Gotcha. It somewhat sounded like he was referring to Jalen Green not getting an extension yet. Leaving me to think wtf is he talking about.
Which doesn't make sense still given that Green had the significantly better rookie campaign. Actually it makes some sense if you understand that Simmons is a narrative guy. Narrative guys care a lot about "archetypes". The long stretch 4 whose supposed to be an elite switchable defender is going to be more positively received than a young flashy scoring guard by the casual narrative talking heads like Simmons even if the young flashy scoring guard is more productive and efficient It's why you'll see some random casual who never followed the Rockets say "I'm higher on Jabari" why? They won't give you a reason because the implication is Green is some eccentric flashy selfish scorer and Jabari is some completely well rounded player even though the data doesn't bear that out.
It is possible to like Jabari more. I don't know if Green, for example, will ever be good enough on defense to not be targeted by opposing offenses - especially once he gets deeper in the playoffs. We see that every year in the playoffs - undersized, poor defensive guards getting picked on by opponents. I feel better about Jabari's ability to not be a liability on defense. Maybe some people really value that.
https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4865/onoff#tab-team_efficiency https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/5092/onoff#tab-team_efficiency The team literally had a worse defensive rating with Jabari on the floor compared to Green which makes it more sad when you consider rotations and how Green mirrored the opposing team's starting unit a lot more than Jabari who played against bench units more often. Again, this is a narrative thing you have fallen victim to. There is no reason to be higher on Jabari than Green unless all you care about is predraft archetype. Green is more effective, productive and efficient. He's a lot more important also. He's the release valve when the offense stagnates where the ball is dumped to him with seconds on the clock because Jabari or someone else tried to do something and couldn't so they dumped it to a safety blanket in Green. Think about it. Jabari had a miniscule 22% of his fgs unassisted. So the vast majority of his buckets were spoon fed. Green for reference was at 60% unassisted. Green had to work lot harder for his points against set defenses having to self create and STILL was more efficient than Jabari and by a significant margin.
Also the talk of Green being some lost cause on defense is flat out absurd. Dude showed immense defensive chops when tasked to guard elite shifty guards. Anyone who's seen Rocket games consistently would acknowledge Green keeps elite shifty guards in front of him from Halliburton to Booker. He has made their lives hard when he's set to individually defend those type of players. Like any young guard on a team with no defensive identity and team communication he's lost off ball allowing a lot of back door cuts and open catch and shoot looks. But when he's squared in on guarding a single player one on one especially quick guards, he does an admirable job staying in front of them and not letting them get to their spots.
Sure. If Green becomes an all-time great offensive player AND if we surround Green with 4 great defenders at all times, it can work. But, personally, I'm skeptical that Sengun will ever be great on defense, and I'm skeptical that Green will be an all-time great offensive player.
Yeah, it's a bet on potential. I'm not building a title contender with either of those guys as a 20 year old so those numbers don't concern me. Jabari has the potential to be good on both ends, maybe great on at least one of them. I'm not sure that Green has the potential to be good on both ends. Hopefully he does.
Ya so it's based on nothing basically? Green actually shows promise with guarding defenders of his own position hence he has the lower dfg% than Jabari.
I guess it's based on the observation that 6'11", long-armed guys who pride themselves on defense tend to become better defenders than 6'5" guards who are tasked with greater offensive burdens. Maybe that's wild and unreasonable to you. But it's not wild and unreasonable to everyone.
Who's everyone else? I'm pretty sure it's a minority opinion that Jabari will be better. Again if the only thing you've got is "Jabari is taller and he isn't talented enough to have Green's offensive burden" that really isn't a strong sell for Jabari.
Jabari has shown abilities that I thought he did not have….play making! Jabari looked very comfortable handling the rock in these past two games. When comparing Jabari and Jalen, I always sad Jalen would be averaging 30 points per game. Jalen is a bucket! He can score on all three levers: 3 point line, mid range and scoring under the basket. It’s hard to stop Jalen to score points. HOWEVER, he is not a play maker, he tried last year but that’s not him. He’s not the guy who can make his teammates better with playmaking. He is not a great defender. Jabari is freaking everybody out now because he is 6’10 and developing handles, with handles you can become a play maker. What is a STAR the #1 Option on a championship team? Being able to score on all levels, being a play maker and making plays for your team mate, being a great defender and defending the best player on the team and you might not stop him but can disrupt him. I believe Amen has all of those qualities except shooting(he’s working on shooting), but Jabari continue to be a playmaker and gets his own shot, being a elite defender and cover 2-5. Jabari can be scary. KD can score on all three levels and do a little play making and we worship the guy who plays no defense. IF JABARI , continue to be a playmaker and scoring at all three levels…continue to play elite defense…we are talking Kevin Garnett?! The NBA scouts said he has the highest potential of the draft prospect last year….we really do not know what he have with Jabari. Jabari only shot 30% from the 3 point line and he still had a great game…he controlled the game….scary. Jalen is a elite bucket and will average 30+ a game very soon, but play making and defense??? I think Amen and Jabari are close to Star potential than Jalen at this point….but Jalen has special talent. We do have the best young talent in the NBA…bar none
I don't have a list of people who think it's possible that Jabari is better in the long run. Sorry. I'm not aware of any databases of such lists. There are some people liking my posts here in this discussion, so that's something. They are at least believing that it's possible someone could like Jabari better based on what they've seen. All I'm saying here is it's possible that someone could think Jabari could end up the better player. Taller and potential to be better defender and better shooter. Will likely be worse at other aspects of the game. Though I don't know for sure, I think you're right that it's a minority who would bet on Jabari over Jalen right now. But that doesn't mean it's unreasonable to like Jabari better in the long run. Personally, I'm not sold on either of them. I wouldn't bet on either of them becoming the best player on a title contender. But hey, we'll see.
I've said it once, and I'll say it again. To a contending team Jabari will EVENTUALLY be one of the most sought after players in the league. Is he naturally more talented than Jalen Brown??... Probably not. Hell I think Cam Whitmore probably is more talented. But in terms of value in the NBA, Jabari has the potential with just competent play to be a max contract guy for his career, and be that perfect fit as a 3rd piece to a championship contender. Few guys in the NBA come around that often that have the combination of attributes that Jabari has. However there are quite a bit of players that have with Jalen Brown has... even though there's probably more "talent" there. You can just find that talent easier or get similar production from play making guards and wings. Is Jabari off the table completely in a trade for Brown???... no, but if you do trade Jabari for Brown you better damn well be making ANOTHER trade for a better star player also so you can compete now this year. Giving up Jabari long term would be a mistake UNLESS you can contend sooner than his timetable for development allows.
Nothing absolutely nothing shows Jabari being a better playmaker than Green. Green averaged more assists than turnovers at least. Like come on dude. Why do you think Green completely fails as a playmaker last season? He had a higher ppp on the lead playamking duties of primary pnr ball handler than our starting pg. Why is also Green "a bucket" for his age? Why is he 6th all time in 30 pt game before age 21? It isn't because he's an all time great shooter. No it's because he's elite at a trait that actually helps being a playmaker in the long run that Jabari doesn't have anywhere close to and that's collapsing defenses off the dribble. Green out of anyone on this team generates the most open teammates because of his ability to blow past perimeter defenders. Over time if he starts reading those open teammates more and more he will be a good playmaker. It seems like you are going off hopes and wishes when you create this auto of an all around player for Bari. Green was more impactful to winning. It's plain and simple. This is shown in raw box scores stats and advanced analytics.
