Reminder: Running an NBA offense is a steep learning curve

I agree with this. I really think Ime just rolls out the ball and lets his vets make the decisions. He then screws it up by being really bad with his rotations and too stubborn to abandon whats not working. I hope I’m wrong and he is just a young coach that hasn’t figured it out yet, but I fear he is a Narcissist. Narcissists rarely can change, since it’s pretty much a mental disorder that is hard to overcome, because the Narcissist inherently can’t see that he has a problem. It’s possible we win a championship anyway, because we have 1 superstar on our team and possible 2 more. We just need to win a championship before we can’t afford to fill out the rest of the roster.

 

How many teams today run the Princeton Offense today?

 

About the same number as running the triangle.

 

Amen doesn’t have to be a traditional PG looking to set up everybody on the court. I hope he can get more selfish and become a serious scorer. His tear drop and middy will come through eventually. If he looks to be a scorer, it will open up the court for all the other players. He can get into the lane almost at will and if he starts scoring over 20 consistently (more like 25), the other teams won’t be playing the passing lanes as they are now. Right now they know most of the time he is going to pass. He needs to create uncertainty and it will have the added benefit of increasing his confidence shooting in the lane.

 

Evaluation should be a continual process. That doesn't mean rash decisions should be made when a change occurs.

Right now, it is obvious that an experienced point guard would help in the short term. Considering this is a contending year, it is an important year. That said, I suspect the evaluation will be let's look at Amen and Reed as long as possible, even though in the short term the Rockets likely miss a PG like FVV in the sense that the offense would be even better a solid PG (Team is so good it will overcome). I'm guessing the offense will be fine by playoffs without adding a PG.

 

Btw for those giving Ime credit for our offensive rating:

- this team is getting offensive rebounds because of rebounding talent (the only thing artificially boosting our offensive rating)

- our offensive rebounds cover for Ime's poor offensive coaching, it's literally called second chance points lol

- we are the most iso-heavy offense in the NBA, which requires the least offensive coaching of all

- when we're talking about best offensive team, that's different than highest offensive rating. We are the 7th best team at making shots. If you don't care about the difference that's fine, but don't pretend like you don't know what's going on

 

I think posters overestimate how ready the Rockets are to run an offense 48 minutes without FVV shouldering some of the load.

Amen and Sengun are good but they just aren't there yet. Reed is showing some flashes. We still are developing our young core.

 

It's almost like Ime looked at the personnel and molded a team that was going to try and win the possession battle.....

 

I actually think both Amen and Reed can see the floor decently well. But their passing and ball handling fundamentals are just not polished enough to deliver the type of passes to the open players they see.

Amen is especially reckless with his passes, i don't know how many times he just rushes to throw the ball in the general direction of a player instead of trying to make an accurate pass. Also he's always going at 120% speed, you can't really do that as the main ball handler. Amen's have to understand he can't play PG the same way he plays on defense/cutter, he needs to really slow down so he doesn't randomly lose his dribble.

 

Amen has a crazy high basketball IQ. That's why I have faith in his development as a ball-handler.

 

No question he’s a great defensive Coach. I also think he surrounded himself with a bunch of “wet behind the ears” assistants that have no idea how to run their respective groups in game. Too easy to figure out, too slow to make adjustments. I think DeMeco would do so much better if he brought in a veteran former HC as a consultant/assistant (Kubiak?) to help with in game decisions.

 

The lack of a true point will certainly cost us a few games but Amen and Reed will be better players for it. There is a high probability a vet point guard gets added via trade or buyout market.

 

Amen and Reed are being asked to shoulder unexpected responsibility outside their current skillsets, so growing pains will absolutely be there all season.

But also, I cringe a little when people talk about teams needing a "real point guard", as if every team needs a Mark Jackson or Steve Nash or Jason Kidd or CP3 to call out the play and run it every time down. That's mostly obsolete. Even FVV is a throwback to an earlier time. Traditional "point guards" in the lineup are going extinct.

In 2025 elite teams need an elite perimeter ball handler(s) / offensive creator(s). Mostly they are not traditional "point guards". They are guys who can hyper-efficiently run a PnR and create perimeter pressure -- which means they have a unpickable handle, can shoot or drive to score, can hit all the necessary passes, and have a certain craft to their game. See: Shai, Luka, Hali, Brunson, Murray, Ant, Curry etc.

So the question long-term is whether Amen or Reed can be that kind of guy. They can be good to great players without being one ofc, and we can be a 2nd round playoff team in the short term, but the Rockets as a team will need a perimeter guy like that eventually.

And no, Sengun or KD are not that guy themselves - they need an elite perimeter guy just like Jokic or Embiid or Giannis can't do it by themselves and need an elite perimeter guy.

 

I don't disagree with any of this, but the real question is will we be ready come playoff time? If the answer is no, then we do need a PG to lower the turnovers. Someone who can't get pressed full court and understands when to push, when to calm the offense, able to slow down the other team's lead guarg, etc. Personally I think we are a top 5 team or so as-is, but second to OKC if FVV wasn't hurt. Long term, Reed and Amen will certainly benefit from the extra reps, but I don't think this year we'll be winning a championship with Amen or Reed as lead guard... and I am a HUGE fan of Amen and think he's worth the max.

 

It’s a reasonable take and I understand why fans are saying this, but we are no. 1 in offense right now and Durant, Amen, and even Sengun have not figured out how to work together yet. I think saying Amen and Reed won’t be ready by the playoffs is overly conservative. People forget how bad our offense was minus offensive rebounding last year. FVV and Jalen really sucked at offense and had the ball way more than anybody else on the team. Give Amen a chance to adjust and he will. Reed needs to be a great backup guard this year and we are set if healthy. We are no longer a bad 3 pt shooting team and the 2 bigs lineup is no longer a necessity. Ime is just slow to change. Remember it took a Jabari injury to even start Amen who along with Sengun is our future.

 

Elite Perimeter Ball Handers / Offensive Creators:
2025: OKC: SGA
2024: Boston: Jrue Holiday
2023: Denver: Jamal Murray
2022: GSW: Steph
2021: Bucks: Jrue Holiday
2020: Lakers: Avery Bradley?
2019: Raptors: Lowry

Last few years of championships had a mix of having elite perimeter ball handlers / offensive creators. All of these teams had some kind of elite creator though (for themselves or others or both). Rockets having Sengun / Durant lessens the burden on us needing an elite PG, but doesn't completely eliminate the need for one, in my opinion. I agree gone are the days of the pure point guards, but each period of basketball creates different needs based on the best team's strengths / weaknesses. OKC having elite point of attack defenders makes having ball handler who doesn't turn the ball over a necessity

 

2024 Boston: Jayson Tatum. High volume efficient PnR Handler and super high volume off the dribble pull up 3pt shooter (2nd in the NBA)
2021 Bucks: Holiday + Middleton, both all-star level at the time - can both handle, score at 3 levels, and pass
2020 Lakers: LeBron, obviously. The archetype.
2019: Raptors: Kawhi and Lowry, both all-star level PnR handlers. Kawhi ran a ton of PnR that year.

I think my point was missed a little, but to be fair it's kind of subtle.

Every great/successful team now and in the recent past has high level perimeter threat as a core of their offense. Someone who can dribble the ball on the perimeter, run PnR + two man game + take pull up 3's at the highest level vs elite playoff defense and pick them apart via handling/shooting/driving/passing.

KD is an all time great, but this isn't what KD does much now, and hasn't ever on volume, because he's 7 ft and can't dribble or pass too much without turning it over. He's a scoring forward who gets to his spots and is maybe the GOAT shotmaker. He's always played with someone else in that perimeter role (Russ, Harden, Kyrie, Booker). Sengun runs <1 PnR per game and has never taken a pull up 3, it's not him either.

We can be a very good team without that guy, don't get me wrong, win a playoff series or two. But I do not think just getting a "PG" who can handle the ball safely and doesn't make mistakes is enough to get us to championship level. IMO, in 2025 a championship team needs a championship level perimeter offensive creator.

So that's the dream of what Amen or Reed could turn into. If not, they can still be good or great - but we'll still be on the lookout (prob next offseason or later).

 

We are 7th on TS% (60.7). That's a marked improvement from last season's 24th (55.3)

I think having an elite efficient scorer in Durant replacing a very inefficient scorer in Green makes a big difference. Eason and Okogie are shooiting 50% from 3. That's certainly unsustainable. So I expect that the shooting will go down as the season progresses.

There's no doubt that offensive rebounding is the single most important factor for our offensive success. We are by far the best offensive rebounding team, separated from the second team by a wide gap.

We are 24th in Ast% and 27th in Ast/TO ratio.

 

One, offensive rebounding is a part of the offense.
Two, the offense was better than average with FVV.
Three, not counting time bringing ball up the court or during a reset while others got organized, FVV was not close to having the ball more than others (speciifcally Green and Sengun for the season) while trying to make a play. FVV had an average usage last season or one of the lowest usages by far among starting PGs. After FVV's usage was lowered, he had the lowest usage among all Rockets rotation players for the regular season.