Tate is probably our weakest link right now, and he's the player most contributing to us losing. He's 6'4" with no vertical. Sorry, that just does not work defending at the 4 or 5, which is what he's being asked to do. It barely works defending the 3. He's not quick or fast either. So a slow 6'4" non-leaper is supposed to be our defensive ace? Ouch. This guy must be a really good shooter, with those attributes, to crack our rotation right? No, he's one of the worst shooters in the league. His ball handling is average-good for a power forward, but once he puts the ball down his head goes right down with it and he tunnel-vision drives himself to the hoop. Tate has two redeeming basketball qualities: he is high effort and he can make awkward shots around the rim with both hands. That is not enough to make it in the NBA. Thinking about extending him is absurd. He should not be on an NBA roster. Swap Jabari Smith Jr with Tate and you will see the massive difference on both ends of the floor.
Does anyone view Eason, Sochan, Jovic, or Keegan Murray as a possible Tate replacement? I like Tates game, just wonder if he's the guy for the long term being a bit undersized.
He’s not the guy for the long term. He shouldn’t be starting. I’d put any of those players in front of him on the depth chart. I think he could have a role on the team, but it should be as bench depth.
Tate at the moment attempts far too many shots. He has one very good skill set offensively, which is finishing near the rim with his left hand, but those should only ever come off cuts. He handles the ball too much and takes too many shots. There are a lot of possessions where he would launch a 3 early in the shot clock when that shot should only be reserved for broken plays. He needs to be a 5-6 shots per game type of player, and his touches need to drop way down. There's no reason for him to have basically the identical number of touches on offense as Gordon and Green.
Well, considering Tate was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team (Top 5 Rookie) and selected to be in the Rising Stars Challenge this year from players in his class I would say the league has a different opinion of Tate than most of the people in this conversation. To me he's a long-term piece and he's improving. If PJ Tucker has a place in the starting lineup on this team at 33, Tate has a place at 26 and improving. He's a solid 3 point shot away (which is improving) from being better than Tucker. He already averages more points than Tucker ever has and has a better FG% end EFG% than Tucker had starting out and is as effective as Tucker was in all other categories if not better except for 3 point shooting and FT shooting and he is 2 years younger than him when starting.
I'm not following your point. Tate is a decent player on a bad team. You should use Tate and picks to get a shot at a better player than Tate. You can not take any chances and continue to suck or. take chances and maybe hit on a pick. The worst that can happen is if you miss you will continue to suck. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I don't get the Tate love, I get that people like try hard guys, but Tate's an undersized 4 that can't shoot. He's a lesser Tucker and that's not a starter on a playoff team.
I'll just add: people love to talk about Tate's flexibility defensively. And he's honestly great at switching on smaller players and gives total effort against bigger ones. But let's not pretend that bigs owning us night after night, even players like Poeltl, Zubac, etc. is all just Wood. Tate struggles a lot when defending bigger players, as does Wood, and I don't totally blame him because he's giving up so much size and strength. What Tate's apologists for some reason underplay is what you're saying: He just can't shoot. He is one of the worst three point shooters in the league. That's a fact. He is HORRIBLE at it. When he makes one or two, or hits a few in a game, that doesn't somehow magically redeem him. Knowing the averages, he should literally never shoot a three except when he has to because the clock is about to expire and we have no other choice. The problem with falling in love with average, or even above average players, is that you end up hanging onto them for too long and drinking your own kool aid. We should have traded Danuel House, Eric Gordon, and Christian Wood coming into this season, and at latest during the deadline. But because we didn't, they take mins away from our young players. If we hold onto Tate for next season, I am certain he will be the same obstacle for whoever we draft and that we'll be willing to sit a top-5 pick and only give him 20-ish mins per night vs. trading Tate and embracing whoever that pick is and giving him the on court time to really develop.
I get your point and I don't think it's invalid. My thought on Tate is he may be 26 but he is still getting better. You are not a top 5 rookie in the league for no reason and you are not selected to play in the Rising Stars challenge if your game is not highly respected in this league. He is not average. His 3 point shot is subpar but that is definitely something I see him working on and bringing up. Some players take several years before they improve consistently. To me he is someone you continue to build around based on his contract and age. To compete to win a Championship which I think the Rockets will be looking to do in about 4 years, he will be one of those guys you pay to have on your team. He is a vocal leader and an energy guy and I think year 3 for him is going to be where he puts it all together. I think wherever that Nets pick lands is going to be high enough that we don't need to move him to be happy.
I love the designed or not designed, awkward drive to the basket by Tate to start out almost every game. When he misses, he complains about a foul and then proceeds to pick up early fouls putting the team in bad spots at times. I don’t mind it though, gives KMJ more run.
I actually think we should keep Tate. I think a hustle guy like that is useful on any team. He just has to work on his 3. honestly if PJ Tucker can develop such a reliable corner 3, I don't see why Tate can't either. He actually does a lot of little things that leads us to winning.
Tate only costs $1M+ this year and next year (team option). He seems like a great guy to have on the team and in the locker room. He can fill in nicely during injuries, illness and blowouts and play defense in the right matchups. So I don’t think we should have traded him or need to this offseason. But letting him block the development of players with more potential is a mismanagement of the roster. I’d be all for resigning him at an appropriate price, and not to be a starter.
I don't really buy the argument that Tate will take minutes away from the supposed prospects we have. Tate is a utility player that can pretty much be shoved in at any position depending on team needs, whether we go big or small, staring or off the bench. He actually complements younger players quite well because he does a lot of the dirty work on defense. Last night for example, he sat back and let KPJ and JG take over, and scored 2 key clean up layups that gave us the win.
this is where I am with Tate , obviously I love the guy . he only took 6 shots last night and had plenty of other impact on the game . can you imagine how good he’s going to be in a couple of years once he’s shored you his weaknesses a bit and (hopefully) is on a team that’s good and can help him ? I don’t worry about his ego . He’s always willing to sacrifice. That’s why I kinda like how we’ve been giving him more offensive rope and helping him try to find a niche . The stakes are low and even if you think he’s ultimately a role player ... the experience now will still help him . the shot IS key for him and his eventual ceiling . If he doesn’t get to a good baseline then he prolly shouldn’t start on a Good team , he’d have to be Godly at everything else to start at 6’4” without a shot ... but if he can get that shot up , even if he comes off the bench , he could close games . PJ and Ariza were role players and were damn good and keys to us being able to go as far as we did . Tate has a ways to go to catch up to them . But the time I was talking about for them was when they were 30+ and at the top of their games Tate is still a second year player . Sure , he’s older than most sophomore’s but it’s not like he has tons and tons of international games under his belt . the game doesn’t look too fast for him . He makes winning plays . Since we are so bad , those don’t do too much for us right now . But if the young guys continue growing and we actually try to win in a year or two , his dirty work can make a world of difference ... and he’s pretty good too . I would not count out that he becomes a good shooter at some point in his career .
My only gripe about him is you can get close to that same production from him in 20 minutes as opposed to giving him 30... He's good to have ... He'd be a great spark in the future to shift momentum through hustle plays and occasional play making... Maximize his value by sitting his ass on the bench next to KPJ and Gordon...Then let them come in and go to work
Tate is fine and the type of player every team needs, however his role will have to change to a younger PJ Tucker like role player. Will he accept that?
If he wants life changing money in 2 years, he better... And no I'm not talking big money .... He's more offensively skilled than PJ so there's always a place for him as of now... But once he loses a step , he'll be playing in Greece...
This kind of game is the reason Tate is a starter in this league. Now, I understand both teams were playing small ball but not just anyone can do what he did here.
I like Tate, he can play 4 positions offensively and defensively with varying degrees of effectiveness, but he plays better with the ball in his hands. When he does have the ball, he is a good paint scorer, but has a bit of tunnel vision and misses open cutters frequently. He’s late on passes and doesn’t always make the right pass when he does. When he doesn’t have the ball, he is the guy that opposing teams help off of the most. The opposing team doesn’t even guard him a lot of times when he’s above the 3 point line. 6th man and versatile energy spark off the bench until he picks up his 3 point shooting.
