No eye test, no stats either but I would not put my stocks into teams that climax in December either...... You got to do it in April, May, June.
Just by looks of it, "Position-less Ball" of Talls can work. But it still requires legit ball-handling. Not every player over 6'7 who attempts to dribble is a "Magic Johnson" / Jokic type. Then not just ball-handling, some court general awareness of where to be Meaning shorter stumpy point guards like FVV still have a place.
Jabari still looks slightly better this year to me. He has no passing ability, bad handles. Not a creator. He's doing the same things he does. But stronger, more mature & decisive. He's doing what a decent NBA 4th option does - when the other players are off, he attempts more bail-out scoring. While his handle is bad, he'll do enough to bring the ball up the court, even try a dribble pull-up jumper. Just his offensive game is limited, so it's looking like some ineffective Durant wannabe "hero ball". But I don't think his shot selection is as bad as it seems
Eye-test: tari is much better than bari in offense. The fact that he can move as a normal player makes a whole world difference.
Last season we were 12th on offense and 5th on defense. This season we are 2nd and 9th. Our offense has improved a lot, despite some ugliness. Our defense has slipped a bit but we have been missing three important defenders in FVV, Tari, and Brooks. FVV and Brooks won't be helping. Hopeful Tari and DFS will stay healthy. Okogie is very good defensively. But they are giving Reed minutes in the back court, which I support wholeheartedly. I agree that if the current Rockets are healthy and put their heads in playing defense, we can be a formidable team. I still believe we can get to the 3 seed. Lakers and Spurs will come down to earth when the Lakers old bones, and Wemby inevitably miss games.
Agreed with Adam's hands. Tari's hands have magnets. Sometimes on sometimes off. The switch is in his head.
More Tari. He can shoot now. He’s better than Bari and DFS if he can stay on the court. Wish I had a clear understanding of the medical.
Too much Capela last night. Nice seeing some rolls to the basket, but last night was an opportunity to try more centerless ball. Game looked a lot more spreading for Durant. Tari....not a SG. Reed...a good game. Not sure how much it is on him or just that the team is shooting starved when he's off the court. Tari over Okogie has given some more space to starters, but not like Reed.
Outside Amen, Tari, and JSJ showing some nice switching on some plays, the Rockets looked horrible last night. One of the few games Reed was actually effectively exploited on defense. I keep hoping the Rockets find a small ball lineup that works, but looked horrible without Sengun and Adams.
I think for me he just looks better all-round. Creates more plays on both ends of the court, and tbh I just think he's more talented. We're lucky Tari slipped as far as he did tbh.
Trading Dillon Brooks was a mistake, this team is a bit soft, his team just beat OKC with him being the best player.
It shows what OKC lacked and what the Suns have now, a big wing that can score....Thunder would have wanted 2 of those that can shoot, defend and rebound..... They do not lack much but that was it.
I largely agree, although I'll say I do feel like I've seen some progress on his passing. It's still not a strong point from him, but it's not nonexistent anymore. He's already a more willing passer than, say, Dillon was with us, and he'll probably continue to improve as he gets older.
