....FVV is also elite at NOT turning the ball over - that's one of the reasons he gets the nod at PG and more minutes with the ball in his hands because this team was terrible last year at ending possessions with TOs.
If Sengun relied on FVV to be a good defender than he isn't a good defender. He is a good defender btw, with or without FVV. A lot of these highlights don't even have FVV on the court: Just to answer your question both Sengun and Jalen are 21 and improving on both aspects of the game.
i love him and think he's great... but have a hard time seeing a lineup of: Any PG, JG, Bari, Amen, Alpi going super far in the playoffs. Best case is Bari becomes CONSISTENTLY high 30s from 3 and Alpi becomes dangerous enough, and the PG is a high 30s guy as well. All 5 Nuggets starters shot 35.1% or better from 3 last year in the playoffs. its just where we are in the nba.
You are aware rim defense accounts for roughly 1/3rd of Houston's defensive opportunities - what about the other 66%? <Insert video of Dame's 50pt game on Houston that got Sengun benched last year> It's not good enough in the modern NBA to just be effective defensively inside of 6ft because most guys have decent range now. This is why Boban is tied to the bench. The point here is Sengun can play closer to the rim(where he has less ground to cover and naturally he can be more effective) IF the other 4 guys can take away clean outside shots. That is how you construct a roster around players strengths/weaknesses and the less weaknesses the player has, the easier building around them will be. Stop making excuses for Sengun and face the reality that in a playoff series, you will get played off the floor if you dont have a roster that can complement each other when teams can really hone in on those strengths/weaknesses. That is why Fred was our target in the offseason and that's also why Sengun's minutes almost entirely overlap with guys like Fred, Brooks, and Amen because they do the things defensively that allow Sengun to be successful - don't believe me? Look at how many meaningful minutes Sengun played this year without FVV where FVV was just resting on the bench - its not a lot....Udoka knows this and people paying attention know this. ...and before SOFs come at me - I realize the Dame game wasn't all on Sengun - his teammates left him out there to dry but it illustrates the point that even with significant an undeniable progress from both Sengun and Green defensively this year - they both have a long way to go before being playoff ready and that's the point of these "who are we going to build around" conversations because you are only as strong as your weakest link in the playoffs. I think its encouraging that Houston has two guys on the list above along with GS because it shows we are paying attention to the whole team composition like another recently successful playoff team. It's about acquiring specific players for a specific reason - not just for marginal generic upgrades.
I'm not sure I'm there with you in terms of your conclusions but to support further constructive discussion, here's Jalen: (multiple attempts to show below; unsure which, if any, may work) JG's 29/37 w/ the 2 qualifiers, >500 mins and BBall Index's internal classification as a "Chaser." For example Caruso is classified as "Point of Attack" so there is subjectivity. What's not up for debate is the company Jalen's keeping (D-Lo, Haliburton and Curry). Jalen is 7%-ile of all defenders in D-LEBRON with no position qualifier. For gigles, Amen is 95%-ile. Amen would be 2nd in G's (Caruso) and 5th in F's (Isaac, Draymond, Mobley, D.Wade).
Feels like Ausar was on his mind tonight. Hope that blood clot thing isn't serious. My friend had a stroke last year but made a full recovery. Poor ****er had testicular cancer in 2022 then had a stroke. Beat them both.
I generally agree. I would also say for the Rockets to be a truly legit contender, you probably need two of Alpi, Jalen, and Amen to take a leap into All-NBA caliber players, which probably means Jalen / Alpi are 40% range 3 point shooters and Amen is average. Bari / Tari are high end role players. I guess there’s a shot that Whitmore could be a superstar type too. Realistically to win it all, you need 2 players in that top 15 in the league range, and drafting and developing those does take a bit of luck.
yes yes just comparing the style of play and role on the team. btw, Grant Hill is a HOFer himself and probably ranks higher than Scottie during their prime years (MVP voting & All NBA voting between the two). but yea Pippen has had a better career of course. no shame if Amen can achieve anything any of these two great players did before
I have Grant HIll lower because he was basically an MVP candidate for 4 years and that injury made him just another borderline All Star the rest of his career. At least he was productive again, could have shortened his career even more.
yes agreed, i was referring to the style of play and role problly closer to Hill than Pippen. Defensively Pippen is top 5 all-time in my book, if Amen can be anything close to Pippen that'd be awesome. also nitpicking here, Hill was voted #7 DPOY 2010-2011, #14 2011-2012, #16 2008-2009, not all time great as Pippen but he's not defensive liability either. Amen has all the tools to be as good as Pippen but he has alot details to learn and bulk up his body to guard full time in a long season.
I'm getting increasingly convinced that he's a playmaking point forward. Such a valuable player man. I'm praying that he can become a Tate level 3pt shooter.
Tate is not even in the league prominent and long enough to have his 3 pt data labeled as 3 pt shooter.
yes of course i was talking about pre-injury Hill, only those "4 years" you mentioned. Pippen ranks much higher in NBA history for his accomplishment.
I didn’t say Jalen was good at being chaser - I just said he is better than he was…which honestly was epically bad in the past. Half the strategy is just being willing to be physical getting around picks and he spent his first few years trying to avoid the contact and would just get hung up on screens…but hey - Jalen has been far more willing to take contact this year to his credit - we just gotta encourage him to continue to play more physically..
Even though Amen only had a "humdrum" 15/8/3 line while running very little point against the Bulls, he demonstrated floor vision.
Amen is the PG, Tari is the SF and Jabari is the PF. Jokic and Murray are 29, Gordon 28 and MPJ 25. Our guys are only 21 we don't know how they will turn out yet.
Yep, they havent swung and miss on draft picks, but unclear if they've REALLY hit yet. For all the dumbassery about "are they better without Alpi? can you replace Alpi with a 3&D center at a much cheaper price and be better" yada yada crap, it misses the big picture - you NEED all-nba players, and usually more than one or at least players that can play like them all thru a playoffs. The only player remotely close to that right now is Alpi, who in like 2 of 5 "fast pace" games where the team was clicking before his injury gave you 45/163/5/1 and 23/19/14/2 If any of the 3 can shoot, then you have one probably (Jalen being the least likely even if he can shoot, but increasingly more likely if he can shoot, if that makes sense). I'm not without hope or anything lol... but guys like Amen turning into even an average 3 point shooter are pretty rare - not that guys cant go from bad shooters to good, but guys who legit are awful awful awful shooters turning good. But I'd also say guys like Jalen who are 3 years, hundreds of games in don't go from inefficient to uber efficient either... and i guess, maybe, he might? Still don't think so - its a hot stretch for sure, but until i see a legit whole season of consistency im preaching patience. Again, teams that win chips these days, basically EVERYONE in the starting lineup is very efficient for a whole playoff run
