Nope. 3 games ago, and that was last year, we were all calling for his head until he dug it out of his ass for a couple games. He is who we thought he was. A couple of games doesn’t change the fact he couldn’t be counted on to hit a jumper. 947.
- Is FVV "THE" fix? No. At point guard, maybe only a ball dominant prime James Harden, Chris Paul who themselves are "the system" so it's not being the current system, can be a 1 player PG fix. - Does FVV help? Yes Rockets now without FVV are a gentleman's sweep 1st round loss. With FVV, maybe a 2nd round team with a higher playoff seed. FVV would help in multiple areas thats probably getting undervalued. Such as just putting the players back into their more natural positions. Amen at PG, is a stretch. Tari at 2, or even starting, a stretch. Durant at 3, stretch on defense. Durant & Sengun relied on as passer playmakers, is too much, etc But a 32 y/o FVV should not be relied on as this team's Tyrese Haliburton & Cade
"Fix" is too strong a word. How can you expect a role player to "fix" a team's glaring issues? He will definitely help if he is fully healthy. What will fix 90% of our problems is for Amen to shoot 38% from 3.
I voted "Mostly but still glaring issues" And I'm not saying "Only FVV" fixes these issues but a competent, experienced point guard does. Someone that can get the team settled into it's offensive sets and run those sets as a matter of routine, keep the turnovers down and get guys shots in their favored spots - that could be FVV or another experienced, NBA caliber starting point guard. It doesn't fix everything, the elephant in the room is Amen's shooting. I'm not sure anything can fix that.
The Rockets are short on players and short on specific talents. If FVV is healthy, he hits some key elements missing and his weaknesses are minimized by the roster. I know we disagree on this, but I see FVV having traits (e.g., excellent nail defender) that pair very well with Reed. Personally, I think Rockets will be on the search for a stretch 5 to pair with Amen or try to get enough firepower elsewhere to overcome zone, Amen's man sagging to paint.
The answer is a stretch 5 (could be Jabari in a couple of years of added muscle) and replacing Durant with a guard/wing that plays defense and shoots 3’s. Amen, said player, Tari, Jabari, stretch 5 will fix the offense and improve the defense. If the stretch 5 can protect the rim than maybe Reed at the 2 and said player to SF. Get our youthful exuberance back and run, run, run. The only problem we have with PG is that Durant and Sengun are playing it.
Fred will minimize turnovers and brings a mental toughness that no one else on the roster seems to have. But the main issue isn't the lack of a point guard, it's that no one among Stone's draft picks is capable of being a max star player. I said when Ime first came with FVV and Dillon, "the vets provide the floor, the young core was supposed to provide the ceiling." They haven't done that. As much as I like Fred, he was just supposed to be a bridge to Amen or Reed eventually being the starting point guard. We had to extend him because our draft picks can't pick up his load.
Having Fred and Adams healthy and playing their best would help a lot. But, I don’t think we would be one of the top three teams in the west. OKC, San Antonio, and Denver would still probably be better. So, Fred is not really the problem. But, he’s not the answer either. OKC, San Antonio, and Denver have built really good teams. The Rockets have been a bit unlucky in that they weren’t able to draft a truly great player with all those early picks, but that’s the way it goes. I expect the Rockets to come back next season with basically the same team and hope for good health. After that we may be seeing some big changes as we move on from the older vets and focus on the future.
I agree that we need a 3&D guy in the backcourt and FVV fills that role. Unlike many posters, I don't think it necessarily has to be a PG. But if Amen can't shoot and we are not getting a franchise level centerpiece, it really still doesn't fix the biggest problem. We don't have a go to scorer who is not also a defensive hole. Maybe Reed will turn into that but I think Amen having a reliable midrange is more likely and neither is looking very likely. Adding to that problem is the lack of innovative offensive coaching that might be able to mitigate the lack of shooting in Amen.
Honestly answering this poll is difficult without knowing how well he will come back from his injury. If we get the FVV from last year, I think it will help immensely because we will theoretically have a stable point guard on the court all the time, but we will still have similar issues.
The next franchise centerpiece is likely either coming from the draft in picks that have nothing to do with KD, random jump in internal development, or via a trade involving those picks and Amen, Reed, Sengun, JSJ, and/or Tari. I don't put much faith in Amen shooting well enough from 3 that it makes a difference offensively. On Ime, I don't know if he's a good enough offensive coach. While I am pro-Stone, I don't think Stone has built a roster yet good enough that is okay to be as critical of Ime as most people are. Ime has made a lot of innovative things work like double bigs, pocket rockets better than expected. What Ime hasn't done, is run an uninnovative system built around 4-5 shooters with a Top 10 player because he hasn't had the personnel. I have enjoyed that Ime is able to have a defense work as well with Reed as it has without having a guard that can shoot (volume and efficiency) and play defense with him.
Mostly but minor issues, mostly stemming from the fact that none of the young players improved their game at all or added any new skills since the previous season, so those issues will have still been exposed somewhat. Also, whatever version of FVV post injury will be significantly worse than the top 75 ish player he was the previous two seasons.
You casuals always bring up last season but not the season before or his career average from 3. We sure could use FVV career 37% on 7 3 attempts per game. You are literally watching our team to struggle to do basic offensive schemes and you casuals like KPJ and Cam Whitmore. Come on DD.....
