I wanted a big guard for defensive depth in the backcourt. And Stone delivered. This is not some earth shattering deal. But I like it. I wish they didn't sign Capela and found a better choice than Okogie for this purpose. Ime can finally sleep knowing that we have stockpiles of long defensive players at every position.
Did I say he'll be our offensive savior? I just said let's not draw too many conclusions on his crappy SL performance and his +/- stats. Context matters.
This is a really good signing. He's been a rotation player on multiple good teams. Really strong defender with crazy long arms. He hit just under 35% from three last season which wasn't much worse than Jabari Smith, for example. His role on offense will be to take wide-open 3 pointers and grab some offensive rebounds. I think he's a little more athletic than Jae'Sean Tate but they're fairly interchangeable defensively. He was among the best unrestricted free agents remaining and will be around the 11th guy in the rotation. He's overqualified for that. This is a really nice signing. He can help us win a couple of games during the regular season if we have some injuries within our wing rotation. Contenders make moves like these. Rafael Stone continues to make contending moves.
He wasn't always double teamed. Again...lets not get into JOF territory with Reed. He was getting checked by dudes he shouldn't be getting checked by. I think he's athletic enough and smart enough to beat guys without always needing a screen or needing to pick up his dribble. He also gambles too much for steals. My worry is that opposing defenses are going to be able to crowd him with single coverage and he's not going to be able to deal with it. I'm high on Reed but I'm not super pleased with how he's looked at times relative to where I think he should be. He needs to "get over it". Kinda like Jabari. They both need to grow up. Sengun and Amen did it in their second years. Jalen never did it at all. Hopefully he looks better whenever he's 5th on the list of things to worry about instead of 1st.
He wasn't always doubled, but he was getting the Steph Curry treatment, something he definitely wasn't ready for....and something that almost certainly never happens to him this season. I think he's a guy that feels much more comfortable using picks to get open at this point in his career, which is understandable, but there was no one willing or able to set picks for him in Summer League....and no one to pass to that could make even a layup. I saw things I liked during his 2 Summer League games, and plenty I didn't, but what happens in the real games is what matters. Put some real NBA talent around him, and I think it allows him to operate. Sheppard coming off of soul crushing screens set by Adams will feed families against bench units. Also, it's imortant to remember, that all we're expecting from 21 year old Reed Sheppard is for him to be a backup PG. No one is expecting him to go 1 on 5 and be "the guy"....and no one should expect that. He's not that kind of player.
Okay. You are projecting a lot about what you think he should be doing right now. Your opinion is noted. I don't disagree with much of what you said but I'm saying it's premature to draw conclusions based on SL play. That is all. I got blasted last season before the playoffs started for saying FVV's play was irrelevant against the Warriors. The Rockets needed JG to average 30ppg. If Jalen did that, FVV's play would be irrelevant. JG did that exactly once. The rest is history. So now I'm going on record for saying that Reed needs to average >20mpg. If he can't consistently do that by the trade deadline, they need to move on. Last season, they moved on within a few weeks.
I hear you, but they aren't moving Reed if he can't get 20 mpg by midseason. The Rockets can afford to be a bit patient with Reed as Cam was a different case due to attitude and mental makeup.
I think both Stone and Ime are in agreement that the main identity of the Rockets will be defensive as it has been our greatest strength based on many of the players we drafted. We are still flexible enough to maneuver for a minor offensive upgrade mid season.
Pretty much. Im nitpicking but my patience wears thinner year over year. It's Summer League and stuff I've seen before pretty much supersedes anything he did there so the point is moot. Lets just see him with the actual team and with a longer leash (which it certainly seems like he'll get) and we can go from there. Im expecting 20+ MPG and I dont think its too crazy to expect 38-42% from 3. Due to his shot diet and his ability to score from anywhere, I'm a little bit more bullish on his PPG totals this year. Maybe 12-15. Something like 15/4/4 on 45/39/90 wouldn't surprise me.
I'm not sure about volume, but I'll be disappointed if he gets 20 minutes per game and shoots worse than 38% from 3.
I'm expecting adding Durant will impact the offense more than all the defensive additions help the defense (other than not playing Jalen Green).
IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: This is the first time I’ve seen or heard anyone use the word “cruddy” this century.
Durant replacing Green in the starting lineup will upgrade the offense for sure. Ime will have to be creative in how to fit Durant on defense. He's not going to take Jalen's place. That's Amen's job now. At the 3-4 spots, Amen + Brooks will turn into Durant + X. I think Amen will be that X part of the time. When that happens, someone has to take the 2 spot on defense.
For a team that has championship aspirations, point of attack defenders for the end of the bench are more valuable than shooting guards. They just are. As many people have said in this thread, the team really, really wants to see what they have in Amen and Reed. We shall see. I think Stone and Ime built a roster than can win a championship while retaining flexibility in the salary cap, players and draft capital to go after the next big fish that becomes available. They have depth at the wing and center positions even if they have to move many of them. The gnashing of teeth over the Rockets not obtaining the Luke Kennards, Gary Trents, or Seth Currys of the world is funny to me.
I get that this is a heavy semantics question, but to try to avoid back and forth.... I expect most of Amen's minutes will be with a PG, 2 of DFS, Durant, JSJ, and Tari, and 1 of Sengun, Adams, and Capela; or a guard, 1 of DFS, Durant, JSJ, and Tari, and 2 of Sengun, Adams, and Capela. I expect non-Amen minutes will be similar with FVV and either Sheppard, Holiday, Okogie, or 1 of DFS, Durant, JSJ, and Tari in for Amen.
Some additional perspective of this signing surrounding KD “Houston has really constructed a roster I’ve always wanted to see for KD. A bunch of defensive-minded, athletic, S tier offensive rebounders to ‘go get that **** off the glass’ while the Slim Reaper cooks in the half court. You have Fred to organize, limit turnovers, and get the rock to KD. Okogie is an underrated backup player in the league. He’s an elite defensive playmaker and provides even more offensive rebounding for the Rockets. In ‘24 Okogie was top of the league for his position. KD simply doesn’t offensive rebound. How much this aspect of his game hurts his lineup’s offensive rating depends on the personnel around him. After all he plays the 4 and the average 4 is providing some value in that area. If you surround him with a bunch of skinny shooting guards who also don’t rebound, his weakness is magnified because no one’s picking up the slack in that area so to speak. When your teammates are dawgs on the glass it’s less of an issue. Last year Rockets set an ORB% record relative to league average. They picked up Capela and Okogie for even more elite ORB depth You now have players with ORB%s of: Steven Adams 22% (goat ORB peak) Capela: 15-18% Sengun ~11% Tari Eason: 9% Amen Thompson: 8.5% Okogie: ~8%”
