Ime is not the best Xs and Os guy, he keeps leaning into individual talent that doesn't quite fit together and it is choking at times against horrible teams - Dallas, Pelicans, Utah..... Because he insists on playing KD as initiator - teams double team him and he is a bad passer - and it results in turnovers, but it is more that that, look at whom Ime has in the actions with KD. Steven Adams is a NON FACTOR late in games on offense, teams have a FREE MAN to help double KD because when KD passes it to the screener - Adams - he can't do anything - at all. He is a waste of space late in games unless you need a rebound - BAD COACHING. There are only 2 to 3 that should be in the high PnR with Durant. The two best are Amen and Reed - they can get the defense rotating and move the ball to the wide open man usually in the corner. Alpi can also be used depending on the other team's matchup with him if they have an athletic big, that is good at moving their feet, should not use Alpi in that action as we don't create a mismatch or advantage. The biggest issue is Ime - he just doesn't trust Amen or Reed enough, they are by far the two best options late in games, and honestly, REED is the best by far, think of Stockton setting the screen for Malone...... Ime needs help, because this version of him is a terrible offensive coach, teams have figured out that all you have to do is double the ball, when Adams is on the floor because he is very bad on offense. Yet, here we are trying to lean into player who aren't good at something - like a 37 year old Durant being asked to create all the shots late, he is HORRIBLE at it.....use the young guys that can beat their man off the dribble...... I hope he figures it out soon, I am tired of us losing to teams that are tanking. DD
Ime might not be the greatest offensive coach in the world, but there’s a reason why PG is arguably the most important position in the NBA if you don’t have an adequate one, you’re kinda fcked…and we simply don’t there’s a reason why someone as mediocre as FVV had such outsized impact on this team the last 2 years
Yesterday, KD got doubled a lot. He got the ball to Adams who forced a third defender to guard him. A 4th defender guarded the statue of Jabari. The 5th defender somehow covered Amen and Okogie. It was bad coaching, but it was not Adams's fault Okogie and Amen could either not get open or knock down open threes.
This team has like 4 westbrook level shooters. Then again thats also ime's fault since those are the type of players he begs for
Ime is a great motivator, but is hard headed... won't recognize his limitations. He definitely needs an offensive assistant ASAP (which wouldn't happen until the end of the year), AND another ball handler/playmaker in the interim to compliment Reed if he's not gong to trust him yet...a Brogdon type....no need to break the bank.
You are right CP3 would help a LOT in these situations, but unless we can get him, we need to let Amen and Reed figure it out....we can't rely on a geriatric 37 year old Durant, he is a finisher, a shooter, not a creator. DD
CP3?? Have y’all seen him play this season? He’s cooked well done he’s finished people keep offering up these non-solutions for our biggest issue…Chris Paul, Keon Ellis, etc as for guys like Amen, it’s a waste of time trying to make him be something he’s not…How many times in NBA history has a clear non-PG been turned into an adequate starting PG? Reed Sheppard is very questionable as well when it comes to running a team if the Rockets are going to address the PG situation, they need to do so in a serious manner
Reed is the better ball handler in pick n roll than Amen...the problem is Reed continues to pick up his dribble early and not trusting his instincts within the flow of the game. My solution: Reed needs to start so he can continue to get those in-game reps to build continuity with the starters. Who cares if he gets in foul trouble when Aaron Holiday is shooting the ball well. Ime leans more into the defensive guys getting more minutes. If this is Ime's philosophy for the team, we'll be just fine when we get DFS and Tari in rotation. Its an obvious weakness in our team that we have a deficiency in playmaking guards. I still believe our team is better when Amen is at the 4 and not playing point guard.
Jackson Gatlin said it in his response to the Pelicans game and I think it echoes this thread. Reed needs to start and Amen needs to go back to doing what he does best. I won’t make his argument for him but the highest level arguments I remember are 1. double big isn’t helping anyone anymore it just clogs everything up on offense and 2. Amen needs to go back to doing what he does best 3. It’s on Ime to learn to hide Reed defensively like the Warriors did during Steph’s first few seasons while he figured it out. And it seems to me Reed is already better than Steph was (though I wasn’t the Warriors game to game except the playoffs).
Correct. Currently our halfcourt offense is two iso scoring PF's who can't/won't take 3's, with two non-shooters in the paint and Jabari in the opposite corner. The sea level of NBA offense has risen too high for this to be viable for a real contending team. We take fewer pull up 3's than any team has for a decade. Seems obvious that at some point the offense needs to be [lead guard] + Sengun two man action on one side, with KD (or future KD replacement) as the second-side creator, Amen in the dunker, and Jabari in the corner. But CP3 or Jose Alvarado or Ayo Dosunmu are not lead guards for contenders. And it can't be a weak defender because KD and Sengun are already on the floor.
It's just laughable what people come up with because they are just wrong about basketball... "An easy fix".... If it was easy then it would be happening.... If someone could run decent PNR then it would be happening.... If we had an overall level have consistent playmakers.... then it would be happening.... Our big lineup is because our active roster just isn't good enough right now.
Been saying it for a while now, but the Rockets need to start either Reed and live with the growing pains. For this season (and maybe beyond) this team's highest ceiling/best outlook is with Reed playing pg. Doesnt matter if it looks bad at times. Stick with it for this season because there really arent many other options that have the potential reward of starting Reed. Theres not many realistic trades out there and its foolish to hope for some unexpected buyout candidate. Reed shouldve been playing and developing as the starting pg the moment Fred went down. All this double big/ quadruple wing stuff is a waste of time and has diminishing returns.
Well i agree that isnt hard to fix... Tell Sengun and Amen to stop shooting 3s until they get better at it... Tell Bari to stay in his lane and quit trying to exert himself - he's there for low lying fruit... Tell KD he needs to be selfish and command the ball... Tell guys somebody needs to move to KD when he gets doubled so he has an outlet pass... Dont expect anything from Reed - he's a developmental project and he aint there yet... Okogie and Holiday are there to take open looks - not drive. Sengun needs to quit crying and flopping and man-up. When guys get beat, they need to rotate to the open man - not wait around trying to get a block from behind.
you talk as if this season is a throwaway and that this team has a very long window. Kevin durant is 37 and steven adams who apparently this team is built around is 32 and already doesnt play back to backs. Not to mention there are younger teams with more upside coming up as well
