Unless they dominate straight away, people don't want to know about them. Jermaine O'neal was the same at a young age. Took him 4 years and a change of teams before he came good. People just need some patience
Two and half big men Rockets (Sengun, Jabari, Garuba) defeated 5 big men Magic. (Wendel, Banchero, Franz, Bamba, Bol Bol). Sengun seemed a real legit 6'11" tonight.
His first few games weren’t too bad but he only played 22 min tonight and we seemed better without him
Yes, it is WAY too premature to make conclusions on a rookie 11 games into his career. Not every rookie comes into the NBA tearing it up, in fact, most have to adjust to the speed of it and the lifestyle of it as well. Just how it goes. If he has a terrible rookie year it still doesn't mean he's a bust or that he can't go on to become a HOF player. The reason Jabari was drafted so high was because of his defense and because of his shooting. His shooting has been poor, its probably just pressure, confidence, nerves, a mental thing. He certainly has the ability to be a three point shooter. His defense being not that good is just a rookie thing of him fouling too much, i expect that tighten up with more experience. Overall, he's a 19. He has a good head on his shoulders and is a hardworker, he'll figure it out.
All of our 7 FRPs of the last 2 drafts are likeable lads. Sorry not seeing Josh and TyTy performing tonight.
That’s why we need a rim protector. Sengun is a really good one way player. Hopefully we get Wemby to help cover up some of his defensive limitations
i still do not understand what happened to JC. Sengun, green, and garuba look awesome. Eason looks great, still waiting TyTy to show up and Smith to step it up.
Enjoyed the game, when I wasn’t grinding my teeth at our mistakes. I’m glad that Garuba is finally getting some minutes and showing us why he was drafted. Terrific defender who will only get better, with good offensive potential, in my opinion. Tari continues to show he’s the steal of the draft. KPJ continues to show that he shouldn’t be our starting point guard, but is a talented player who can really help us in other ways, in my opinion. We need to find a starting quality point guard. We sure have our star shooting guard! Green is a load and a half. KJ Martin gets better and better! Great fit as our 3 and we should hang onto to him. Sengun is a winner and he doesn’t surprise me. He should be starting at center. Smith is a rookie and played like one tonight. He’ll have ups and downs. This was definitely a down, big time. The complete dismissal of his talent by some here doesn’t surprise me. We have members who have no patience whatsoever. Hell, some can’t spell patience! Smith is going to be a great player. Some just take time. From what I’ve seen so far, we’re going to be fun to watch, will win some games here and there, but we’re very likely to be in the lottery. Assuming we are, pray for luck. That’s a long way off in a long season, though. I will be entertained. Frustrated, but entertained.
Who said Tyty didn’t play due to injury? Silas tells with action that he won’t play Tyty even he is healthy. His boy Nix is just too good.
Yup, his playmaking was not also Magic Johnson level. What you expect gentleman, a Ben Wallace performance? They tried to destroy him applying same pattern again, again, again. That's the place he needs help from other big, theoretically Jabari, if not Tari/Garuba/KMJ. He became tired and performance dipped, especially at the 3rd quarter. First half: 16 mins, 14 points, 6 rebs Second half: 13 mins, 6 points, 4 rebs. Give him a Markkanen and see what happens.
This was a much needed win, but I am not at all optimistic about the coaching. The Rockets drained 24-48 3s. The Rockets aren't going to maintain this level of shooting, so they need to win through other means. The coaches insistence on not staggering KPJ and Green is downright infuriating at this point. Late in the 3rd quarter, Green was on fire, and whilst KPJ was playing well he was clearly taking possessions away from Green. At this point, you sit KPJ first so Green keeps cooking, and bring KPJ in afterwards to maintain offensive firepower. The Rockets lost a 17 points lead when both guards went to the bench, when at least one of them should have remained on the court at all times. Still far too little ball movement and cuts to the basket. Off the top of my head, there was only one good cut this game and that was a set play that got Green a wide open dunk. However, it's too early to overreact because the Rockets have a historically brutal schedule to start the season. The Rockets are also playing against veteran teams that will get the benefit of the whistle every single time. We saw in this game what happens if the Rockets faced an inexperienced teams, the refs are calling travels/carries that they let all-stars get away with all the time.
Also another thing I noticed is that Green plays really well with Sengun, especially when they're both on like tonight. There were a couple of two-man plays that resulted in some WIDE open mid-range shots for Jalen, and Sengun also sets off-ball screens for Green, something that only Garuba does besides him. I think that Green has the potential to be an awesome off-ball player as well, the flashes are there and so tantalizingly close--I have confidence that he'll get there. I'm glad we finally got to see the KJ/AL-P chemistry again today, too
Its not just size, Banchero is just more talented overall. I don’t think we will ever see Jabari dribble or create plays the way Banchero does. Even if Smith gains size I don’t think he’ll ever be the post up threat Banchero is now. Smith needs plays created for him to be effective thus he’s not your 1st, 2nd or even 3rd option. He’s also struggling to get off shots when he’s open. I was told he could shoot over anyone, a la Durant, thus making him a unique talent which doesn’t seem to be the case.