If you are fiending for some extra Rockets basketball this off season besides the Sengun and Garuba fiba stuff here is a nice little clip of a pick up game with Christopher, Tate, and Eason. If this was already posted somewhere then sorry you can put me in time out.
Eason has a little more live ball dribbling skills than I realized. He’s got such long arms that the ball stays relatively low to the ground. That goofy shot of his worries me a bit still though. He’s got a pretty good feel…I’m almost inclined to say the best long term strategy for him is to just rebuild that shot starting NOW because if he somewhat has some handles, driving skills, and game feel then there is an outside chance that he could become a legit 3rd creator from the outside. I don’t think we brought him in necessarily to be that guy(more an upgraded 3and D version of Tate) but the inefficiencies of that shot put a bit of a lower ceiling on his effectiveness as a shooter in both range and quickness to shoot. There is a very small but still real chance that he could similarly become an elite 2way player in the Kawhi vein - I say for a team not trying to be great this year, let’s just lean into the player development aspects of how each player can become the best version of what they already do well. …it’s all about that balance of trying to make a player something they are not(how bad teams develop players to fit a specific team need) vs enhancing the things those players already do well and limiting weaknesses(what good teams do). San Antonio is a team that has done the latter well and it rewarded them with a few really good players
When I watch pick-up ball action like this is it makes me appreciate the value of coaching and organization. These guys are getting a physical workout, but not much else. I favor deliberate, intentional practice focused on skill development.
Wow, for years and years we so longed for what any of the three of them bring even to a pick-up game. We are in such a better place than a few short years ago. The amount of hungry and hustle they play with will make “Rocket Ball” better soon than most think.
Why not both? If you've been working on skills, it's good to try them out on real people in real time. Plus, it's also good to test yourself physically and mentally. Dream working on just skills would still be a good baller but Dream learning from Moses in pickup games helped make him a legend.
Josh Christopher basically has tunnel vision both in these pickup games and in NBA games. Tate pretty much as well.
