Agreed. To the bolded... He was supposed to be wing depth and a non starter so it made sense to me. The injuries have just been a killer this year for continuity of the team and we can't know that ahead of time. We definitely factor in injuries based on the history of some of the players but it's been a pretty bad luck year. Losing FVV has caused everyone who can playmake fill a roll they may not be ready for or trying not to do based on age/mileage. Tari out for half? Over half of the season so far?
Yup, it's time to hold him accountable. He's had ten games to shake some rust off after a long layoff. I expect to see better performances in the near future.
I think DFS was supposed to be Brooks replacement. Since we got Durant as a starter, DFS might even challenge Jabari for his starting job. I didn't know his injury would take so long to heal, which should be known to the FO. I live in Southern California and know a lot of Lakers fans. (I despise Lakers fans but it's hard to avoid them here.) They didn't like losing him. Some of them know I am a Rockets fan and congratulate me for having him.
To me, it's more about roster management than whether or not I like DFS or what he can or can't do. You already added KD to what was already your strongest position and that is also Amen's best position. KD, Jabari, Tari, Amen, Tate, Green .... then you added Okogie, you might say well, he's a guard - I contend with the fact that he doesn't have any guard skills, aside from shooting 3's. What did you have at the guard spots? FVV, Reed and Holiday. You can call Amen a guard if you like .... but they are essentially playing 3 forwards and one guard most of the time - the double big lineup you can add Sengun to that list of forwards. When FVV was lost, all you really have left is Reed and Holiday at the guard spots (& KD). We saw last season that Holiday wasn't capable of running the offense while FVV was out and relying upon Reed was a gamble - Some nights it pays off, other nights not so much but that's to be expected from a 2nd year player. It's only because KD is a special player that you can run him essentially as a 2 guard along with Amen as the 3 and Jabari at the 4 ... and that accounts for 102 of a possible 144 minutes across 3 positions with Tari and Okogie usually picking up most of what's left. Instead of adding an 8th (or 9th when you run double bigs) player to the forward spots, a much better use of that cap space was to use it on a guard. Someone to provide insurance in case Fred or Reed goes down or if Reed is ineffective ..... which has often been the case. (I don't mind developing Reed as the lead guard but in that case, playoff seeding is at risk). When Tari was injured, there still weren't enough minutes for another body at the 3-4 spots, they either went double big or played Okogie at the 2 .... and they were winning, at the time the leagues best or 2nd best point differential. I much rather would have gone after a guard than DFS ... he's a solid enough player but let's be honest, how do you play 6-7 guys at the 3 & 4 spots? There just aren't enough minutes.
I agree with you. I didn't like the thin back court. I remember Stone said that there's no difference between SG and SF. They are all wings. I thought that was BS. There are SG wings that can play PG (called combo guard) and guard quick SGs and there are wings (SF) that can play PF and guard big men. Most of the wings we have are the latter kind. Only Amen is the former kind. My post was in response to people who think DFS is a trash player. He is not. He's just not 100%.
It was my idea to sign DFS. He was one of the league's best role players last season. Over 41% from 3 and terrific defense. I think Okogie has been good enough though that DFS is now redundant. It's now my idea to trade DFS and some draft capital for a starting PG. Amen is a brilliantly talented player but this season has proven that he's not a PG. The whole team looks lost without FVV. It's time to bring TJ McConell here.
We are missing a 3nD wing right now as much as a guard. You are counting Amen as a forward but he has been playing as a guard. So we had FVV/Amen/Reed/Holiday 1-2 vs KD/Tari at the 2-3 Tate and Green dont count, they shouldnt be seen as rotation players. Rox needed another guy who can shoot 3s and defend.
The problem has been that Amen is playing as a point guard. He was significantly better last season as a wing. We need another PG so that Amen can play on the wing. Amen can continue to develop as a secondary ball handler. Amen as a primary ball handler has not gone well. Superstar potential but not a competent PG at this time.
When exactly was the DFS era??? Because I must have missed it and I am a HUGE basketball fan. It was another Stone classic loser pickup. People say give him time as he’s coming off an injury….newsflash this is who he is. He’s a career 7ppg player. We basically just paid 53 million for Josh Okogie.
Is he really playing PG? I think he's functioning more like a secondary ball handler in recent weeks. Bringing the ball up and doing nothing but drive and dish sounds more like a wing playmaker than a PG. That's why his assist numbers have gone down I think (in addition to our shooters going blind). Modern PG's have more duties than that. They run PnR successfully - leading to pick and pops, pick and rolls, pick and lobs for the pick setter. They definitively tell others what to do and where to be on the court. They're masters at passing into the post or short roll. They run DHO's where they can be the one handing off or the one receiving the handoff. They function as a threat off the ball after they pass the ball to an iso threat - e.g. you set up Sengun/Durant for their iso and if their guy goes to double them, you can punish that. They are excellent passers in transition. They motivate the right shooters. They know whether to keep going to the hot hand or go back to the best play. They have the kind of handle you can rely on even if the opponent goes full court pressure or set aggressive traps. The difference between a modern PG and a wing playmaker is that a PG can run plays without being the primary scoring threat. Their ability to be a PG is not dependent on having an elite scoring skill. The wing playmaker's whole playbook is based on being the primary scoring threat - I can shoot the 3 (Reed) or drive and dish aggressively (Amen) and whatever you do to stop that, I can counter with a pass. These are vastly different things. I don't think getting a PG to fall back on would really change anything Amen does. We would still ask him to drive and dish aggressively. The only difference would be when the opponent packs the paint excessively. In those situations, you'll have options other than just taking a contested jumper.
