Sure there’s an excuse. He’s already shown that if he’s getting up consistent shots he tends to shoot well. After sitting most of the 4th, expecting him to come in and hit shots with the game on the line is asking a bit much. But he was probably the best option.
Ridiculous comment. Rockets have developed Amen and Alpi fantastically. Reed was a stupid pick at number 3 and they have done more with him and his confidence in a year than I could have ever imagined. He was a bench player in college who scored zero points in the pressure NCAA tournament game and now looks like a legit NBA bench player in just one year. Please note that he still chokes in the clutch (misses free throws and threes) but that hopefully can improve with time/age.
You have grass is greener syndrome though, you rate just about every other young player in the league better than ours. I remember when you were hyping up Paolo and I don't think anyone here would be that excited to get Paolo for Sengun or Amen, the ESPN players ranked under 25 had him under both of these guys, they are 5 and 6. I don't get this mediocre at developing thing. Sengun is likely a perennial All-star and I wouldn't be surprised if Amen is there a year or two but he ALREADY made NBA All Defense first team already is actually insane. I don't know why we're comparing Cooper to Reed either, it's a bit random? Different positions, different drafts. Whether Reed succeeds or not is completely irrelevant to whatever Cooper is doing. I think some of you act like we're a 10-15 struggling in the west, when really we're one of the best teams in the west. Amen and Sengun are the core of one of the best teams in the west. Back to the ESPN thing though just as a talking point. It's funny because we have #5 and #6 best players under 25 and all you hear around here is "Oh man, our future sucks!" just so odd.
I know it's more difficult to shoot after sitting for a long time. And I really think he should have been played during that long drought. But that's his job. Good shooter should be able to shoot any time. Holiday hit shots after not playing much. My guess is that nerve is still his problem. That's the only reason I can think of for his below average FT shooting. It's all mental. He needs to overcome that.
Just another note to all the Udoka haters….piss off as he’s doing a great job with an old turnover prone KD and a overrated guys like Alpi who now has a serious history of choking at the free throw line when game outcomes are in the balance. I don’t care what he does regular season, but he needs to go if he can’t make pressure free throws and he can’t!!! I think he even air balled a game deciding free throw a week ago. That is inexcusable and we will be first or second round fodder if we don’t upgrade to guys who can make clutch free throws as that is usually a deciding factor at playoff time.
Note to you, if you’re quoting yourself because people ignore you there’s a high chance we think you’re a ****ing idiot. take the hint
Reed is easily the 3rd best offensive player on the Rockets right now. They should not be content with Reed being the 4th option. Rockets need to figure out how to get Reed, Durant, and Sengun in delayed split actions, DHO chains, maybe some 1-3 or 1-4 (whatever KD is with Reed) PnRs. I'm not opposed to Durant and Sengun getting some isos. My problem with their isos is that Okogie and Amen are on the court. The Amen-Okogie-JSJ-Durant-Sengun lineup has worked usually at the start of halves, but Amen and Okogie just hasn't worked as well without both Durant and JSJ also in the game later in the game. Got to find a way to blend the starters better with the bench.
PLEASE GOD Move JOE JOE to offensive coordinator, he is 100% right....can't have Adams in those actions he is a waste of offensive space. DD
Also final note on this developing thing...like all a coach can do is give a player time to grow and an opportunity to look good. Can they have some impact on the margins, sure. But talent is talent and drive is drive, that's something guys are born with. Look how many coaches Zion has had and he's still the guy with no drive and a bunch of talent. Not a single coach has reached this man and at this point, not a single coach will. Maybe there is some perfect coach out there for him that finally gets him to care about his body and his NBA career but good luck finding them at this point. Whenever we do have a gem in the NBA...like say Jeremy Lin, undrafted all that, it was all because a coach actually decided to play him. It's not like MDA was there teaching him how to shoot or dribble, he just saw the guy in practice and figured 'Eh, good enough to play' and Lin showed that he was and carved out an NBA career. JD could very well be an NBA starting level PG or at least backup level, we'll never know until we try though. I do think Reed would have shown some of this last year but he never played. All developing a player is, is playing him lol. Otherwise, why did Alpi come out much better than Jalen or Jabari? They all were playing a lot, but one guy is simply more talented than the others. The Rockets are did everything they could to get the most out of Jalen and the same for Jabari now, for Bari like at the end of the day it's on him. He's playing 30+ minutes a night, has KD as a mentor, it's on him at this point not much more development the Rockets can do. Get on Ime for rotations and decisions sure but the only impact he has on Reed's development is playing him. We are playing him a lot more now, so that's nice, now we need to up his minutes because for this season the team NEEDS a PG and he's obviously the best option.
I feel like Jabari has been the bigger culprit. So many times he gets the ball he should make an extra swing pass instead he holds it and tries to make a play. All those years he had of never touching the ball and basically shooting whenever he did get it has developed some bad habits for him.
Jabari will never be good at passing or creating for others. That’s his greatest weakness. He doesn’t see the floor well and can’t make good decisive decisions. This puts a limit on his ceiling and hurts the flow of the offense. As for Reed he needs to show up in the big moments. Missing free throws and wide open threes won’t cut it. But, I think in time he will start hitting those big shots.
I'm not sure if it's Reed simply deferring or Ime telling him to defer. Last year we saw quite a bit of Sengun and FVV pick and roll actions .... this year, it's all ISO be it KD or Sengun with no sight of a pick and roll. If Ime is telling him to do it, it's hurting the team, not now but in the future - this post season and beyond. If Reed is simply deferring on his own, he needs to grow a pair and wave off KD and run the damn offense. They really need to rip the band aid off and let / make Reed run the offense, either that, or make a move for a guard that can - if tey don't do one or the other, they are pretenders, not contenders.
Report from the Pelicans game: I’m not gonna rag on Sheppard for missing those 2 shots at the end when he was brought in cold after sitting on the bench for a long time. But I will blame him for what put him on the bench. With 5 minutes left in the 4th, he gambled on the wing, going around his man (Murphy) in hopes of stealing the entry pass. He never had a good angle, and by vacating his position he left an open path to the basket, which forced Sengun to cover for him and pick up his 5th foul. As a result, Sengun was out till around 1:30 remaining. And that hurt us a lot. Notably, Ime pulled Reed immediately. More evidence that Reed’s minutes in crunch time will be dictated by maintaining basic defensive competence. There were times in this game when Reed stood back and gave the ball handler too much space. A couple of times, he got out of position and swiped unwisely. But there were other times when he moved his feet to stay in front of a driver and took the hit to his chest. One of those was a layup (he had no real chance), but the other was a lost ball and Reed got the steal. At this point I think we have enough observations to lay down 2 rules for him: 1) He has to step up immediately, crowd the ball handler, and dictate his options. He’s not a good enough defender to hang back and wait. 2) He has to get his feet right before he uses his hands. When he moves quickly to get position, that puts pressure on the attacker, and Reed’s hands are good enough to poke the ball away or deflect or alter a pass. But when he’s off balance or out of position, his reaches and swipes are more likely to produce a foul or a blow-by than a turnover. In this game, my impression was that he regressed on #1 but improved on #2. Offensively, a decent assist game, penetrating and dishing. He’s particularly good at knowing where his guys are and making the immediate extra pass, including another bullet to Amen for a dunk. I just wish one of those 3’s had gone down at the end. But I’ll live with that look anytime.
Yes to absolutely everything you wrote. Also, any player on an Ime Udoka team has to be aware that "minutes ... will be dictated by maintaining basic defensive competence." That's really not too much to ask of players in an NBA rotation (who aren't named Trae Young).
Report from the 12/20 Nuggets game: Insane shooting. Especially the two 3's at the end of the 3rd where he was falling to his right. The first one was over Valanciunas, and the second one as he was flying into the corner, Jabari was right next to him and stared in disbelief. It's so weird as a Rockets fan to look at the court and see KD, Reed, and Jabari spread out across the arc. We were the team that couldn't hit anything. Now we can kill you from all corners. With the defense spread out, Reed is driving more. He's finding dunkers, he's sharpening that elbow jumper, and sometimes he's getting the layup or a foul. The one I kept replaying was him coming off a screen in the 4th, juking Jokic and coasting in for a layup. Alpi stood well outside, helping to clear the middle. It looks like our players are increasingly trying to fit into what Reed does, not just asking him to fit what they do. Defensively, I'd call this maybe a B+ game for him. Not always taking space from the ball handler, but doing it pretty often, and only a couple of unwise gambles. The two plays I liked most were the one where he stole the ball at halfcourt by planting in front of the attacker and making him lose the ball, and the one where he stalled Murray till Amen swooped in for the steal. Week by week, he's doing more of what he needs to do: defending with his feet and chest, and using his hands more selectively. Question for discussion: Given Reed's crazy talent for long-range bullet passes, often for dunks, should we reconsider where he needs to be as a creator? Conventionally we think of the point guard as needing to break down the defense to open up a teammate for a dunk. Can Reed operate from outside the arc and still get us those assists?
