If it is not Thornton, it is going to be a long time. The 2 SRPs left likely won't be in the 20-40 range. I'm skeptical that the Rockets use their 2028 pick. Stone from what I've heard does not like late FRPs {except as future picks as potential trade pieces}, in general, as there really needs to be a guy that the Rockets like for it to be worth it if actually using the pick. I expect it to get traded away, a trade for a swap to get up in the draft, a draft day trade to move up in the draft, or the Rockets go full rebuild and it won't be that late.
But if he's NOT, then he's going to eat into somebody's minutes. Let alone, Copeland after the trade deadline. Copeland is a baller! I can see Ime envisioning a lineup of; PG - Amen SG - Copeland SF - KD PF - Tari C -Jabari The switchability would be what he has always wanted.
Can he defend? Because no matter how good he scores, if he’s not a good defender he won’t see minutes under Ime..
there’s almost 0 reason for him to be in the G league. G league is for people that have one year of college young explosive athletes lotta skill, but don’t know how to play organized ball very well specifically the coaching system of that team…. they don’t send four year players to the G league unless they’re just fringe players for depth
I read that Bruce was the primary defender on Mikel Brown Jr the number 6 pick in the draft. Brown was 3-for-15. It may not mean anything in the NBA, but it's a good data point right now.
I watched part of the game (and these highlights) and man does Danny Wolf look like a ****ing scrub lol
Yes, this is correct. The Rockets' perimeter D was fine. And if Brooklyn hadn't started making contested 3s in the 4th, this would have been another easy win. As it turned out, they had to stay focused to maintain their double-digit lead.
I like how you focus on Bruce's defense yet never mention how terrible Reed's defense is. Talk about having to be hidden off-ball, that's Reed.
That's not something that ever happened in summer league though. It's not a fair comparison, Reed is a solid defender at the NBA level who need to bulk up a bit to prevent bully ball and work on some technique issues that can be exploited by good nba level offensive systems and players. Thornton is a 6 foot guard who moves like Donavan Clingan. His only hope when defending on ball is to foul or pray for a miss.... no matter who he's against.... in summer league.
Yeah, not with SRPs unless we acquire one. Our own first round picks could be in the 20-30 range though, starting in 2028. It's a shame we've whiffed on every single one of our late first round draft picks under Stone, only hitting on Sengun and Tari outside the lottery.
Not saying Bruce will be as good as Brunson, but it does seem plausible that he can become a valuable rotation player on an NBA team.
All we need is Holiday back and we can CORNER THE MARKET on small guards; FVV, Reed,Thornton and Holiday
I think he will do surprisingly well switching onto bigger players. I do worry a bit if he has to defend quick guards though. Could be kind of a Harden-esque situation defensively.
Or quick forwards, or quick centers.... basically anyone that is as quick as Sengun or quicker will be too much for him on ball. Also anyone taller than Aaron Holiday. In short, nearly the entire NBA.
Bruce looks great in the summer league for whatever that's worth. He's quite strong and can handle contact and pressure. Can really shoot it from deep. In the last game against Brooklyn he had to catch a pass very off balance for a corner three and swished it no problem. He's aggressive but not out of control. He doesn't play like the smallest guy on the court at all. The limitations are quite obvious. He's slow and can't blow by his man at will, he needs to pick and choose his spots. He's like old man Lowry who was surprisingly still effective. I missed the first game, but I didn't see any blow bys defensively.
