Certainly is interesting how many "Rockets fans" are opposed to the most talented guard on the roster.....
KPJ is probably not who I would choose to be the focal point of the rebuild given his past issues and the fact that those issues could rear their head at any moment. But I like him. I agree he is not a traditional point guard. But the fact that he is contributing at or above what most starting point guards do on this team is very promising. Keeping in mind that he is only 21. Keeping in mind that this team is a dumpster fire these past two seasons. Keeping in mind that he has always played as a high usage scorer until this season. For all of these reasons together I view KPJ as a significant part of this team's future. Add in the fact that he is really the only guy that has shown the ability to be both a plus offensively and defensively of the youngins and I am definitely keeping him around to see what another offseason can do for him. He obviously still needs to work on his game. His free throws have to ge better. His turnovers have to stay down and his 3 point shot cannot revert back to low 30s. But if he does those things then I think he for sure has a role as a Lonzo Ball type pg. I also think that KPJ could play the same role an aged Ron Harper did for the Bulls and Lakers. Be a bully on defense for other 1s, a secondary playmaker for when Green is on the bench and then a spot up shooter when playing with Green.
Being pass first is not a concern. I don't know what type of pg you would call Harden but to put him in the same category as kpj just shows why you foolishly still think kpj could be a pg or primary initiator. I've had my own gripes about James game here in the past, but the guy makes pinpoint on time passes and consistently gets his teammates wide open easy buckets. He knows how to set the offense up and get people into the right spots. Like his brand of ball or not, it is structured and deliberate.
That's my biggest issue. The assist numbers look good but he doesn't really run the offense. He either tries to cook his man with some bootleg and1 **** on plays the 2 man. More decisiveness is crucial
My opinion….No one on this team has cemented themselves as a “building block” guy yet. We have some promising possibles.
If this is making the case for KPJ, I would actually use these same arguments against KPJ. Harden was a world class, top 75 player of all time. Running the offense through Harden every play gave us the best chance to win. KPJ has a lot of skills and talent, but I don't think he will reach Hardens level. So, to play a Harden-brand of basketball likely limits our long term success.
Having that kind of weapon on your team doesn't mean you have to run that style of offense..... If Jalen Green ever develops some guard skills it would mean you couldn't double both of them making the offense pretty unstoppable. It's weird to me how many people only comprehend the world in binary terms. Having a talented combo guard is NEVER a bad thing.....and it only becomes an even better thing if you can surround them with talent. That's what the Rockets are trying to do.....make it to where KPJ doesn't have to do all the heavy lifting himself so it won't be a Harden type situation.
I like KPJ and think he has a place in this league, but there are stretches where I feel like he believes he needs to be the reason everything good is happening on offense. Westbrook had that issue his entire career. He wants to dribble up the court and be the guy who passes to the guy making the shot, not the guy getting the offense started earlier in the shot clock by passing it up the court before his body reaches half court.
Yeah thats the sense I get too. He would be much better suited as an attack first wing or a combo guard 6th man
His shots were all coming up short, a sign that he didn't fully have his legs under him like he was expecting. That's to be expected when coming back from a lower leg injury that has you playing only 1 game in more than 2 weeks. What's good is that despite his shooting woes, he created for others and played solid defense. The tank would be dead if Green played like he did last night every night and KPJ played like he did only with his shooting at normal levels. That's why I'm kind of hoping they wait till next year to put it all together, but the future is bright with those two playing off of one another if they both figure it all out.
My post was definitely not making a case for kpj as the primary initiator. Someone put him in the same category as Harden and I was saying that kpj ain't that and very likely never will be.
