I completely agree with the "addition by subtraction" theme - give Jalen green lights in certain spots and otherwise his direction is to move the ball along. You can shoot it in these spots if you can get there in under x seconds, or on the move if you have had the ball for less than 2 seconds(the Jabari - make a quick move or pass it rule). Shot selection will improve his effectiveness immensely because even in his "good" games, you see the misses are often just bad shots(heat checks outside of the flow of the game) he never should have taken. ....and I'll go back to another point that we GOTTA get Sengun improving his range ASAP because I believe that is also a limiting factor to Jalen's effectiveness because every time the ball is in Sengun's hands, it's normally in a place where Jalen used to have more space to operate in but now Sengun is creating gravity that clogs areas of the mid range and paint....and along with that Jalen has to learn the off ball cutting magic that guys like Amen and Cam are having success with - those guys have SUCH a speed advantage and Sengun is such a high level passer that Green needs to see the team is better with their athletes creating off ball gravity as cutters.
No I'm speaking purely from a scientific standpoint. A good or bad shot is contextual to the player and it has an acceptable range for the team. It is the worst shot any offense is designed to take. It can get you points and spacing and all that. However, it's the worst one. One of them inevitably has to be the worst one. Which is a worse one for you assuming all shots are equally guarded? Whatever you think the worst shot is, we should take that shot less. We take the better ones more. That's just logic. For Jalen Green in specific, anything outside the FT circle and within the 3pt line, he's shooting sub 40%. There's no excuse for that. No one is going to convince me that's a pretty good shot for him to take. Any defender and opposing coach will happily give him that shot an unlimited amount of times without changing their strategy i.e. giving him more space. It's just not a good time for someone who's entire game is a mess to now focus on mastering the most difficult shot to be good at in the NBA. Feels like a supreme misplacement of priorities to me given his Rockets career is in jeopardy because he needs to take an immediate major step up in efficiency - something there's no chance he will do with the mid range shot.
Jalen escapes the trade deadline and puts up a garbage performance. Very disappointed with this one, glad Udoka took it seriously. I keep feeling like coming off the bench would be a good, humbling experience for him. I don’t think Cam can keep that spot with Udoka’s fixation on defense and passing plus playing against set defenses. Let the best man win. I also think it’s important for Udoka to see yet another SG struggle to get to the rim with the starters. He has to start understanding that his offense needs a lot of work and since he doesn’t have more shooting then increasing the pace a bit is our best shot at avoiding set defenses. Amen is doing a good job as a rookie but replacing Fred’s shooting with Amen’s has made the paint even more packed despite the improved pace. Tough one but he (Jalen) has to be a leader and do better. He doesn’t have to shoot a lot, I want to see him pass on some bad shots more often. Slightly fewer shots, slightly more assists. This kid really tests your patience.
Jalen Green was a 46-37-83 in the GL for 15 games. 3rd year in, he is a 41-31-80 in the NBA. He shows signs of getting to the line, and his rebounding and passing have improved. Even his defense. But holy hell, the shooting is so bad for a small SG that needs to be able to shoot. If he was shooting 45-35-80, this team would have won a few more games, and the outlook would have been different. Just a rough go of it. 2 years of Silas/KPJ shenanigans, the worst dunk contest ever, and an off-season video with Josh Christopher. The guy can't catch a break. There is not a soul that needs an off-season more than Jalen Green. Lifting, shooting, off of social media. Still holding out the smallest bit of hope.
Not sure. It's very confusing because I simultaneously get asked why each chapter takes so long and also how each chapter closes so quickly (in classic BBS fashion). In general it's when there's a significant turning point. If nothing changes, we're stuck. Depends on Jalen I guess. Honestly don't have much to even defend these days. My position has been that after game 30 of this season, it's mostly on him. It's been pretty exhausting and I'm getting pretty tired of this situation. One thing that's in his control is shot selection and there have been plenty of good minds around him by now. I think unless that changes, the next chapter won't be a happy one.
I see there ain't much chatter in the Jalen threads anymore. I guess most people come to expect sub par performances and that nights like tonight's are business as usual...
