Maybe it's Ime's system or something else, but no matter what kind of offensive system that is put in place the real problem is that the team just does not have the reliable long range shooters. The opponents have been packing the paint to stop Sengun and daring the others to beat them since the start of the season, and that is gist of the Rockets' offensive problems. Maybe, a Joe Harris experiment is needed so as just to make defenses honest and test their defensive scheme that could open up the paint for other Rockets other than Sengun to exploit. The issue has been obvious and even the various statistical metrics are showing that. They need a sniper. Period.
Nice Win against the Suns Dillion 1-6 = 16.66% yet is a +2 Jabari - 6-18 = 33.33 % and is a -11 Jalen 5- 13 = 38.46% Yet is a +6 Amen 6/11 = 54.55% Is a whopping +14 Whitmore 5/11 = 45.45% Unfortunately a -2 I felt our defense keeps us in the game yet our Defensive anchor is a -11 Rocket River Just gonna keep an eye out
You are very right, yet he also addresses some of this regularly, talking about how guys pass up the shots that they DO sometimes get in order to drive into a triple team in the paint. It's a confidence, IQ and system casserole. Also he doesn't bench these guys, even temporarily in a losing season, which is a bit mystifying. Also, a lot of us pointed out in the summer than FVV and Brooks were the most inefficient pair of free agents possible. However they are playing at least C+ overall during this transition year. Rockets still need that rebounding screen setting C (enter Stephen Adams) and.... a real SG to mentor Cam.
Dare I say it, but am I the only one that thinks Dillon’s defense is a slight bit overrated? He reminds me of Patrick Beverly who always was loved for his defense in Houston, but actually played low iq defense (with a bunch of hustle to cover up that weakness). You can always count on 4 stupid fouls a night from Brooks. He’s certainly not the problem with the Rockets, but I would start Cam over him and that would drastically improve the mediocre offense. Brooks should be used more in a Jeff Green type backup role in my opinion. Honestly, the past few weeks it seems that Amen brings more defensive intelligence than Brooks.
Brooks is not going to be a bench player for us. We paid him a lot of money to start. The dreams of Amen or Cam starting over him need to stop. Maybe at some point next year that changes but maybe not. No free agents will want to come here if they see that they are benched like that. Also, we need Brooks 3 point shooting. He's not a great shooter but he's miles better than Amen. Brooks is shooting 41.2% on 3's this month. Phx players shot 6 for 19 against Dillon last game. Though he was a net negative, that defense is important. He had a bad offensive game but his defense often makes up for it. Cam is great but I wouldn't start him over Brooks. You could start him over Green but I don't know if Cam is ready to start yet. I think bringing him along slowly is the right play.
He's definitely way better than Beverley but I do agree that he has a little bit of that "overrated because he tries really hard" going for him. The other rocket that had this was PJ Tucker. I think Brooks is a better defender than both, but in general I do think fans like to overrate the guys who just look like rabid dogs out there, giving 100% effort and 100% hustle all the time. Remember when we lauded Tucker for guarding Kevin Durant even though he went like 15/23 and scored 45 points? I wouldn't bench him. I do still think Brooks is a good defender, but agree that he gets overrated because he has the scrappy tenacious hustle-guy badge.
