ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Magic - Vegas Summer League 7/7/2022

Extremely early days and all that.... but it looks like Jabari Smith is Christian Wood 2.0...

If that turns out to be the case, that's pretty disappointing... If he's Christian Wood with defense, that's not too bad.. all star at some point. If he's a touch better than Christian Wood shooting and plays defense... that's pretty darn good- all star starter.

It doesn't look like he'll be better than Wood this season, we'll be front runners for Wembanyama without drastic improvements from last seasons rookies. That seems far more likely than Jabari Smith being rookie of the year after first glimpse.

Still very early I know...just first impressions.

Eason looks like a spark plug guy, I don't know where his minutes come from... Garrison Mathews?

 

Lol

 

missed the game. did chet tank?

 

Probably something dumb like 2 of the Nets' picks

 

This.
Plus they need to play him as a 4 & not this small ball 5 crap. Jabari’s strength is going to be as an oversized wing type. I really wish the Rockets would just forget about small ball because they suck at coaching it. The coaching is what concerns me. It’s just f**king atrocious and has been for years now. The guards had now clue how to get the kid the ball and received no direction from the sidelines.

Also, The team has been too damn small for years now and instead of fixing it, they give a 6’4 center $22 million on a last place basketball team. The Rockets just need to let Lionel Hollins take over as HC and fire smiling Stevie Silas ASAP. And for the love of the basketball gods, get bigger!

 

Players are so selfish in summer league, 70%of these guys on the rosters wont make it to the NBA but they think jacking up ill advised shots and stuffing the points stat sheet while shooting 18% is gonna get them their shot. Jabari looked composed and controlled especially on the defensive end, not saying he was great but he looked mature for his age. One thing I noticed about Jabari tho was that he doesnt jump that much, there were so many plays where I was expecting him to jump for a rebound or go for a trail block but never went for it, it was kinda weird. To say he was awful last night is a huge stretch still

 

At least he wasn't compared to Corey Brewer

 

Some of these are valid and some of these would require a cross court pass which is not ideal

 

You know what? I was thinking this front office team must disregard rebounding the way Morey disregarded point guard play. We can not argue they are good at drafting talented guys, but god we are bad at rebounding fundamentals. No Box outs, no effort.

 

Somehow I feel like this is worse. At least I liked Corey Brewer lol

 

I fail to understand why didn't Jabari Sr and the coaches emphasis how important it is to learn how to dribble the ball properly?

Shooting got him selected along with perimeter defense. That's not good enough. I don't know if Jabari is a lefty. Paolo fouled him when Jabari tried to dribble with his right hand. His handle looked horrible on that possession. I liked the scoop Jabari made with his left hand once he got some room to take it to the hole. Paolo blocked him soon after that.

I expected good perimeter defense from Jabari too.

There is no doubt that Jabari Jr. suffered because of poor guard play, but his limitations were evident as expected. Despite that, he showed a fair amount of promise. I will give him a B minus.

 

Smith is a very different player than Wood, so I'm not really sure where that comparison comes from. One guy was a selfish, score-first big who never passed, dominated the ball, couldn't hit free throws and played minimal defense at best. The other is an unselfish wing/forward with a silky smooth jumper who doesn't initiate the offense and can defend all five positions at a pretty high level.

I'm not really sure what you were expecting from Smith, but he wasn't going to bust out with a 25/15/5 performance yesterday. That's not his game. He's not a No. 1 offensively, and I don't think that should have been the expectation when drafting him. He's also absurdly young and was playing in a format that's not conducive to his style with guards who drove to the basket with blinders on every single possession.

Smith is going to go through growing pains, but he was the perfect pick for this team not because he can go out and score 30 points on a given night, but because he's the perfect complement with Green and Sengun. He wasn't stellar last night, but the things I wanted to see from him (silky smooth jumper, some ability to drive when needed, unselfish offense, defensive versatility) were there. He's going to fit in just fine, and the team will be much better for having taken him in the long run.

 

Ty impressed me the most. He's a team first pg and great off the ball

 

One Summer League game and Armageddon is upon us...

lol

 

Of the top 3 pick, only Banchero would be the #1 offensive option on a team. Chet and Jabari were always projected to be option 2, maybe 1 if they ever reach their ceiling. Because Jabari doesn't have decent enough handles, he will suffer in SL format like Mobley who also needed good guards play to unlock his game. I don't think our team set Jabari up for success at all. That was some of the most selfish guards play I've seen in quite a while. Our guards that played last night is what Jalen haters think he plays like. Blindfolds on ... jack up shots or drive into a packed paint instead of kicking the ball out. Jabari will benefit more playing alongside KPJ, Jalen and Sengun. I'm excited to have Jabari on our team because he fits our team's needs perfectly. I don't expect him to carry the offensive load. I just want him to play great defense and knock down wide open 3s at a good volume. He will open up the floor for KPJ and Jalen

 

Maybe he didnt have talent for it and instead of wasting time on it they focused on stuff he is capable of. To be good ballhandler you need certain abbilities, same as for shooting. Westbrook or Simmons train shooting their whole life yet cant do it from range. His ballhandling will develop to being acceptable i expect Klay type of ballhandling level somewhere słony the years

 

Exactly. The Rockets don't need him to be a 25 PPG guy in the long run, and if they do, then something has gone wrong with the rebuild. If he becomes a big scorer down the line, great, but I'm fine if he's more that secondary guy who gives you 18/10/3/2/1 while playing great help defense or taking on the hardest defensive assignment. Those aren't the guys who are going to shine in Summer League play when everyone is just jacking up shots and trying to score every possession.

Hopefully the Rockets coaches can emphasize better ball movement through the rest of the Summer League, but my expectations are pretty low for that given how much Summer League I've seen in the past. We may just not get to see Jabari's strengths shine until we get to real NBA play in the preseason.

 

Cmon…No more pg-less, hc-less, leadership vacuum games, that made me spinning hopelessly through 2021-2022 season,
NO MORE PLLLLLs!
lol

 

On that note, Jabari Smith certainly wasn’t helped by Thursday’s game environment, which included quite a bit of selfish play from his teammates and not enough easy looks for him. To be fair, some of that also falls in line with what we know about his weaknesses, as he isn’t an advanced ball-handler, doesn’t create much for himself off the dribble in isolation, and sometimes needs to be delivered the ball in optimal areas to score. There were several switch situations where he could have capitalized by simply shooting over smaller defenders, but didn’t receive the ball. It was a somewhat forgettable night, but he played much better in the second half as he got comfortable.

Smith finished with a modest 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 4-of-10 shooting, but the Rockets should still feel quite good about all he has to offer. He was quite good defensively, particularly when squaring up in front of Banchero in space, where his length, size, balance and level of intent already make him a formidable, switchable presence. It’s already hard to score on Smith on an island. His underrated passing and unselfishness also stood out on a night where the ball seemed to stick everywhere else.

Smith remains one of the best jump-shooting prospects I’ve ever seen, and his ability to simply score over people is going to be a major separator. It’s a myth that he’ll need a guard-like handle to be a star when he’s as big and talented as he is. He makes difficult shots look easy in a way that most players can’t. But it’s also clear that at this stage of his career, his teammates are going to need to look for him and understand where and how to get him the ball. His sheer size and high release point will allow him to be effective in spite of that, but there will need to be more directive from the Rockets staff to look for him. It should actually get easier for him playing with better teammates during the season, and as chemistry and trust develops on the roster.

 

I'm glad our guards are being ridiculed for hogging. Maybe the coach will step in