53 wins won an NBA championship 2 years ago. On the early exit, the Rockets don't make the playoffs if they did it your way. The extra time Amen and Sengun will get in the playoffs is worth more than losing and having Amen develop bad habits the Silas way. On development, it is unlikely Amen develops any faster. Sengun, he's on a very good line as well. Cam, Reed those are the guys that are developing slower because of the win now approach.
The difference between our opinions is I don’t believe bringing the next magic johnson off the bench or playing him out of position for a first round exit is worth it. Not to mention the temptation to re-sign an incredibly mediocre pg to further delay what will turn us from an also ran into a contender. Ime and FVV are not the answer.
I've said since early in the season FVV was the major obstacle for Amen's development at the point. But considering how successful the Rockets have been this year, I guess I'm OK with what's happened. It's been very important to see these guys play high-pressure meaningful games all season and a home-court playoff series would be a huge cherry on top. Amen is playing enough point to learn what he must improve going forward. Not just for Amen, but having all the youngsters in the crucible is vital for their own development and for evaluation purposes.
I dont think the team's record has been good when Amen is in the starting lineup. Does the team have a better record when Jabari and Fred are in the starting lineup with Amen coming off the bench? Would be grateful if someone can upload some stats to show team results when Amen is in starting lineup.
I'm on the side of Ime focusing on winning over development. There certainly is a middle ground but I think focusing on winning is a type of development for our super young team. Amen has shown he has the most upside if he can have a more well rounded offensive game.
@Hemingway has been pushing hard for awhile now that Amen should be the primary ballhandler all the time. Personally, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for him to be that part of the time right now. He will learn other valuable things spending some time off the ball that will help him later in his career. He'll also gain confidence performing easier roles, i.e. sometimes playing in the dunker spot. The one thing I will say is I do want to see Amen be the primary ballhandler around half of the time (or more). I do think that's his future role for us. I didn't like how last night there wasn't much of that. I hope Ime is being very clear with Fred and Amen that the point guard duties are to be shared between them.
Based on observation, I think Udoka made it clear weeks ago point duties are to be shared between Fred and Amen. When guys return from injuries, most of the time their ramp up is not linear. Amen was amped to the max for the Heat game and played accordingly but that clearly wasn't the case last night. I expect him to build back to what he's flashed in previous weeks. It's just so good to have a guy initiate the offense by attacking, then either finishing or dishing because the defense had to collapse. Fred really isn't an assist guy; he DOES set up the offense up fairly well for Alpi and Jalen.
That's the difference between a real playmaker and a guy who sets the table. Fred delivers the package to guys who have to still work to get the shop where Amen creates space for people to get good looks when he finds them.
I don’t know. I don’t want Ime fired I want him to either get more flexible at the offensive side of the ball or hire an assistant and not let his ego get in the way of letting said assistant do his thing. We have a championship level defense, we have a lottery level offense. Stone and Ime can’t just run it back next year (especially with a year older FVV) and expect different results. Ime showed an inkling of flexibility when he played FVV off ball for a few games before he got injured. As I feared, after he came back and it gets closer to the playoffs he is reverting to his old comfort level of letting FVV be his coach on the floor.
This is a classic case of do you care about development or winning? Amen being the primary ball handler is sub-optimal for winning, but PG duties is something that you really need reps and experience. So do you sacrifice some wins in order to help facilitate Amen's PG development? Or do you play it safe with FVV because he's obviously the better guy right now? I think at this point Amen the off-ball player is fully fleshed out, 3pt shot notwithstanding. So there's really not much room for improvement there. Ime is clearly playing to optimize the Rockets chance to win every game. And some fans also believe that should be the case (hence why a thread about the Rockets being #2 seed). But some others believe maybe the Rockets should spend more time developing their young players. It's really just a matter of priorities, rather than one side being right or wrong.
I think Ime believes he is doing both. There's the old adage that you can't be on two timelines (like the Warriors trying to develop Kuminga/Podz while also trying to win a chip). In reality, Ime is developing the kids. I've been fairly relaxed watching the last month or so because I think this team is what it is. Sengun/Jalen are what they are. This is what they're going to be. There isn't much more to see from either. Amen's development is and should be the priority over anything else. Even over winning. I don't want to end up like the Budenholtzer Hawks or the Grit n Grind Grizzlies. Amen needs to turn into a 22-23/8-10/6-9 on 50/32/75. No one else on this team is capable of being a superstar.
I see one timeline—the Amen and Sengun timeline. It has begun. I do see distinct divisions in that timeline, basically before and after Amen's extension kicks in. I don't see a reason to ditch FVV and Brooks prior to Amen's extension. I expect there will quite a few iterations of who plays with Amen and Sengun provided they both work in the playoffs together. On development, Amen, Green, Sengun, and JSJ are all above 30 mpg. Tari is above 25 mpg. Basically, all these players contribute to winning such that development and winning don't really conflict. Of the veterans, FVV and Brooks are both average usage players. For the most part, FVV and Brooks help the young guys develop as they help them get organized. 2 (or three if Adams is now considered part of the rotation) average usage veterans are not a hindrance to development. Well, except maybe Cam and Reed, who are the 6th and 7th best young guys. I think the biggest question for the Rockets is whether Amen and Sengun are a long-term fit. I don't see FVV as a hindrance to that. I see FVV as a much-needed guy who can be on ball and off ball with Amen while playing good help defense.
Adelman is too old Phil Jackson is too old MDA would a great assistant for us - hard no on replacing Udoka...MDA never been to the Finals and Udoka went his first year with the Celtics and have our current roster #2 in the West...there aren't many coaching options to upgrade from Udoka! My recommendations: 1) Hire an offensive minded top assistant coach 2) Upgrade our backup SG position who has a high 3pt%: Kennard, Ty Jerome, Malik Beasley, Tyus Jones (point guard) -> those listed players are free agents this summer 3) Depending on how our core performs in the playoffs, make a decision to aggressively trade for KD, Booker, or flip this year draft pick for future first round picks (the OKC Thunder strategy) I think Cam Whitmore and Landale's contract could be used to make some short term upgrades without disrupting our core...I can't see us trading away Reed Shepherd unless we can get Booker.
I see Amen only. Sengun hasn't shown anything this year that I was wanting to see. He's a slightly better defensively slightly worse offensively version of his last year self. I wanted way more Dirk in his game this year and not only has that not happened....he's actually gotten way worse. It's almost like Jalen has rubbed off on him with how many no shows he's had this year. The next two would be Reed and Jabari for me. They both can hit every shot on the basketball court. Reed can run an offense. Jabari can play a small ball 5. Jabari has been incredibly mismanaged by this coaching staff. As has Reed this year. Not too worried about it though as next year the lights will be very bright on this team. If we get this same FVV/Jalen/Sengun offense....I'll be highly disappointed.
I think there is room for a player to be worse than Dirk and still be good enough to move forward with as a major part of the team. Sengun is already very good.
Alpi might end up becoming a good 3rd option on a championship contender, but the Rockets need to add a #1 to this team.
Maybe it’s just because the NBA is really the only sport I watch, anymore, but I find this to be a false dichotomy, that is more relevant to other sports. I’m talking about Coach decisions, not GM, btw. In the NBA, nearly all major development happens in the playoffs and off-season. So, those who subscribe to the notion that facing NBA defenses is two different experiences (regular season vs the playoffs), at some point in your growth phases, what happens in the regular season development-wise needs to consider winning in order to gain the most important development to follow … facing NBA playoff defenses. And that includes seed consideration, bc being severely overmatched as 8th seed (for instance) hampers development, too.
Agreed. Both FVV and Brooks can certainly be moved in a package for someone(s) but I think they are a crucial part of the overall team's development and maturation. As far as FVV goes, I think if Green/Amen/Sengun could take more of the offensive playmaking load effectively then they'd already be doing so. I think Amen will be able to effectively do it, but how far he progresses will determine if he becomes a true superstar. I think Ime still wants more of the Boston model where everyone makes decisions with the ball (shoot/pass/drive) instead of a more heliocentric playmaker model.
