I think FVV gets too much unfair criticism here. I didn't like him playing so many minutes and taking so many shots. A good team shouldn't have a guy like him doing that. I blame at least partially on Udoka's lack of offensive creativity, and his philosophy of possessions over efficiency. The fact is, we didn't have anyone other than Fred to steadily organize the offense without turning it over. There are other ways to mitigate that weakness. But the coaching chose to fully rely on Fred. With Sengun and Amen growing into their own, and the replacement of Jalen with KD, the teams likely would not have to rely that much on Fred anyway. I think Fred would be able to play the role Reed is playing now--with better defense and lesser shooting. If Reed handles his role well, he will be better than Fred overall by playoffs time. If now this season, hopefully next season.
This is 100% on target. Only thing is last year Jalen and Alpi just did not connect well with each other in crunch time, particularly their utter failure to work a closing two-man game. Just by themselves, (1) higher basketball IQ and (2) more maturity should give the Rockets 3 legit two-man options between KD/Alpi/Amen they can test during the season.
