This is our golden generation, akin to Barcelona in the late 2000s / early 2010s. It won't last long so try to enjoy it lads. The next 3-5 years will be special.
I’m very excited about how this team will look next year with Sengun, Eason and Adams back, although i’m not totally sold on Green having turned the corner yet. Adding a lights-out shooter in the offseason would be nice. Maybe that comes through the draft. With the Brooklyn pick, they’re so well-positioned to improve.
Except 2 of those 3 guys played significant bench minutes for teams last year that had solid playoff runs, including a title.
Buddy you might be reading a lot of things I didn't say in my post. I hate Tilman Fertitta, end of story. Whatever else you read in there was reflecting off of your Jalen Green mask. You might find it frustrating Tilman systematically destroyed a contending team to get here. I do. So I'm not going to piss myself about being .500 so that Fertitta can celebrate first round playoff series for a few years and duck luxury tax. For the players, that's great. I want them to taste success and they have all shown growth. And this is happening without 3-4 guys that could be key next year.
Very good! Those were good wins. 3 out of 6. Two things can be true... The Rockets have beaten some decent teams and are taking advantage of tanking teams. They're doing this without Sengun, Cam, Tari and Adams. Do I think this is all because of organic growth and not because of any differences in time of year? No. It's a big combination of both. If they magically make the play-in, you better believe I'll be cheering. But again, they have hard decisions to make to keep building the team. And behind us, the specter of Tilman looms. Save us, Ime.
Which they were the 10th men of...........I am not the one who thinks because Jeff Green won a title he is a super role player. Horry and Sam Cassell still blow him out of the water and I think Luc Mbah a Moute was better than him in 2018. Latter better defender by a mile.
They are playing very well and well above their heads, it is just too late in the season, might still make the Play In though......which is realistic....and perhaps one playoff round. Plain and simple and with no sugarcoating.
We're in a great spot. 40 wins is still attainable this season, which I thought was best case scenario going into it. Our young guys aren't just showing promise, they have legitimate production. Amen and Cam were the best possible picks. I had lost faith in Jalen, but he's playing like a legit star right now which really helps our future. I don't think there's anything we can do at the moment other than be patient. See how our guys develop and stay flexible in case an opportunity for a superstar presents itself. The only problem I see is that OKC is also a young team and well positioned for the future, but already so much better. They have a legit MVP candidate in SGA heading into his prime. They have more picks than us, although Brooklyn's are looking sweet right now. We can have cap space in either 2024 or 2025, they can have more. Any star we could pursue, so can they. Let's say an all-star shooting big like Markkanen becomes available, or an MVP like Embiid wants to force his way out. Are they going to choose us over the Thunder? The only star I don't think they'd go after is Trae. I just don't want to see a repeat of the GS years, where we had championship caliber teams but ran into their buzzsaw every year.
I think we can be more patient and predatory. While we have some big potential, it shouldn’t stop us from cashing in on a young bonafide superstar.
Turnover, we may need to move some vets like Brooks out of the way for younger players like Tari and Amen..... DD
This SG alternative / Jalen insurance policy - I think is a must have going into next season. We can't have him play like ass for most of 50 games then decide to show up. Who are you looking at in free agency (or trade) and how much are you willing to pay that guy? What does that mean for Cam & Amen for minutes at the 2? A healthy Tari absorbs a lot of minutes at the 3 & 4. Does that make Brooks expendable? If Jalen continues to play well, the FA acquisition becomes a major trade piece?
I wouldn't do a damn thing until we're on a realistic pace for 50 wins. Then maybe we construct a package of promising youngsters and draft capital for an impact player to make us a serious championship favorite .. Whether that youngster is Jalen, Sengun, Cam, Tari or whomever , that incoming impact player will have to be in his prime and worth the risk..
The creme will rise to the top. Long term we will be lucky to get 3-4 high level starters out of the 6. All of these guys have issues at this point.
My semi-realistic list: Reed Sheppard Cason Wallace Ayo Dosunmu De'Anthony Melton I want a good defensive player who can knock down threes, can theoretically play at least some minutes at both guard positions, and is 25 or younger. A guy we can add to our core group and is comfortable playing off the bench but good enough to start. These are the four names I've come up with that I think might be reasonably obtainable, can anybody else think of more dudes who fit this criteria?
Green played just under 20 minutes a game for the Nuggs last year. Only six Rockets this year average that much. He wasn't the most important guy off the bench for Denver, but he was one of the main reserves. I agree that he's not super-valuable as a player all the time, but there are games where his experience can help immensely. Daishen Nix, on the other hand...
No matter how We finish the season, most of my expectations for this year are blown out of the water. Ime proved to be a game changer, Alpi became an All-Star level player, and We hit on both of our draft picks. The vets IMO proved their worth except Jock (even thogh he's beasting lately), with Fred leading the charge. Jabari and Tari improved. This team is going to be a contender sooner than later and our future is bright. Considering what We had to watch and experience the last three years, the difference is night and day and a big improvement already. Those early season clashes with the top teams were fun, and We were in almost every game until the end, even getting clearly jobbed out of atleast 3-4 more wins. Hell, if Jalen was playing a bit more like he's playing now, We would be talking about seeding for the playoffs tree instead of chasing the 10th. This team is a reliable backup C (hopefully Adams fills this role next season) and a bench sniper from 3 away from firmly being in the playoffs year after year, even with a core this young. Jalen has me so up and down, and I don't know what to think of him going forward. Hopefully this is the start of his breakout, and We have another foundation piece going forward. The rest of the core guys all exceeded expectations IMO. We will grow organically and We will make noise next year for sure. I wouldn't go for a home run trade for atleast 1 more year, mainly because I don't see anyone worthwile shaking loose. We do have tradeable assets and can make those types of deals if someone becomes available, but I don't think We should blow them on a Mitchell-type guy. Keep good vets around our core, and give it more time to see if somebody else ascends to stardom.
Uncle Jeff is a very underrated acquisition. His impact on this team goes way beyond the numbers. It seems like everytime We start playing like headless chicken he comes in, has a couple of nice plays on both sides of the floor and gets us back on track. He's been big for us this season.
I don't know about playing both guard positions and he's 28, but Grayson Allen is one of the league's best shooters and is a reasonable passer. He's flirting with the 50/40/90 club. Since we're trying to win games now I don't know why we'd need our backups to be 25 or younger. I imagine a player that young wants to be more than a bench player for the rest of their career. Tyus Jones is also a free agent and is FVV lite. He always held Memphis steady when Ja went out. We have plenty of wing depth besides Jalen, but not many backups with floor general skills. I'm hoping we get to draft Sheppard or Dillingham and they get to be FVV's understudy instead, but Jones could be a decent option if they go ahead of us.
Believe it or not you don't and never will have to do anything unless you have Tilman's private number. In that case tell him we need another good combo guard that can shoot. I think that is one of the many reasons Jalen had such leeway is because the team actually needs what he theoretically could be to work out. I believe Cam Whitmore is a more talented player but so far he shows no signs of facilitating and our team needs a secondary ball handler that can also shoot. Amen is a ball handler but we all seen his shooting.
