2016 Harden wasn't playing good post defense. That was the McHale fired season. He did his slow feet stay in one area of the court routine constantly.
Exactly, he was playing with no spacing. He still should've been better IMO but he's gotta be given a chance at better spacing
I’m interested in seeing him work with better spacing too, but at the same time I’m not really excited about breaking up the current lineup either. Mathews has been all around better. There’s just no sugar coating it, the Rockets are better with Mathews than they have been with Jalen Green. Hopefully the competition will help him improve his game. It’s a good problem to have.
He was part of the reason spacing was bad though. He's left open or wide open when he's beyond the arc because teams know he can't shoot.....and he doesn't make them pay for it, He was only hitting 26% of his open and wide open 3 point attempts. The scouting report says to leave his ass open because you want him shooting. You don't want him getting to the rim, so his first step is more dangerous than his shot. So when he's on the court defenders stay back, clog lanes and destroy spacing. Now I believe that if he works on it enough, one day he could become a good rather than just streaky shooter, but I don't think that'll be happening any time soon.
I like the guy and think he could be great, but this is a totally fair point. He still has a lot to work on.
Everyone talks about him being skinny like skinny players are never successful. Last I checked Wood is like 8 feet tall and 215lbs soakin wet LMAO. Jalens problems are from being a rookie.
I mean there is no arguing that but unfortunately that stuff will only come with added strength which more than likely won't happen during a season. Obvious some of it is being a rookie getting lost on defense too. Only time will tell. Edit: We all knew the defense and strength were going to be works in progress and his success was going to be measured on the offensive end with he has been markedly better on as of late. I suspect alot of it was adjusting to the speed and more importantly the strength of the game. His finishing I think is a good example of him figuring our how to finish even w lack of strength
The real mystery with Green every game is his three point shot. It's so erratic, he can shoot lights out one game and go 0-8 the next. I get rookies have ups and downs, but he has to find a way to be more consistent, especially on open looks where he seems almost worse at times than when he's shooting those high contested ones off of a step back. Aside from that, he HAS to become more responsible with the ball. Just the silly and careless turnovers. Hopefully playing with more 3-point shooters means he'll move the ball quicker and do less long-dribble possessions.
You don't think his erratic shooting has anything with him being a rookie, 19yrs old and it being still early in the season?
I want to reiterate, he is 19 years old and has played less than 20 games. 19 is so much younger than it was when you and I were 19. I think your expectations need to be adjusted a bit.
Hee back, hopefully we didn't try to rush him back from a Hamstring injury, see Chris Paul and Alex Bregman for how effective that is.
The new spacing that was created by replacing players who can't consistently hit the 3 like Green with players who are better at hitting the 3. It'll be nice to see him come back and destroy that spacing as he continues to brick wide open 3's. After all, the goal is tanking.
