Comment only on your personal observations. This is going to probably eliminate half the posters since they don’t watch the games. Personal bias will run rampant, but that’s half the fun.
You had 100% posts in this thread prior to me. It was 2/2 from what I recall but I think now it’s 2/3
Durant puts up points effortlessly. Looks like he drops 20 but he really has 30. Sengun hesitates on too many open 3 looks. Amen lower fg% is due to trying to do too many acrobatic layups Bari bringing the ball up the court is terrifying to watch.
Good observations. At least statistically Sengun did try more 3pt attempts so far.. But he certainly can try and take some more open-looks shots.
My observations: - removing 3 bad shooters and giving those shots to Durant, Jabari and Reed was a good idea. - Durant falls asleep on D a lot. - Sengun's flamingo still sucks - Jabari looks completely different this year. - Tari looks like a permanent defensive 6th man. - Okogie is better in the Dillon role than Dillon was - KD and Sengun together is like FVV and Sengun on steroids and HGH and cocaine.
This team has the talent of a championship contender with one big obvious glaring hole. Get a PG and move Amen back to his swiss army knife role and this team can compete with anyone.
Love how Bari is developing on both ends of the court! Sengun can play physical - but seems to shrink after he gets knocked around a bit... Adams is a beast! Reed seems to do better with the guys in the second unit...
Eye test on Bari, Sengun, Tari and Amen tells me that all of them have improved their shooting. Eye test tells me KD has not fallen off. Eye test tells me Adams is fully healthy. Eye test tells me Reed is a huge defensive liability (and I’m not hating on Reed). Eye test tells me ball handing and turnovers remain a significant vulnerability.
Chemistry, that elusive and ever so important element to winning teams. I knew it was going to take some time, but even though we aren't 100% there yet, we are really developing a nice chemistry while winning. It has come along much faster, the guys are all unselfish, sharing the ball, and helping each other on defense - we have the deepest team in the league, even our 10-15 guys are close to rotation level, much more than most teams. I figured December we will take off, but I no longer think we will STRUGGLE while we build that chemistry, I think this team has something special, and our ceiling is Championship contender. It is going to be a fun ride, and by the end of the year, Reed and Shephard will be easily able to handle 100% of the PG minutes. Either we break our all time regular season win total, or we will be darned close (assuming healthy) DD
Adams looks renewed, moving much faster laterally. Eason is more under control but also a bit timid, as if he’s afraid of getting injured or making mistakes. He’s still evolving.
The Rockets offense has periods of fast play, but the strengths of the team are things that slow the pace down, Specifically: Size pushing guys around to get rebounds; Durant taking his time to get his shot; Sengun manipulating the defense; Not settling for bad shots; Playing transition defense. Double big lineup has been amazing. I don't trust the zone defense, but it is hilarious watching guys literally trying to tackle Adams to keep him off the glass. It has been brief, but the Amen, Okogie, and Tari switching defense has been fun the past few games after a rough start. Sengun and Amen are getting even better at reading each other. It s really fun watching those two feed off of each other's BB IQ. Amen and Sengun still aren't on the page always with Durant. In other words, there have been a few passes that Durant just wasn't expecting. I noticed often in Phoenix that Booker and Durant did the your turn, mine turn thing. Durant hasn't gotten used to that the ball could come at hiim at any moment with Sengun and Amen so no guaranteed time won't end up as his turn. Teams haven't figured out how to guard Durant and defend Sengun at the same time. Quite a few times, Durant's man collapses on Sengun. Also, people that fear stats generally are those who let their biases affect what they "see" as they don't like their narratives questioned by what actually has happened and what has been measured. I get that stats can be misnamed and misinterpreted. Teams are fouling the Rockets a lot because they just can't handle the size. Conversely, the Rockets are fouling a lot less, and getting called even less often. I'm guessing Boston and Detroit fans were yelling for foul calls during the game with how often their teams were called for fouls. Tari is looking healthy. Seems to have more lift on his drives making layups easier. He is like the only Rocket not getting respect from the refs. I can't remember the game, but it took Tari slamming into the same defender who was not in legal guarding position three times before the foul was called. Chaos defense seems a little reined in so far. JSJ, like Tari, has gotten better at pushing smaller guys around. Only issue is that he still settles too often for a medium range two when he just is not automatic like Durant from that range.
