Completely disagree. Jabari Smith's 3 point shot has improved 5 points, his TS% is up from .51 to .57, and his defensive rating is down 11 points (119 to 108). Aside from last game, Jalen's been way more efficient and has been a far more well-rounded player. There's a reason why are starting lineup is so solid -- they all complement each other. Not to mention Eason is a great spark off the bench. The only draft picks (aside from the prior draft) who have not been "bright spots" are the late RFPs.
I know you aren't exactly someone who discusses things in good faith, so I'll keep this brief. The "bright spots" on the team right now are FVV, Brooks, and Sengun. Green had a few very solid games, but overall is still very much a disappointment. I know you are far too dishonest to admit it, but KPJ was objectively the second best player on the entire roster during the rebuild....that's just objective fact. Him ruining his career with an off the court domestic violence incident does not in any way change that history. As to "franchise players", the Rockets essentially don't have one...if we had to name just one guy, it would probably be FVV. In reality they are playing a team game and are finding success....apparently that's not good enough for "player first/player only" fans like yourself though.
The guys drafted at the top are looking like role players at best, the current team is centered around FVV, Brooks, and Sengun....if you replaced those players with league average players, the Rockets might not have any wins at all this season. I'll take the wins though, it's good to finally get some competent basketball in Houston, but if we're honest, it's nearly all due to the FA pickups and Sengun.
Dream is my favorite player of all time and the sole reason to why I became a Rocket fan to start with. I grew up in Sweden with a Hakeem poster as a kid (I had no clue who he was, my brother got the poster at a basketball tournament) and when I grew up I started to watch old videos of Sengun and I have been stuck ever since. Dwight is not scarier than Embiid, he had no where close to Embiid's offensive skills.
People need to stop throwing around the "role player" label so frequently. If Green continues to put up 20 points on good efficiency while being a better playmaker, that is not a "role player." That's a guy who is going to get a really big second contract. It's too early to tell with Smith, but if he can get his averages up a bit while also playing great D, he'll get a big second contract, too. If anything, Smith's defense has been underrated by this board -- he currently has a better defensive rating than Brooks.
Let's not go crazy just yet, he's had what I would consider 3 really good games, 4 REALLY bad games, and 2 "meh" games, on defense he's had 2 really good games and the rest is meh. In the past, we've had people overreact to fluke good games and as of right now, that could very well be the case again. I think he's been helped by coaching holding him accountable and trying to get him away from chucking so much, looking to take only the best shots, but his last game was pretty embarrassing so it's not something that is a given to work. When he happens to be hot, he can be a very good scorer, when he's not, he can be extremely detrimental to the team even with Udoka trying to keep him in check. I think if you look at the entire picture, it's not a given that his future will even be as a starter in the league. A future as an energy guy off the bench is still very possible for him if these few good games end up being more of flukes than the new baseline. Taken as a whole, despite the few hot games, his TS% is still only 54.6% for the season, lower than his rookie season. It's still early in the season and 20 games should be the smallest sample to be considered truly significant, but I can't imagine there's anyone watching Green or Smith thinking those guys WILL be top tier players one day....assuming they aren't just watching highlights and they are watching the bad along with the good.
Last couple of games he's been efficient but 'continue' isn't the right word because he probably had more inefficient games than efficient games. He is making progress in learning to be a team player, but i applauding him for simply playing as he should have from the start is a bit too much imo. Folks lose their **** when he makes a simple pass. He can still playmake and not go 1/13 from the field. Last couple of games were encouraging enough though.
Just curious! What's your criteria for a franchise player? To me a franchise player is a rare talent who can get you rings...multiple...like MJ...like Kobe...and they stay in one franchise for their entire careers...they make players around them...better! I kinda despise all these uptakes about whether Jalen or Alpi or Jabari is a franchise....none of them has a ring...and please nobody talks to me about potential.... Also I know you liked KPJ but he was definitely not a franchise player! Being the best player in a loosing team...don't matter if you can score 40 points a night. Even MJ...if he didn't win those 6 rings in 6 finals..nobody would have talked about him the best player ever. Those 6 rings in 6 finals is the only reason people are putting MJ above LBJ. Sorry boss!
itd be so amazing to pair Alpi long-term with a player like Halliburton. Don't get me wrong, FVV is doing great as the PG right now, just talking long-term. I guess Amen has that potential, but his shot is so so far off at this point. Oh well.
I would define a "franchise player" in a similar way, a guy who is one of the best in the league that makes the players around them better....the untouchable face of the franchise. I don't think a player has to have "ringz" to be a franchise player necessarily, but they do have to be unquestionably one of the top players in the league or a guy likely to be one of the absolute best players in the league fairly soon. I think it's important to note that I certainly never called KPJ a "franchise player" despite the fact that he was one of the team's best players....I've pretty much always said that this team lacks any "franchise players"....though I think it might be possible for Sengun to become that one day if he continues his trajectory. "Ringz" arguments are essentially completely worthless IMO because that's trying to use team accomplishment to prop up an individual player over other individual players. The greatest player in the history of the sport would have zero "ringz" without good enough teammates around them....and it wouldn't mean they were any less dominant.
To me, a franchise player is someone who you pick to build a team around with the hopes they lead you to postseason success.
A lot of the people who (actively) post here are idiots. That's how we end up with takes like "Sengun is the worst defender I have ever seen!"
The only "people" saying that is the troll you took the bait from. Not having Bobby on ignore makes you look like a noob.
Isn't basketball a team sport? Take a look at Doc Rivers' argument below. Let me know what you think?
