It appeared that the game plan in the first quarter was to get Jalen going early as there were several sets that looked like they were designed to get him good looks and he made them. The kid can get that mid-range shot whenever he wants similar to FVV off that Sengun PNR. I too was surprised that they didn't come back to it at least a bit in the 4th. It's growth though. They played better on both sides of the ball this game and agree that it will take time for this team to get to adjusted.
Nope. Not at all, they are not outliers they are the norm for the past decade, at least. Let' see; 6/10 MVPs 7/10 NBA Titles The "sure things" in that span: 1/10 MVPs (Durant in 2014) 4/10 NBA titles (KD 2, Lebron 2) I hate that line of thinking. Let's keep losing until we get some genetic freak, physically, that'd be the sure thing...
If you think Curry is the norm, I wonder why there are not more generational shooters. If you think Giannis is the norm, I wonder why there are not more Nigerian 7 footers coming over and dominate. And why there are not more 7 footers playing like Jokic and outsmart anyone in the league without making any mistakes. I can see more Chets and Wembys in the future though, that could become a thing for young players to emulate.
You're missing the point: The NORM for NBA TopDOGs over the past 10 years has been players with limitations who were underestimated at the beginning of their career. That's the point. It's not the genetic freaks that have dominated the league. Granted, all NBA players have otherworldly talent, including all of our youngsters. But among them who will rise as TopDog hasn't been determined by physical attributes at 19-20 years of age...
But you underestimate that European players are fundamentally sound from the start, something a lot of American players just did not possess. They already played a greater style of basketball that does not rely on any athleticism. But yeah, if you play more FIBA ball, you can train yourself. International coaches hired as assistants here to learn more about the NBA and insert some of their input.
Yeah, we knew he has no clue how to play defense when we drafted him into a team where not a single player developed defensively the past two years. What were you expecting would happen in the past two weeks? Or are you also shocked that Sengun and Jabari are behind on their development? There’s a price to tanking brutally the way we did. The price is stalled development. So if we draft 19 yr olds who lack the basics and don’t develop them, they’re going to still lack basics 2 games into starting the development. Have you noticed Sengun, Jabari, Tari, Christopher, Garuba, Tyty and Nix didn’t make any progress on defense since their first couple of months in the NBA? Did you notice our vets actually regressed defensively the past two years? Did you see the difference between them and the young players Popovic developed? Why do you think that is? Any player with 0 defensive fundamentals will need months and years to develop. If we had tanked like teams normally do and had hired a good development coach, we would be two YEARS into this by now. But we’re not. We’re practically at ground zero. Jalen is not late, the team is late > and in exchange we got higher draft picks. It is what it is.
I'd be curious if there is a possibility to get Giddey. He's very intriguing but is flawed (slow and poor shooter) and the fit with SGA is defo very awkward...
He’s a project at the NBA level. It’s extremely hard to catch up to even being somewhat average if you are so far behind the curve to start. Hope Ime can turn him around and I hope that the Rockets don’t just give him an extension without significant progress this year. My main concern is his shooting and finishing more than his defense. We knew his defense was weak but he isn’t showing he can be a league average with his efficiency. Hope he can get back to his rookie year finishing at nearly 68% within 3 feet. Last year that dropped significantly to 59%. Still a lot of basketball left but he’s off to a rough start this year in that regard.
Moved this from the Cam thread to the Green thread, didn't want to derail the conversation there. I've seen absolutely nothing that screams Max Contract. That doesn't appear to be for a lack of effort on his part as he has been in the gym the last two offseasons trying to work on the things he needs to improve upon. That work just hasn't translated to the court .... No, you don't give him the max but you let him hit restricted free agency and see what the market for him is. I'm not sure a team would offer him the $12m he's due next season without significant improvement between now and then. The kid is so young by NBA standards, I just don't think you can give up on him at the conclusion of next year unless he is a total disaster, especially if you can get him at a discounted rate in RFA. Worst case he becomes a trade piece, best case he figures it out. That does not mean continue to give him the bulk of the minutes .... If things don't change sooner than later, maybe you start giving some of those minutes to Cam & Amen.
This team is a heavy work in progress and that kids is also work in progress, I am not even sure which teams would even consider him in RFA because he is still to 50% a blank slate.' You have to be defined to help another team. Half a blank page after 2 and half years.
Agreed you don't extend him -- plus, by letting him hit RFA, you get an extra year of evaluation to see what kind of player he is on the trajectory to become. But when you start looking at a guy in this vein, it also becomes time to start evaluating trade possibilities -- and, it is getting about that time with Jalen.
Probably prudent to let the market decide, he has not been mentioned much by other teams or GMs during those polls they do about younger guys. GMs have had a chance to get a lot of looks at him, I think it is very different from an OKC/Harden situation where he was coming off the bench and competing with KD and Russ for touches, and Houston was able to swoop in. McGrady also played 3 seasons coming off the bench in Toronto before he was given the keys in Orlando. GMs will know what they are getting come extension time given Green has been given a lot of freedom and minutes, If we end up trading him, I think there is less chance he ends up being a TMac or Harden type player that got traded before we saw the true potential.
