There are people with very strong basketball opinions who spend a lot of time speaking ill of Green who don't even know the difference between an iso possession and pnr possession. If you are a person who spends a lot of time ******** on Green and follow that up with "he runs a lot of iso" then you have given any person with any basic basketball knowledge a reason to just ignore your opinions about basketball. That's okay. Maybe you know differential equations a lot more and are good at that. Talk about that then in another forum. Not understanding basic basketball concepts is pretty low on the list of things to be shameful about so it's not a big deal expect for the fact how confident some of you people are about your takes.
Was yelling this at the top of my lungs in January and February. It made no sense playing that slow with this many athletes on the roster. However, you have to cut Udoka some slack. This team was severely lacking in fundamentals in training camp so to bring turnovers down and make defense easier, he went with a slow pace to start the season. He already acknowledged we should be playing with more pace and space. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe all of Jalen's post-ASB offensive outbursts came after tweaks to the starting lineup that allowed a faster pace and more space. It's very obvious to me that if you surround him with 4 shooters, he will get to the rim at an elite level. That's a very helpful tool in the playoffs. However, to become an elite scorer he has to be way better in the half court. The key to that is his jumper. He has to be a threat both at the rim and at the 3PT line so that his quickness becomes deadly to his defender. I believe we'll see that this season.
It was for sure a season of installs. Udoka could have just said "run your ass off up and down" and likely we would have still won a fair share of games because we have one of the best accumulations of raw athletes in the NBA. Teaching them HOW to play the game and more importantly building the chemistry among them so that they know where each of them flourishes and perfecting set play execution was imperative. It was still annoying AF to see this team being driven like an F450 with a speed limiter instead of dropping the clutch to 2nd gear on a supercar more often, but with hindsight its easier to tolerate. THIS year the guys need to be looking to run as much as possible while still being committed to getting Sengun his post touches. Jalen needs space. Makes no sense to have the best first step in the NBA if you're just going to run into waves of defenders. We can design a nice balance of post and space with the roster. Getting out and running in transition will be key this year. Get that rebound and run! Jalen needs to shoot better no doubt about it. Im hoping he can finish better within 6 feet of the rim and add a short floater to his bag.
Jalen does have a tendency to blow layups. He gets there and then does something fancy or has to adjust mid air and they're not going in at a rate we need them to go in at. I think you're right that dunks are not part of that equation because they are typically a high converting opportunity. We dont see Jalen blowing many dunks. You can spin stats in any direction and reach some sensational conclusions I would agree. I would push that 'rim' metric out to 6 feet as thats the range I typically see addressed when comparing. Jalen with a little floater in that range would be ideal.
I will be furious if Ime lets FVV revert back to dribble, dribble and dribble some more. Transition and keeping the ball moving fast even in the half court is key or this team.
A explosive line up of Green, Cam, Amen, Tari and Adams would be the ultimate fast break line up. Adams because dude is one hell of a outlet passer off of defensive boards. Also he is one of the best players in the league in boxing out on defense which increases transition possessions as it prevents opponents getting offensive rebounds. Ime should use that line up when the offense is being too slow. Give a little injection of explosion to wake the offense up.
There will likely be a lot of FVV and Sengun half court possessions because those are the only competent ball handlers in the starting lineup. The goal is to win games
I think both Jalen and Amen will get a bigger share of PnR possessions than last year, but yes, FVV/Sengun will get most.
What is like to see is with the starting unit, where Fred and Jalen are in the backcourt, Jalen basically takes up the ball handling possessions that Fred had last season and Fred plays more of a off ball role and when Fred goes to the beach to rest, Amen gets his reps in at PG to see how he does.
That would be a mistake unless both of them improve dramatically over what they were last season. Amen needs to be more in a dunker role eating up boards and feasting on putbacks and cuts, Jalen needs to learn how to shoot a basketball so he can provide some spacing for his teammates and actually be a shooting guard. Let the competent ball handlers handle the ball.
If you assume that neither will improve this year, then you’re right. I think both will improve. Whether Jalen improves enough to get his extension is the biggest question the Rockets have to answer.
The Thunder had ridiculous efficiency from the 3 point line last year and weren't taken seriously by teams until later on in the season. If you look at the prognosticators a year ago, none of them had the Thunder anywhere near the top of the West. We'll see if they can replicate their success. If the Rockets made the same jump in efficiency that the Thunder did, Jalen Green would be a 40% 3 point shooter, Jabari a 45% 3 point shooter, and Dillon a 39% 3 point shooter. If those were the Rockets numbers from 3 this year, we are comfortably a Top 4 team in the West. Reed has a good opportunity here. He's only going to be a 3 point shooter but due to his gravity, might have the chances to put the ball on the floor and kill teams with his mid range. He's kinda like bizarro Jalen, doesn't take a shot unless it's a good one and squared up. Jalen's shot diet is the most difficult shot diet available. Through February of last season Jalen shot 34/126 27.0% on *wide open 3s*. Meaning a 3 where the closest defender was 6 feet away. I'd love to see his shot diet through his Linsanity run to see where the points came from and how defended he was. I'm sure the Rockets have and I'm dying to see what adjustments Ime has made to solve the "Jalen Green problem". I.E. try to structure the game plan to try and unlock him more or just keep the ball out of his hands altogether until he proves he can hit an open 3 pointer.
You don't know the difference between a pnr and iso possession. This is really rudimentary analysis. It's just starting at 3 pt fg% and caring about that only and not understanding any other aspect of a offense. Also NBA shot tracker is not reliable for counting what is open vs wide open vs contested. It's really bad at tracking that specifically. There are a lot of step back threes from Green that are counted as "wide open". We've been over this pretty actually.
Most players are better ball handlers than Green. His combination of a hilariously low BBIQ, inability to shoot a basketball, poor court vision, loose handle, and tenancy to go straight up and get blocked at the rim make him actively detrimental to the team when he's handling the ball. He's essentially half a step ahead of Cam as a rookie.
I think the difference is that you assume massive improvement (that hasn't yet occurred in 3 years already) and I take them for what they are. If you're right and both come out as completely different players, my opinion will change with that new information... but I'm not going on blind faith.
I'd play Tari (or Jabari) as the 5 in this lineup and insert Reed Sheppard who is great in transition and getting the ball up court in a hurry. Reed/Jalen/Amen/Cam/Tari (or Jabari) Good luck with that NBA.
True but people underestimate how important the box out part is to a transition offense. Adams clearing out opponents allowing someone like Jalen or Amen to nab a board and use their elite speed to run up the court with the ball or Adams grabbing the board himself and using his great outlet passing skills can be a great starting point for a fast break offense. The Rockets with Tari or Jabari at center is going to lead to a lot of offensive rebounds for the opposing team because neither of them are anywhere close to how good Adams is at boxing out.
It will take a few years, I am in no urge to suggest they get it right away.....but yeah a Top 12 to Top 15 Offense should be the goal in the next 2 years. The Thunder have a top organization in the smallest of markets with the Top GM in the whole league so no comparison in that regard.
