Sometimes a handful of playoff games can reinforce what you already know. Last year, Stone said one playoff series does not define a player in regards to Jalen Green's struggles. For me, that playoffs series sealed the deal. It was only seven games, but all of the weaknesses Jalen showed in his four regular seasons were amplified in the postseason. Four seasons of minimal improvement capped by a horrible playoff series? I'm ready to move on. Reed's situation is different. He showed a lot of improvement from this rookie to sophomore season. I'm not going to judge a 21 year old for struggling like the rest of the team, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
Jalen had plenty of time to prove himself. The Rockets tried to trade him a year earlier. Yes this is different.
It was on the basketball reference webpage for Smith and Reed under advanced/playoffs. They have Smith as a +0.02 in BPM and Reed as a -1.5 in BPM. Like i said though it was a tiny difference.
