I actually don’t have a problem with the draftees or with the KD acquisition, my issues are with: - The skillsets of the role players they’ve signed. Most urgently and critically, we lacked shooting and rim protection. They brought in everything but that. - The tactical abilities of the coaching staff, namely the fact that our TS% has barely moved even though we’ve drafted, developed and signed tons of players. In addition we have nothing special on defense if we don't put more defenders on the floor than the opponent. That's not coaching, that's just sacrificing offense for defense. - The lack of commitment to accelerating the 3PT shots of Sengun and Amen via raising their attempts dramatically >> a problem you could see from a mile away would suffocate the floor. If we had upped their attempts, they'd either improve by now or we'd know very quickly whether to trade one. - Zero development took place in the Silas years, bad habits were installed that are still being uninstalled. Culture was disregarded at the most absorbent phase of development. - 3 years of calling midrange jumpers a good shot and still there are 0 players we drafted who can make more than 40% of them. - Allowing Ime to hire his beer buddies on the bench, none of whom can credibly challenge him. - Putting Patrick in charge of things rather than a basketball mind.
if we come away from this draft with just those 2nd round picks it’s a d#ck punch. I want back into this draft!!
I know you have a high view of FVV. I see him as an average NBA starting PG near the end of his prime. He is definitely replaceable. It is hard to replace him only because we are locked in his contract. I understand that it is not always easy to actually acquire one through trade or FA signing. It depends on what's available. But in terms of value, with the amount we are paying him, it can get a comparable level player. The way Stone constructed the backcourt unnecessarily magnifies FVV's importance to the team.
The problem with Amen is that his lack of shooting is catastrophic for any NBA offense. A perimeter player has to be able to hit jumpers or else his defender will just stand back 8 feet and dare him to shoot. That makes it virtually impossible for any one else to get into the paint. The only way for Amen to overcome this is to play in the post but he doesn’t have the size or skills to do that either. Amen is an elite perimeter defender and a good cutter, but he’s got a shaky handle, his passing is overrated (he doesn’t really set anyone up - he just passes to the open man most of the time) and he is an extremely limited finisher (two hands only). The last part is why he can’t finish over defenders with regularity despite his explosiveness - that little bit of extra reach that comes from a one handed finish is usually the difference between throwing it down over a defender and getting blocked (or stopped via a foul). I stand by my assessment that Alpi is still the best prospect - this year he’s played injured for long stretches and he has almost never been given the ball in the right place on floor. Having any center start his post moves outside the 3 pt line is a sure fire recipe for failure and it’s an indictment both of Udoka’s lack of coaching and the utterly terrible passing of most of Alpi’s teammates. Just the same, Alpi has been our 2nd leading scorer, our leading rebounder, our leading assisted, our leader in blocks and 3rd in steals. Most importantly, he’s been the only guy who consistently sets up other guys and is the only guy who sets half decent screens despite the fact that he’s rarely set up himself. I’m not surprised his defense fell off this year - he’s had to do everything in the least efficient way possible thanks to the ineptitude of his coach. Do I think Alpi can be the 1A for a championship team? Probably not, but I think he does more for this team than Amen Thompson ever will, and if he was paired with teammates with more gravity. I think his efficiency and effectiveness would surprise all of us.
I respect your opinion but if the choice is Sengun or Thompson - I’ll easily take Amen. While it is true that he is a poor perimeter shooter- so is Sengun. At least with Amen, I know I can defend 4 spots on the floor and I also will get transition points and points off cutting. I can surround him with 3 shooters and run an offense. I don’t think he is a 1 or 2, I view him as a 3, and his handle is fine at that spot. The larger point though remains… Amen, Sengun and Sheppard all are hard to build around.
No. All three of them are very hard to build around because they have major flaws. Sengun is a poor defender, which means he needs to be surrounded by good defenders. However he is also a poor perimeter shooter, which means he basically needs to be on a team full of strong defenders that also are very good perimeter shooters. Amen Thompson struggles to shoot from the perimeter - which makes it difficult for him to play with Sengun because that is multiple poor shooters on the floor. Also - Amen thrives running the floor, and Sengun doesn’t. Sheppard struggles defensively and is small- which makes it difficult for him to play with Sengun because that is two poor defenders and the other three have to be able to defend really well and shoot. Which is very difficult to do. So that is three players that can struggle to all be on the court together but all deserve 35 minutes a night …
LOL, no. It just depends on matchups. Having a real PG (FVV or whoever) would be nice. Same with a wing that can shoot and a C with some defensive mobility. And a coach who can run a system with the players he has available. It's not that ****ing complicated, the Rox just don't have it. KD not playing just makes everything so much more hilariously bad.
There is nothing complicated about it. The Rockets best players do not fit well together. Injuries to PG and C are a separate animal and yes they suck. Then again, who would think a 37 year old with a substantial history of injuries - a 32 year old center with a history of recent and bad injuries… and a 33 year old guard with heavy minutes… would be hurt. I am not a fan of Udoka’s offense by any stretch of the imagination. I think he should be forced to turn the offense over to a top assistant. However, this isn’t all Udoka being dumb… the spacing sucks because Sengun and Thompson and Adams/Capela cannot shoot…. The problem is that Thompson and Adams are the heart of the defense… and Sengun and Sheppard on the floor together is a defensive nightmare. It is a poorly constructed team - with talented but flawed guys.
Sengun, Sheppard and KD are the only guys on the team who can make shots. You take 1 out of that equation and...
Right - KD can play with anyone. Agree that Sheppard (outside) and Sengun (inside) are your scorers and you want them each playing heavy minutes… but the defense really struggles when they do. I think at some point; one of Amen, Sengun, Reed will be moved fo fit issues.
I agree with every single point except the conclusion which I'd love to chime in on: it's not that hard. It's definitely hard. But it's not that hard. It's not as easy as building a plain vanilla team around a two way franchise player. But it's not THAT hard. Jokic needs to play drop coverage. Giannis needs a stretch 5. Curry needs multiple playmaking defenders on the floor with him. Neither Tatum nor Brown truly challenged for an MVP trophy before winning it all. Sometimes you have to get the right GM and Coach to come up with an intelligent strategy. Ours came up with "what if we get players who miss a lot of shots to grab all our misses". You swap Sengun for JJJ and all your problems are solved. We might receive a pick swap in this trade too. Salaries and picks need to be adjusted but that's the framework. You swap Amen Thompson for Trey Murphy and all your problems are solved. We probably receive an extra pick in this trade. Salaries and picks need to be adjusted but that's the framework. The "very hard" problem you're describing is simply a premium you pay one time. It's one extra pick lost in a trade. Even with the acquisition of a stretch 5, it's a matter of paying one FRP more than what their box stats suggest they're worth. My irritation with the organization is that they invested in 4-5 cheaper solutions which broke down and we're going to end up paying the premium anyway while having wasted years of time. In that sense I think we agree that the organization shat the bed. After Brooks and FVV, the rest of the acquisitions were short sighted and poorly thought out. They were for Ime rather than for the team. On Reed: Spoiler Reed has time to develop, not worried about him. He knows and we know he declared for the draft early because it was a weak draft and his stock was skyrocketing. Should not have been in the NBA last season. By his fourth NBA season, he will be a lot stronger physically, smarter defensively and his handle will have a lot more polish. I'm pretty sure he'll eventually be a plug n play guy.
I think Reed will not and should not be moved at this point. He is still developing. The worst case scenario is that he becomes a shooter off the bench behind a competent PG. For Amen and Sengun, I am torn. Sengun is the more valuable offensive player because he can create. Amen can't create because he can't shoot outside and doesn't have the footwork inside. He can only go straight line to the basket. But the thing is, Amen has only one weakness (shooting) to fix. Sengun has two (defense and efficiency). As a center, Sengun doesn't have to be able to shoot a lot outside. But he does need to be able to score much more efficiently inside. If he does, we can tolerate his defensive weakness because he will be a hard to stop scorer. But adding to the complication, Amen's shooting, or lack of, affects Sengun's efficiency inside.
I think the efficiency issues is also related to the fact that among bigs, Sengun has close to the fewest assisted baskets (at least that's my understanding although I'm having trouble finding the stats that I've seen quoted elsewhere). He's having to create his offense almost entirely on his own. So comparing him to a center that catches lobs isn't apples-to-apples. If we had someone who could get him the ball in the right spots at the right time, I think we'd see a much more efficient player. Right now, there's nobody. The creation responsibilities (for himself and others) is also partly why he's had less juice on defense this year (injuries, effort and less perimeter D by his teammates have also contributed). We've seen him be a capable defender and I don't see any reason why he can't get back to that. Overall, however, I think our ability to gauge any player after this season's clusterf%&! of an offense is significantly compromised. It is perfectly possible that Amen and Alpi could work together if the schemes and personnel were more tailored to complement them.
ON Amen (Not saying anything at all about the other two): He's not someone you "Build around". You build around superstars and that's not Amen, he's a super role player. Great piece to have if you have "That Guy" on your team already (and "that guy" is a perimeter player). He's a supercharged version of Draymond Green.
Is Ben Sullivan actually a good shooting coach/mentor, or internally would he tell you that these Amen/Sengun just won't ever be average shooters? and Bari above average, and Reed elite? That is an assessment that needs to be looked at. He gets "credit" for working with Giannis and the Celtics when they started their ascent, but hasn't achieved any results here.
