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Alpi, Amen, and Green are the core of the core of the core

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Houston77, Jan 10, 2025.

  1. TheRealist137

    TheRealist137 Member

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    The fact that he's scoring the same but instead of in meaningless minutes where we are blown out, it's now in meaningful games and leading us to wins against good teams is enough improvement for me
     
  2. fchowd0311

    fchowd0311 Member

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    Look at his BPM and winshares per 48 pre all-star break.l this year and last year. Big improvements.
     
  3. OremLK

    OremLK Member

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    I'm rooting for the dude and I'm happy he's playing well. I want to see him prove he's That Guy for us, we badly need a perimeter shot maker/shot creator we can rely on. But when people are knee-jerking into assuming he's already there and the numbers just don't line up with that assumption, I'm going to call it out.

    To be clear, I do think he's improved as an overall player. But that's mostly defense. I just don't see much evidence to support that he's made any significant strides as a scorer or playmaker.
     
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  4. fchowd0311

    fchowd0311 Member

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    @OremLK is Alpi having his worst NBA season of his career? He's posting his worst scoring efficiency of his career.
     
  5. OremLK

    OremLK Member

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    On offense, yes, but his defense and rebounding are vastly improved.
     
  6. Bobbythegreat

    Bobbythegreat Member
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    He'll need to keep it up given his history of streaky play but if he can, he'll finally earn his way into the core.
     
  7. fchowd0311

    fchowd0311 Member

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    You aren't reading people's posts dude.
    People are saying him going from one of the worst defenders in the league or a damn good defender means his offensive numbers being roughly the same is a improvement on offense because you know...


    Law of thermodynamics. Finite energy. You know that stamina bar under players in NBA 2k? It exists for a reason.
     
  8. fchowd0311

    fchowd0311 Member

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    So he's regressed offensively.
     
  9. OremLK

    OremLK Member

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    Or is in a slump. But sure, you're right that playing harder on defense takes more energy, and that may be disguising some improvement as a scorer from JG. Hope that's true! However, we do need to see him be able to do both at the same time consistently, not just for short stretches.
     
  10. napalm06

    napalm06 Huge Flopping Fan

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    Reminds me of Stevie Franchise in the way that he was acquired during a rebuild and gave everyone all the evidence they needed that he was both really talented and questionable as a foundational piece. Polarizing. Sengun is our Yao. Will there be a McGrady?
     
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  11. Bobbythegreat

    Bobbythegreat Member
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    That's probably fair to say... at least from an efficiency standpoint, but he's still the best player on the team overall due to what he brings in total outside of offensive efficiency.
     
  12. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    @Htown Stros nailed it.

    Every month, new thread about “core” and “franchise player”. Who’s hot, who’s not at the current moment in time.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    OP: “Bari, Tari, and Sengun are our franchise players. It is done.”
    https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/bari-tari-and-sengun-are-our-franchise-players.321771/

    Oops, Bari and Tari are injured and now are no longer part of the core! No longer franchise players!

    We’re one bad streak away from removing Jalen again for the 50th time!
    One hot streak away from including Cam!
    One bad streak away from removing Sengun!
    One hot streak away from including Reed! Reed is untouchable!
    One injury away from removing Tari! Tari is damaged goods! No longer franchise caliber!
    One injury and bad streak away from removing Bari! Bari is trash! Amen can do his job! Trade Bari!

    Or maybe mocking you @AroundTheWorld

    https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/alpi-amen-and-tari-are-the-core-of-the-core.324608/
     
  13. napalm06

    napalm06 Huge Flopping Fan

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    This place is a total carousel of reactionary threads. Why do we feel the need to convince ourselves so hard of which players are good? Let it happen if it's going to.

    Is it a race to get credibility of being right and announcing which horse you put your chips on?
     
  14. Houston77

    Houston77 COOKIES AND CAKE, MY TEAM BAKED!
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    This thread is obviously a reference to that one, but I wouldn’t say I was “mocking” ATW. Just a little levity. Y’all are often too serious.

    And I’ll point out that in that thread, I state that Green, Amen, and Sengun are our core. I’ve rode this horse for a while.
     
  15. AroundTheWorld

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    #35 AroundTheWorld, Jan 10, 2025
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2025
  16. meh

    meh Member

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    You're just falling into his trap by looking at numbers he want you to see because it helps his argument, rather than trying to be good faith about looking at numbers objectively. I remember this because last year people kept on using March/Post-All-star numbers like it's some sort of growth, when really Jalen was fairly decent for the first half of the season, but had a terrible February that made March felt like "he's really grown" in comparison. By his argument, we should be expecting Jalen to have a period of sucking coming up before really turning it on.

    It's why I don't bother with these narratives for Jalen anymore. Because every time he has a bad stretch, in some people's minds that just makes his good stretches more "signs of turning it around" rather than the roller coaster it actually is.
     
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  17. mightybosstone

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    As of the last week, I can't find fault with this post. All three guys just need to keep up that consistent level of quality play.

    For me, the thing that I find the most promising is that Jalen and Alpi are both playing well offensively in the same games. The end of last season had everyone asking whether those two could coexist in the same offense and whether Sengun's play would slow down the pace too much for Jalen to do his thing. But the offense is finding a really nice balance between pace and half-court offensive sets right now.

    I don't worry about Amen at all, because he does so many things well (aside from shooting) that I feel like he could play in any offense on any team. But for this core to work, Jalen and Sengun need to be able to thrive together. And they are right now. Keep it up, fellas!
     
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  18. pmac

    pmac Member

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    Ime Udoka is the core of the Rockets.

    We were racking up historic level Ls and Stone was about to get the Hinkie treatment before Ime.
     
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  19. Houston77

    Houston77 COOKIES AND CAKE, MY TEAM BAKED!
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    Or, here’s a thought — maybe young players are just often inconsistent, especially those who have experienced a major coaching and scheme change. Yes, in 2 - 3 years, if Jalen is still this significantly inconsistent, then I’ll agree that is who he is as a player. However, the idea that many posters possess that they can make sweeping generalizations about a player who is younger than several rookies from the 2024 draft is, frankly, a tad arrogant.
     
  20. krosfyah

    krosfyah Member

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    Eye Test:
    Last night they gave Jalen the ball in two key possessions with like 2 minutes left which resulted in bad shots or a turnover.

    Then FVV took the ball and secured the win. FVV knows how to execute when the pressure is on.

    Jalen can put up #s but is her your alpha dog? Can you trust Jalen with the ball in his hands to make a good decision in a one-possession game with 2 minutes left when the defense is dialed in?

    The Steve Francis comparison is great. Always bad execution in crunch time. He'd have like 3 consecutive bad possessions and that effectively sealed the loss.

    Lebron James always seems to make the right call. Take a good shot or make a good pass. He executes.
     

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