.
Ime is using Durant as a crutch....posters could have predicted that....putting Ime and Udoka back together is a short term fling.... The only long term effect of Durant is that it makes the young ones work harder...... I am not seeing anything from Durant .....that I could not see from a future star player. SGA and Joker are that much better right now, it is not funny.
When we have our full contingent of players, at times during the regular seasonwe will be better on offense without Durant. Playoff time, when the NBA changes the rules, is when he is essential.
He is not getting to the line....the only guy getting to the line are SGA and the Thunder players...... Not going to be pretty.....Alpi will keep it close, but not going to be pretty. People act like Durant is really that super guy, he is just an efficient jump shooter, that is all he is right now. Jordan was not just a jump shooter, he had massive hang time till his 30s. Alpe and Amen are not elite at making layups to just let this guy just be a jump shooter.
It was Harden’s biggest issue in the playoffs, not choking. Harden got to the line, deservedly so, all the time during the regular season. Not so much in the playoffs.
SGA is already better than Harden, well, he is not as bulky, but his style is still pretty good. I mean yeah he is probably not getting as many FTs in the postseason than in the season but it is still significant. I do think Udoka and Stone build a roster to counter OKC .....but the OKC of last year, this year they are so much improved. Plus the Thunder rule the Half court now.....they were bad in the Half Court game one season ago but they fixed that now with Ajay Mitchell. And Holmgren and Hartenstein pass to each other all the time now. Plus the Transition Game is still beyond Elite.
I think SGA is better as well, but the difference in the way Harden was officiated in the playoffs compared to his peers was egregious. The NBA is corrupt. JVG was blackballed for pointing out the Yao corruption, which was later collaborated by an official. JVG never got his money back or his job. As much as I love watching Pro basketball, I wish the FBI would find a whistleblower or two to blow them out of the water for a bit.
The Officiating in general not but they could get them for fixing games....if that is the case. If the mafia or someone else is involved. Harden's problem was not just that, he moved off the ball so little.....and he also bulked up too much since he was 23.......he could have been much lighter and quicker. My guess he could not control his eating habits.
Ime basically said it. Recognition. Amen is just learning. And we're still winning. Once Amen and Reed ascend then the team will be almost impossible to deal with. My only concern right now is backup center. Adams isnt getting younger.
I don't think they have any good alternatives, at least for now and may not be able to address at all this season because of financial constraints and lack of tradable contracts (or contracts you want to trade). That FVV injury really put them behind the proverbial 8 ball. Fred was supposed to be the starting point guard, Durant is the pseudo 2 guard, Jabari the 4 and Sengun the 5 ..... Leaving Amen the 3 spot at least in the half court where he can still do his thing in transition and attack the rim from an off ball position. What we are seeing is Durant or Sengun as the point guard in the half court and Sengun missing the past two games shines a light on the situation. This team really misses a steady point guard .... Maybe Reed grows into that role, maybe not. Amen is best not as the offensive initiator (point guard) but as the swiss army knife that does a little bit of everything .... whatever position you want to label him with.
So the universe blessed us with Amen - Udoka's dream prototype player - and now we're discovering the fastest, most athletic, strong, two-way, young 6'8 G/F willing to get punished on the way to the basket just can't finish in the half-court at a good rate. How unlucky for Udoka that his last 5 lead wings have struggled with this exact specific issue. We've now seen it with explosion (Amen), with big man strength (Sengun), we've seen it with speed (Jalen), we've seen it with extreme shooting skill (Durant) as well as with two stars who we now know for certain are good enough to win a title (Tatum/Brown). Must be the players. That's it. lol
