We already have a sg to replace green if needed. Amen Thompson. I know he's a pg now, but he's so Good and tall he can play both
Vecenie and I have much of the same beliefs. Defense shoulda, coulda, woulda been better [ if we weren't tanking ]. I had the Rockets at 15th defensively (prior to opening night); but Silas or Lionel Hollins had Sengun play deep drop coverage.....having our guards go over the top of screens just chases the ball handler around and giving up a 6 to 10 foot runway towards Sengun. VanVleet, Sengun, while playing more Jabari, Dillon, Tari, Whitmore, Tate protecting the rim behind Sengun hedging the screen should help Houston surpass that #15.....to around 9th (or better) in the NBA. ...the other thing was Cam Whitmore I had the Rockets either trading the #4 pick in hopes of getting Cam Whitmore prior to #8 or #10 or pick him outright at #4. Stone got lucky that Whitmore dropped so far. Rockets needed his physicality, strength, power, blended with speed and elite leaping ability. I actually posted a year prior, hoping the Rockets would draft Cam Whitmore in the summer of '23. Defense will be good, but I'm not so sure the offense will be up to par
I think the "shooting" aspect of playing the position might be a little bit of an obstacle. Love his size, court vision, and defensive intensity. Definitely a ton of talent to work with and mold, but he's far away from being a scoring threat type of player.
Lowe's 2023-24 NBA League Pass Rankings: Teams 30-11 in watchability and fun 30. Wizards 29. Pistons 28. Raptors 27. Blazers 26. Bulls 25. Jazz 24. Nets 23. Magic 22. Heat 21. Hornets 20. Clippers 19. Houston Rockets (29) Is this the year Houston's drafting for upside finally coalesces into something coherent? The Rockets last season were 27th in offense, 29th in defense and last in turnovers. The occasional outburst of youthful exuberance cannot make up for such ugliness. VanVleet is here to impose order. Dillon Brooks should provide structural integrity on defense. His "villain" persona is entertaining in moderation, with proper accountability. You're not a villain if you do dastardly stuff, lose, and duck the media afterward. Brooks already got tossed from a preseason game after striking Daniel Theis in the groin. Ejected from preseason! Honestly! Who does that? Houston also added Jeff Green, still good for one attempted posterization every three games. The Rockets have accumulated perhaps the most intriguing group of prospects in the league -- and definitely the one with the highest variance. It's plausible all six of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, Tari Eason and Cam Whitmore make at least one All-Star team someday. Some might also bust out as empty-calories chuckers. Green is a thunderous dunker vowing to play more of an all-around game. Sengun outwits defenders with precocious cunning -- a whir of fakes and footwork that tests the physics of basketball. Even Sengun appears surprised at times by what his feet have done -- and by the disbelieving referees whistling him for traveling. Some of his thread-the-needle passes bonk teammates in the head, or skip untouched through empty spaces Sengun assumed his confused teammates might be occupying. Smith is a winner. Eason wants the ball more than you do. He was one of only three rotation players to snare at least two steals and one block per 36 minutes, and posted one of the league's best offensive rebounding rates. If he can hit enough 3s, Eason has major potential. Their court is an understated gem: Those plumes emanating from the bottom of the "R" -- like smoke from space shuttles -- are a masterstroke. Craig Ackerman and Ryan Hollins are turning into a nice announcer duo. 18. Knicks 17. Hawks 16. Grizzlies 15. Pelicans 14. Spurs 13. Thunder 12. Pacers 11. Cavs
This team is never allowed to trade Sengun, Tari, or Amen. Not because they are the best players. Because all three are too damn much fun to watch and listen to. Tari and Amen especially just don’t have off-switches. Bari too. Magnificent freaks.
Is it too late to get Hakeem to work with Alperen on his Dream Shake? I feel bad that he wasted his time, once upon a time, with Dwight. This guy is definitely the one that can perform those moves to a T, if taught properly. Somebody get our boy Dream on the line!
