its because the team's 2nd pick near max numero uno SG disappeared for 6 out of 7 games. Especially the final game.
You never know KPJ is a free agent, his skill set of dribble creation is missing on this team and Stone loves him and he is cheap, just saying…. DD
Kerr adjusted. It was always a personel issue for the Rockets. You drafted a "generational" scorer that is so one dimensional he dies when you funnel him left and slightly crowd him at the 3 point line. You drafted a "generational" shooter that is afraid to shoot and cant dribble 3 years in. Kerr basically gave FVV no room yesterday. That was it. Amen and Sengun did what they could but it wasn't that Ime got outclassed. He got out playered. And that begins with Jalen Green and ends with Jabari Smith Jr. They have both been utter failures 3 and 4 years into their careers.
Some of it was coaching. Jabari was good in this series and barely played. Aaron didn't get hardly any minutes when the team desperately needed shooting. And Ime in both Games 1 and 7(which played out very similarly) insisted in the first half on playing double big lineups that featured almost no one reliable from downtown. And to no one's shock, they defended well, but struggled in both games to score.
Jabari cant dribble. The Warriors crowd him, he starts to dribble and has to give it up. He's easy to defend outside of pick and pops. He's not there yet. The double bigs is essentially the Terror Twins. Offense generated from second chance points. Bandaid fix for a non existent offense. Everything should be on the table this offseason. Amen is the only safe one. Sengun is probably safe unless for the right deal. The Rockets desperately need a reliable shooting guard or wing that can score off the dribble. That's what's missing. Devin Booker, Brandon Miller, etc. Someone like that. Kon Knueppel is that this draft but I dont see us getting a Top 4 pick nor do I see us trading up for it. I wouldnt mind picking up Naz Reid and running FVV/Amen/Jabari/Naz/Sengun next year. Essentially Jabari at the 3. Trade the rest of them to Miami for Herro or to Indiana for Mathurin/Walker.
Cade Cunningham: 25, 8, and 9 in his 1st ever playoff series Jalen Green: 13, 5, and 3 if he still thinks this is some sort of rivalry, he better stop it now
Jalen Green having no Aaron Holiday, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith to stretch the floor with their 3 point shooting hurt Jalen Green. The Zone Defense really hurt Jalen Green not being able to drive to a open lane layup or pass to a open shooter. Ime Udoka Coaching ruined the Offense. Steven Adams and Dillon Adams taking brick shots in the 1st Quarter. When Jalen Green is on the bench and Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun are not even attempting a Shot. What the Hell is Ime Udoka doing. Amateur thread, who don't know basketball. Learn Sign 3 players that can shoot.
Fred VanVleet - Decline, Use money on other, or pickup option and trade for LaMelo Ball Steven Adams - Limited Move On Aaron Holiday - Too short for Ime JaeSean Tate - Ime doesn't care Dillon Brooks, Cam Whitmore need to be traded Myles Turner - Starter at C, Sengun at PF Quentin Grimes - Starting SF Naz Reid Dorian Finney Smith - Backup SF Nickeil Alexander-Walker - Backup SF Tim Hardaway Jr. - Backup SG Malik Beasley - Backup SG
Again, I'm not defending Jalen at all. We have no offensive sets. Ime doesn't adjust. It's a free for all basically on offense. No half court offense to speak of. Everyone outside of Amen was terrible and we got embarrassed on our home court. We didn't even show up. That's coaching too. When FFV started terrible in the series everyone wanted him gone. I think Jalen's time here has definitely come to an end and he needs to be traded. There's no question about that. I said that all season and didn't like the contract. That said, if we don't bring in someone who can close a game and an offensive assistant we aren't going to win in the playoffs. We didn't see what we have in Reed and Cam certainly isn't the answer
I hope you're joking. If not you're absolutely delusional. His skill set is being a ream cancer, ballhog and beating up women. How anyone could support that guy is beyond me lt alone want him back here
Added some goodies above. Cade Cunningham really bloomed. Jalen Green really wilted. Their paydays reflect that.
You all do realize he's 23 much like most of the main guys on this team and this was their first playoff experience? Let them continue to grow and don't do panic moves. This team will be great in 2 years and I hope all the main young guys are still here to see it.
Completely agree. Jabari not being able to dribble is a problem. I will say that he's been misused. Jalen's only improvement has been on defense but he has to go. Silas and KPJ wasted his early development. This offseason is extremely important. Stone has his work cut out for him
Valid point. I just couldn't believe anyone could suggest KPJ back here. That's probably the dumbest thing I've read on this board and that's saying something
everyone develops at their own pace. Green's potential is higher than thompson offensively. I wouldn't get rid of Green in a panic move for an older guy who won't help us win the title in the next 2 years and then see Green become a superstar somewhere else but that's just me. Sengun wasn't great in this series either let's not kid ourselves, only Thompson proved he's going to be a beast from this point forward.
Year 4 Jalen Green experiment is in the books! I've been on the fence regarding Jalen for a very long time, but I'm now 100% convinced that it's time for him to go!! All we needed from him was to play average in this series and not disappear and we'd be advancing to the second round. He averaged 13.2pts on 35.4 FG% in the series and if you take away the 38pt outlier he averaged 9.1pts on 32.5 FG% a game!! ....... ....... .......
Virgin playoff jitters is a real thing. I'm not saying his SGA. But even SGA scored 16 pts on 13 FGAs. That was OKC vs Houston 2020. Had 3 awful games and a bad one in 7 game series. Y'all want the finish product of what this team will be in two more seasons right now. And it has never worked that way.
