Ok, so we all like to project where and who our players will be once they've developed. What I'm asking is, based on where they are right now, what do you think the realistic ceiling is for all of our younger players and secondly, how likely do you think they are at hitting it? Here's mine: Green - Ceiling: Perennial All Star/potential scoring leader. Chances: I think it's still pretty high, he's a mature kid who works hard. I'd say maybe 60/40 he makes his ceiling with the 40 being he becomes a solid starter who isn't an all star. I genuinely think he's way too talented to be a bust. Sengun - Ceiling: Top 5 player in the league. Chances: This is tougher, I think either way it goes he's going to become a great player, but hitting his actual ceiling is going to require a big body transformation to get to his peak level of athleticism. I'd say it's 50/50 whether he hits his ceiling or just becomes a solid all-star big rather than a transcendent player. Christopher - Ceiling: All-star caliber 2 way player: Chances: I think he has a good shot at hitting his ceiling actually, he works his ass off. I think if he doesn't become an all-star it's likely more to do with his offensive production than defensive, but he has a shot. Garuba - Ceiling: DPOY, probably not an actual all-star through lack of offense. Chances: Tough call this one, he's very one-sided. I think whether or not he makes it probably comes down to whether he can produce enough of the other end of the court to get good enough minutes. It's very hard to make an impact only on the defensive end as you're not going to get the minutes. KJ Martin: Ceiling: All star. Chances: I love KJ, but I think he's the player with All-star potential on the roster who has the biggest mountain to climb. I'd say he's much more likely to become a solid starter than an all-star in his prime, but he does have the raw potential to get there, no matter how small. Porter: Ceiling: All star. Chances: I'm torn on this one, I think his chances massively increase playing as a point forward than a PG. I do think he'll become a serviceable PG either way, I just think he has way more potential to hit his ceiling as the secondary ballhandler than the primary. Tate: Ceiling: Perennial starter, might get an all-star nod once or twice if he's lucky. Chances: I think he's a dead cert tbh, I see very few scenarios where Tate doesn't hit his ceiling, he only really needs to add a better shot and get craftier. Biggest "keeper" on the squad for me right now, he's there whilst the rest are still developing. Mathews: Ceiling: 6MOY. Chances: Maybe 50/50 he ever gets there, will need tons more consistency but if he can play at his best all the time I think he could be one of those EG types and have a great career. Brooks: Ceiling: Lou Williams 2. Chances: I think this comes down to whether he'll get enough playing time either here or elsewhere. If he can do that and stay consistent I think he'll do it. Wood: Ceiling: I think we've seen it in the games he plays great tbh. Chances: Well he can do it, it all comes down to consistency and heart. Does he have the heart? He has the talent. I dunno, I find him very frustrating at times effort wise. I'd like to hope he could get there. I think we're in a great position. The talent level and potential on this roster is through the roof, obviously many of these won't come to fruition, but I'm very happy with the pieces we have.
Great analysis if they were all entering the draft lottery tomo.... These ceilings are beautiful to look at..
Danuel House Jr. CEILING: THERE IS NO CEILING ON THE HOUSE John Wall CEILING: Franchise player (100% likely/0% unlikely…wait, what?) Head Coach Stephen Silas CEILING: Rick Carlisle (10/90) Trainer Jason Biles CEILING: Keith Jones (20/80) Franchise potential Jalen Green Alperen Sengun Faux franchise players Christian Wood Here for now…There is no real future here. D.J. Augustin Eric Gordon Danuel House David Nwaba Daniel Theis John Wall Rest of the guys (as Jim Harden once said) are role players or pieces that complete our team… Armoni Brooks Josh Christopher Usman Garuba Kenyon Martin Jr. Garrison Mathews Kevin Porter Jr. Jae'Sean Tate Daishen Nix
I don't know about all that but I do know the future looks full of promise in comparison to when fatty wanted out. 6 of those 10 players listed aren't even 22 yet.
tbf, till now, barely could i believe we stunned Bucks, the 2020-2021 world champion on our home court 3-day ago, during the game we brought them so much trouble, and Bucks literally 'narrowly pulling away' from TC notching a tough W; Hawks game, yes, in first two quarters we dig a big hole, but we were the team outwork late, that reminds me Pop's spurs, the trio era, they got sued to trail and turn around the table in fourth, anyway, we grabbed away the W from Atlanta with an epic comeback, don't forget, Hawks's ranking as the 3rd best offensive team in this league. both Ws (w/o our backcourt tandem) are HUGE, of course i don't want to ignore the contribution of our vets, but still the two wins proves our young man not only got tons potential, but also their passion and tenacity are the most critical things sustaining them to outplay their opponents: Sengoat, KMj, Gary Bird, Snipa Brooks and JayGup. Since Gary and Armoni only started 2-3 games, JC just being recalled from Vipers for not very long, i gotta say more sample sizes are needed to do the evaluation, even so i swear they deserve big contracts one day - Armoni can develop into elite shooter off the bench, Gary and JC got the instinct of real baller, i.e. big heart, both can shoot in the clutch. I hope KMj can be a starter at SF position, but before that he need to develop different facets of his game, not just shooting from three and leaping for lops, i wanna see his midrange jump shot, post up, floater...in place one day, sounds like Paul George? it might not easy for him, he's a physical specimen, but still raw. Sengoat is sooooooooo unique. after 20+ games, i hate to find an equivalent to him, i hate to put a label on him by comparing him with a certain HOF, that may simply because that's unnecessary, he will be a HOF one day. Sengoat and KMj like two direction of the polar, Sengoat got everything KMj are eager to have except athleticism, and maybe IT IS a lack of athleticism had forced Sengoat working out his vision, footwork, passing, baby hook shots, pump fakes and everything you could name it, for Sengoat, to be an all-star only a matter of TIME (silas knows). Edit: as a center, sengun is well built for modern day basketball…he so lucky not play in old day or being asked by JVG to stick to inside-out as well as physical old school basketball. Yao should envy him dunt need to bulk up lose so much mobility on court.
Let's have some fun, at this time - where do you rank our 4 drafted rookies? Clearly we don't have a ton of data yet, it is way early in their careers, so take this as more of a fun exercise about where you think they will be in 5 years based upon the 25 games or so we have played. For me, here is how I rank them. 1. Sengun - guy seems to be all that and a bag of chips, not the most athletic, but by far the most intelligent player I have seen on the Rockets since Harden left, or Yao, or Battier. Early Projection - All-STAR or higher. 2. Christopher - In the Summer league he couldn't shoot, but now, OMG, clearly the guy has worked, he is shooting about 48% overall and 44% from 3pt range - and playing excellent D, with very nice ball skills - Early Projection - borderline All star - maybe on the cusp - Eric Gordon style. 3. Green - A quandary, as his athleticism is elite, but his overall skillset is lacking. His handle is average, his shooting is average, and his defense is really bad. He needs to get stronger - but he has probably the biggest upside out of everyone. Early Projection - All Star Scorer - though it will take longer than the 2 above him as he is the furthest away developmentally. 4. Garuba - Well, not much to see here other than G-league stuff, and he hustles and plays great defense but his offense is - generously saying a work in progress. Early projection - Defensive role player. Those are where I rank the current 4 rookies and going to toss in a few other younger players for fun, in no particular order. Kevin Porter jr - A developing scoring pg, has all the size and skill you need, but does he have the motor and mental control to be able to harness all his gifts? Early Projection - Borderline All star. Armani Brooks - A sniper, loving the way he is cutting to the basket more and finishing, still is a bit streaky for me, but overall a solid player - Early projection - a solid NBA scorer - not quite CJ McCullum, but that is the peak. Garrison Mathews - Gritty, hard nosed 3 and D player, needs to cut more in the lane and get a little better at passing, but a solid solid player - Early Projection - NBA starter - 3pt shooting winner. K Martin Jr - Being only 6'6" and playing PF, needs to work on his handles, but he has incredible talent and he fights like a dog.....he can be a power SF in the line of Sean Marion - Early Projection - SF Starter - borderline all star. J. Tate - Wow - just a dog on the court and being a left handed inside power SF/SG is a major advantage - a very solid NBA player for years. Early Projection - Solid starter. So, those are my early projections - and I think we have a majorly bright future. GO ROCKETS !!! DD
lock nwaba in the gym for a month and make him do nothing except just shoot 3 pointers... i bet you any money hell come out of gym an allstar just if you have the right supervision silas is not the smartest coach but for this exercise you just need to be vigilant and patient
I'm fascinated what it is about KMJ that has multiple posters projecting his ceiling as anything close to 'near-AllStar' ..? He looks like Derrick Jones 2.0 to me, at best ... And that's if he can become a versatile perimeter defender like Jones has I think KMJ's hops will always make him an exciting player with all the dunks and blocks But I don't even see him becoming a regular starter anywhere Quality rotation bench guy at best ... And even then only if he consistently hits the corner 3 and learns to defend on the perimeter
With all these All-Stars and borderline All-Stars, the Rockets will have a 60-win team in like 2-3 seasons! In all seriousness, though, I appreciate the optimism, and I think a lot of these guys will pan out as starters to above average starters. Just know that some of them won't, and that's to be expected. Of this year's draft, if you get one franchise guy, one borderline All-Star and one rotational role player out of the four, the Rockets should consider that a huge win. Of the rest of the guys, like KPJ, Tate, Martin and Mathews, you'd be happy if a couple became average to above average starters to quality rotational pieces on a contender.
I never said all of these guys would BE All stars or even borderline, I think many of them have the raw potential to do so, but the chances of even most of them making it are slim. The only ones I'd hang my hat on hitting the ceilings I listed are Sengun, Green and Tate.
