I said if, and because he didn't improve in the offseason like most of our players. Also, all our shooters lost their shooting touch. I don't really don't trust our development and I haven't been wrong many times.
To Cam's credit, I'm 100% sure I saw him stating what he did in the summer. He worked on getting to the basket and strength training. A little bit on his jumper. Can't remember which interview. I don't get why players go onto the off-season working on multiple things. There's barely enough time to focus on one thing. If you come out of each summer improving one thing, that's plenty.
Nobody's body should be breaking down that it stops them from doing light cardio shots or dribbling in the offseason
I still think Cam can be better than Green, he just hasn't gotten the same luxury of 15-20 FGA and 32-35mpg from the moment he entered the league. He definitely has lots of work to do as working within an offense, but he's shown that his playmaking and defensive effort go up when he gets the reps/shots on O. When you play him 6 minutes and give him 2-3 shots before pulling him, most score-first 20 year olds are going to be frustrated. Hopefully he can mature and keep his chin up, because I can see his minutes jumping like last year if/when injuries kick in later in the season.
Getting to the basket and strength are his best traits. He didn't need to work it those as much as his jumper. And he needs to work on understanding team basketball on both offense and defense.
The Houston Rockets have quickly become one of the deepest teams in the entire NBA over the last few seasons. While some of their recent draft picks like Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün have blossomed into stars, other prospects have grown into their own and become contributing members of a surprising team in the Western Conference. The Rockets selected two promising prospects in Amen Thompson with the No. 4 overall pick in 2023 and Reed Sheppard with the No. 3 pick in 2024, and have carved out minutes for both in their nightly rotation. To pair with their hopeful progression, fellow prospect Tari Eason is blossoming into a core piece of the Rockets’ lineup. The 6-foot-8, defensive-minded forward is scoring 11 points on 40% shooting from three-point range to begin the 2024-25 season. With teams capable of playing 12 men or more in any given contest, there will be casualties towards the bottom of the depth chart. In this case, former No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft Cam Whitmore may be the odd man out. Whitmore hadn’t played well through his seven appearances for Houston, scoring 6.1 points on a putrid 5.6% shooting from distance on 2.6 attempts. His overall 39.8% effective field goal percentage was especially uninspiring, leading to the Rockets sending Whitmore down to the G-League on Thursday. With Whitmore being pushed completely out of the Rockets’ rotation, the 20-year-old versatile scoring forward could be labeled as expendable. While there’s still plenty of time for Whitmore to capitalize on the potential he’s shown, the Rockets’ accelerated timeline could lead to a trade. Houston may not be able to cater to Whitmore’s needs, but they can send him to plenty of teams that are itching for the offensive abilities of an efficient Whitmore. For one, teams like the Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons could always use an extra piece to assist in their rebuilds. In return for Whitmore, Houston would likely want a proven player who could help the team win in the present.
Yeah most young guys are always working on some stupid things in the off-season. Jalen worked on stupid things unsupervised for 2 years. I don't know if getting to the basket is his strength. To me he's very animated getting there but the % of successful drives is low. Can't ISO. Can't get around big men very well. Mostly powers his way to the basket when there happens to be space. As far as understanding unselfishness and defense, I don't know of a way to do that in the summer. How would they do that?
IDK, maybe going over videos with a coach? Drilling on some set plays like PnR to get the habit of being aware of where the roll man is?
I agree. He has very poor body language and doesn’t seem much like a team guy. His potential though is very high.
I didn’t want to trade Jabari or Cam before but I’m at the point where I would consider something with the Wizards, like Cam and Jabari for Alex Sarr and another player or pick. That would get Sengun a real defensive shot blocking threat next to him who can also stretch the floor. Don’t want anything from the Pistons except Cade or twin which they’re not giving up. Sharpe from the Blazers maybe interesting.
Yeah I guess. I feel like these are areas that grow most during actual games though. At least G League level. Can be developed during practices (building camaraderie reduces selfishness). With our young guys sometimes we/they are so keen to add to their games we're forgetting to solidify what they're actually supposed to be great at. Like Jabari still struggling with 3pt arc and 3's in general - but he's constantly working on his handle. Jalen's shot selection took so long. Same with Cam - I think the G League will be good for him.
Getting the 3-point shot to fall down there will really help his confidence when he gets his opportunity back with the Rockets. The biggest thing he needs to elevate is his off-ball defense and his passing - how much is that being addressed in the G league?
He fits in a movement offense so much more than Jalen Green, but we don't run a movement offense, or any real offense, TBH. DD
