In 2024, it's more than half, it's a necessity. Look how good we looked against Chicago and how they STRUGGLED against Milwaukee.....All we need is a consistent shooter in this lineup
You don't think Ime could have made Knecht a better defender? If he can do it for Alpi, he could've done it for Knecht.
If you’re making overarching assumptions about any rookie based on 15 games, then you clearly know very little about the history of NBA prospects.
What are you even asking for, dude? Houston drafted one of the greatest college 3pt shooters of all time - what else can they do? Are you really upset that we didn't draft a lesser shooter in Dalton Knecht? Dalton hitting 9 threes against the 2nd worst team in the league wouldn't have changed much against a Giannis/Dame led team because they would have torched him on the offensive end. If you think in 2024 offense is MORE than half of the game, then you haven't been watching the 2024 10-5(and should be 11-4 if Fred connects an easy pass) Houston Rockets who are proving that a dominant defense can overcome bad offense and still be a great team.
P Im concerned Reed won't be able to get his shot off consistently. It may take him several yrs, if at all. I don't see Curry in him and anybody who puts him and Curry in the same sentence is ridiculous. FVV comparison is possible, however Fred is more compact, which helps him defensively. I'm not giving up on him 15 games in but I think Dalton would be exactly what this team needs at this point. Also, good offense beats good defense all day. I'm sure you've seen a game or two. Both are needed but the object of the game is to out score your opponent, not to keep the score close.
Exactly. He was never going to do that and this was known way before the draft. He shouldn't be taking minutes from Holiday who was part of a surging squad last season.
Does he make the game plan? Does he set rotations? He's played well overall despite the situation he's been put in. That's all he can do.
That's fair - I get the height concerns. Personally I thought a better shooting FVV was Reed's ceiling - I never bought into the Curry thing...but its worth noting Fred didnt blossom into a starter until he was 25 and Reed is 20 now. I think the kid will get there eventually and be tough enough in that pesky small guard kind of way - he has the bballIQ and quick hands, and deceptive athleticism...he'll never be a great defender though but if he fills a shooting need well enough by providing gravity all the way out to the logo, then he doesn't necessarily have to be a plus defender to be useful. I've heard the good offense beats good defense quote before and while I used to agree with that - Tari and Amen together is like nothing I have ever seen before. Defensively they look like Scottie Pippen and Kawhi Leonard out there putting clamps on teams and legitimately striking fear in the hearts of players who are like, "I gotta move the ball before they converge on me". It's possible that if Houston has enough A+ defenders like that, the offense maybe doesn't have to be as good if you are getting nearly 5 stocks a game just from those two guys and you are an excellent team at turning those TOs into easy points in transition....and Houston is right there with Golden State, Cleveland, OKC, and Denver in points off turnovers and also is 2nd in 2nd chance points, and is 4th in fast break points while being the 3rd best team at not turning the ball over. There is something going on with this team that you are missing if you are just tracking conventional wisdom - they are breaking the math of the game right now in very unconventional ways because I completely agree that we have built a whole neighborhood with the bricks this season and yet, we are winning games despite that.
Dalton Knecht has proved he can get 20+ pts a quarter in NBA. I don't think that will happen on Reed.
Certainly not given that he is only allowed to play about 3 minutes in any given quarter. Old man Knecht couldn't do it with those limitations either... literally no player in NBA history could. Put Sheppard on the Lakers and he probably could given how many more minutes he'd get.
Reed needs to put together better shooting games because when he doesn't he just ends up being in the way. The little things that he does won't make him stand out at all. In order for him to matter will be for him to find that shot.