Yeah - it's weird. It's almost like a young team with exactly one scoring threat struggled to get that scoring threat going against one of the NBA's best defenses who just had to swarm him every play. Real head scratcher there....
Listen, no one is expecting miracles here. I think it’s fantastic he’s scoring the same amount of buckets as Bronny James. I mean, don’t want to put unrealistic expectations on him, amirite?
He just needs to make the shots he uncharacteristically missed in the first few games, and so do the people he passed to (which will mean his assists going up)...and make his free throws. He already (small sample size, 4 games) improved his 3-point shooting and leads the entire league in box outs and screen assists (jointly with Steven Adams; shows how unselfish he is), is near the top in rebounds, steals, deflections, shots contested, charges drawn, etc. You can look it up here: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle?dir=D&sort=SCREEN_ASSISTS https://www.nba.com/stats/players/box-outs?dir=D&sort=BOX_OUTS Other players get to shoot more while not doing that much else of anything, this guy hustles his ass off and contributes in many ways beyond points - not just rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, but also all the other stuff that doesn't show up in traditional boxscores - like box outs and screen assists and deflections. Dude literally leads the league in many of the hustle stats and still gets called a bad defender by some of his usual detractors.
Even though his DFGA is near the top, DFG% is also one of the worst so far amongst centers. Do you think his improved strength will have a positive impact on contests this year?
DFGA is not usually a stat you want to be near the top of. It means guys are targeting you, and they want you defending their shots. Pair that with the high DFG% and it tells you why.
Rudy and Chet are at the top 5 on DFGa. I reckon it’s not always bad to be leading this stat. I’m curious to see whether Alpi can improve on DFG% as he did on DFGA.
There isn't any "matter of time" that he'll be guarded like Steph.... Don't confuse capability with proficiency.... Wemby hasn't shown he's an efficient 3pt shooter for any notable stretch of his career including before he got drafted.... He shot sub 30% from 3 in 86 games internationally... Currently he's shooting 32% from 3 as a pro... This isn't to say he can't ever become an efficient 3pt shooter, but there's levels and likelihood is he never becomes elite there or some 7'5 KD much less Steph. Injuries are almost a guarantee... It's just a matter of when not IF... Especially given the history of players with his height and build, but that's a different issue.
I don't believe that this thread is valid any longer and it has nothing to do with how Jalen has been playing. It has more to do with how Coach Udoka has been pulling Alpi in the fourth quarters and something he said tonight troubles me. He mentioned that he went with his "...defensive base line up..." and that didn't include Alpi (nor Jabari either if I recall correctly). Does Mike Malone pull Jokic in this game. No, he leaves his franchise player in there and makes Dallas adapt. It's early and I for certain believe that Alpi is worth every cent the Rockets paid him, but I'm just not sure what the coaches views are as to who gives us the best chance to win. Tonight the answer was obvious... maybe it's a game by game thing, but I don't like that philosophy either. Have an identity and force your will on the other team...
Pau Gasol is one of the most underrated players in nba history, people think he only won cuz of Kobe. But why did a Gasol led Memphis team finish ahead of Kobe's lakers every year. His numbers will never wow you but he's so efficient and just makes everyone better.
