Silas mismanaged KJ last year - it is what it is. I don’t blame KJ for wanting out. I hope this puts a chip on his shoulder for camp although we all know Gordon will be starting at the 3. I don’t see any minutes for KJ and I expect Garry to play ahead of him too. Tate shouldn’t be playing more minutes than KJ this year either. Unless his 3 ball has improved drastically over the summer.
Eason is our small forward of the future. KJM and Tate are both role players at best. Unfortunately, Silas will bring Tari along very slowly as he did Sengun. Gordan or Tate will start and both will get 20+ mins per game until at least the all-star break. I doubt KJM makes it to the regular season on this team. I also think he’s an end of the bench player for most teams. Tate’s defense is overrated, and at 6’4”, foul prone, and poor 3 pt shooter, he is barely a rotation player for a contending team. He’ll get plenty of run this year, but he’ll be way down the pecking order in 2024.
Eason is older and, from summer league, seems in much better physical condition than Sengun was as a rookie, their adjustment periods will not be the same. He'll probably foul a ton though. Jabari Smith Jr is blocking his minutes as a rookie more than anything else, and that's fine.
Jabari will be playing PF, Center. Eason has the ability to play SF, PF. It is Tate that will be taking his minutes. Gordon should be our 6th man and Eason should start from the get go. If he gets in foul trouble so be it. The whole Sengun has 3 fouls so he has to sit the rest of the game was bs from the start. What difference does it make if a rookie fouls out? Tari should be getting 20+ mins from the get go, but just like Sengun he will not. Tate and Sengun on the floor is not a good idea. Tate is a ball stopper and should not be taking a role as a facilitator. Silas needs to take control this year and put in actual offensive and defensive sets. Maybe, just maybe, that will stop Tate and KPJ from dominating the ball. We have 3 facilitators KPJ, Sengun, and Green. I think this is Silas’ chance to prove he is an NBA caliber coach. With this talent, young or not, if the Rockets don’t make demonstrative steps forward this year, he should be fired. For the record, I am not a hater. I hope he succeeds.
Tate can be a useful role player. Silas has a chance to show he knows how to rotate players in and out and create matchup wins for the Rockets. If he is the offensive genius he was reported to be, this is the year to prove it. One of Green or Porter should be in at all times. In reality we don’t even need a backup center. KPJ, Green, Tari, Jabari, Sengun, Gordon, Tate, JGup, and KJM should give Silas ample opportunity to go big, small, or in between. If our defense improves and we aren’t taking the ball out of the basket all the time, we will be an incredible team in transition, and, if used properly KPJ, Green, and Sengun can initiate the offense at any given time.
Imo he has to learn how to shoot in order to be a productive role player, and even then we're talking about a bench player. He simply can't overcome his physical shortcomings. He's a below the rim 6'4 forward with weak handles, that isn't a creator for himself or others, who can't shoot. I like his hustle and effort, but he needs more than that to stay in the league long term.
That’s true, but on defense there are more traditional roles. When Sengun goes to the bench, Jabari can easily switch to guarding the opposing team’s big and Eason can guard the PF’s. Tate is too short to effectively guard anything bigger than a SF. It’s great that we have guys that can guard multiple positions, but the discussion was who is going to be taking Eason’s minutes. The answer is Gordon and Tate who will effectively be playing more often against small forwards and guards. Jabari will guard sf,pf, and centers depending on rotations. I don’t think Eason will be effective against guards and centers. His natural defensive position is guarding small forwards. I understand its a switching league, but not all our players can defend 1-5.
Tate on PFs was probably more effective than any other Rocket guarding a specific position last year. This should be seen more as an indictment on the other players than wanting Tate playing the PF.
Big deal. We already knew he can jump. He is a 10-15 min bench player. He can carve out a decent NBA career with that, but that is it. If he was 6’10” he wouldn’t need handles, but he is not.
I mean, he can also shoot 3's. That makes 2 things he can do that Tate can't.....and Tate doesn't have any handles either. Hoenstly the SF competition should be KJ Martin and Eason and Tate should just be released.....but the Rockets foolishly signed him to a new deal so we'll have that wasted spot in the starting lineup till we get a real coach.
Really needs to get better at something. Stronger, better passer, better handles, better shooter, anything. You have to be able to improve something even if you're not getting minutes. Doesn't seem to be able or willing to add muscle. I really wish he weren't impatient about his role. The new defensive assistants and the return to more sophisticated team concepts are perfect for his development. He could learn a lot this year from this staff and he has an age advantage vs many on the team. I would see it as an opportunity if I were him, but I guess financially the best thing for him is to go anywhere they'll let him score a little more so that he can get paid a little more. This training camp could serve as a perfect brush up on the concepts he needs to nail to improve his season and career. I like KJ but he hasn't earned more than 20 minutes per game with his play. I hope he decides to stick around and work on his defense and 3pt shooting, gradually gain winning experience. He needs better understanding and execution of team defense plus being able to nail open 3's. Needs to slowly improve at those two things.
And better defensively as well. Besides fishing for charges, Garrison’s defense was trash and his shot was inconsistent as hell. It’s a shame to trade the younger overall better player and to keep someone like Mathews around.
