Report from the Raptors game: Ugh. It's not the shooting that bothers me. His misses from 3 were mostly just a couple inches off, so the percentages will work in his favor over time. But his inability to handle the ball under pressure is a killer. One of the great things about Harden was that he always made contact the defender's problem. He expected it, invited it, and used it. Reed is exactly the opposite. He fears the contact and lets the defender take away his options. He's easily bullied not just physically but psychologically. This kid needs to get in the weight room and build strength till he has the confidence to take on the contact. Until then, he's a sitting duck.
Report from the Pelicans game: One notable change from Reed in this game: Looks like he's been working on how to manage being screened. He was pretty consistently either (a) stepping up on the ball handler, away from the coming screen, to preemptively force the ball the other way or (b) backing up into the screener with arms on both sides to maximize his ability to go either way. More preemptive, more physical. Still limited in his execution, but he's learning the right tactics.
I was wondering, @Will , if you were going to do a defense report card for the last two games… I feel like, just from a one viewing eye test, against the Hawks he had a couple of defensive lapses. For the Heat I saw maybe three truly blown defensive plays but not awful and he did good scrambling and closing out during the zone minutes. I’ll probably watch the Heat game again cause it was such a ride!
Yeah, we need a Rockets fans' Bulwark to navigate this difficult time. The discourse is getting rough with the Udoka derangement syndrome lately.
i have no idea what your problem is, but asking for an opinion or a defensive breakdown is literally what this forum is about. It’s a DISCUSSION board. Crawl back in your hole and let the adults play.
yeah i saw a few defensive lapses last night. Got blown by once; saw one lapse where he didn’t get back in transition. But he made some good plays with his hands in passing lanes and jump steals. If this guy’s arms were just a couple inches longer … the biggest thing I saw, improvement-wise, is he’s more able to stick with his man. He’s more often in the correct defensive guarding position. Obviously this was easier to notice when they played man, mostly in the first half. But he’s growing more competent as a man defender. You can tell he’s still thinking/learning where to be on some of these defensive rotations, but we’re seeing fewer mistakes there.
Oh dang, just checking in here and wow I guess my joke was in poor taste. I apologize. I am a fan of Will at the Bulwark so was just making a joke on those lines. That's all. Although I do think the Udoka criticism has been a bit strong.
Sorry, I've been overloaded with work, and I've been yapping too much about Reed. Have continued to watch him but haven't posted any notes. There was one game, I think maybe it was #1 of the Lakers double header, where he played a half that really drove home why an NBA coach who cares about defense would be reluctant to keep him on the floor. Just getting hunted mercilessly and being physically unable to hold his own. But then he's had some great shooting and passing games. My overall take on him right now is that he's still a major defensive liability, as evidenced by the scramble he induces in our defense every time he gets beat or iso'd anywhere near the basket by a bigger player. He's trying, but he's just so physically limited. OTOH, our offense has sucked so bad without him that I think his value at that end now exceeds what he costs us defensively. Mostly what I want from him right now is more aggression offensively, partly because I think he plays better that way and partly to see what it can do for our offense generally. But I can't tell whether I'm feeling that as a rational observer or as a fan who's just sick of our ugly offense and wants to see a more interesting style of basketball. He can work on his strength in the offseason. As for his size ... anybody got some HGH?
something must have gotten lost in translation - I thought you were being sarcastic against discussion, not for it! My apologies as well
Over-simplistic, I've seen this type of thing all over well beyond Clutchfans. Ive concluded that it actually is for once "society's fault". Not really any individual fault. Probably not yours or Hayesfan. Or even CF. It really is that everyday normal discourse in everything has gotten so pissy, argumentative, trolling, rage-baity, for-clicks, it's affected people's senses of initial recognition & response. Like the youth's say, our senses are "cooked bro, f'real" It's a longer way of backing up your claim. That we all can use more standard balanced voices lol just for some sensory reset of sorts.
Do you know how many Hall of Fame level players SUCKED on defense, the list is longer than Westheimer Blvd. If you can score efficiently you can play decent enough defense to matter. Lock down defenses don't work in the playoffs, players are too skilled....GREAT offense is better than GREAT defense. Balance is the goal, but skill on offense blows away skill on defense. DD
