Houston are LEGIT!!!

[reamily]

Well see if ja is really a better 1 option than jalen green..i really see houston more dynamic pieces than memphis of 2022

[OkcSinceSGA]

Bill Simmons said on his pod today he may not trade Amen for anyone in the league...the hype is officially on.

I’d say his value is top 5-7 given his upside, age, versatile skillset and defensive mindset. But he’s crazy to say anyone in the league Luka/Jokic/SGA have proven they are #1’s. They are 26 for the two guards and 29 years old for Jokic. Jokic likely has 6-7 years at least at this MVP tier, as do the other two. Wemby has unfathomable upside. I don’t think any GM takes Amen over these guys.

[OkcSinceSGA]

Well see if ja is really a better 1 option than jalen green..i really see houston more dynamic pieces than memphis of 2022

Jalen isn’t even Houston’s best player. They are more like Boston where they are a strong team by committee. They don’t have a consistent #1. Ja was unquestionably that. 3 of the last 4 games vs elite defenses Jalen he shot like trash.

[azcatz11]

Bill Simmons said on his pod today he may not trade Amen for anyone in the league...the hype is officially on.

I’d say his value is top 5-7 given his upside, age, versatile skillset and defensive mindset. But he’s crazy to say anyone in the league Luka/Jokic/SGA have proven they are #1’s. They are 26 for the two guards and 29 years old for Jokic. Jokic likely has 6-7 years at least at this MVP tier, as do the other two. Wemby has unfathomable upside. I don’t think any GM takes Amen over these guys.

How much better do you think Amen is than his bro?

[reamily]

Well see if ja is really a better 1 option than jalen green..i really see houston more dynamic pieces than memphis of 2022

Jalen isn’t even Houston’s best player. They are more like Boston where they are a strong team by committee. They don’t have a consistent #1. Ja was unquestionably that. 3 of the last 4 games vs elite defenses Jalen he shot like trash.

Yes, i am saying that because another great team by committee( memphis) tags ja as their bwst player where all people knew was really a good by committee team

[TroubleS0me]

Team rocket is blasting off again!
Udoka coach of the year!

[reamily]

As long as he bulk up naturally, amen will get his giannis like scoring streak that he showed against boston..for jalen need to absorb more bumps to get more free throw opportunities and sengun to fi ish imside to open up space for houston..It wpuld be intersting how solid jabari smith can be as third or fourth option for the rockets..

Zero chance of that. Amen is closer to Iggy/Luol Deng on roids or AK47. He is at best on a true title contender likely to peak as a 2-3 option. I don’t see any indication at all of a premier shot creator. Which is what you need. Giannis doesn’t create his shot in pretty ways, but he can get up shots or to the rim at will nonstop.

Amen is more like a 15-20 ppg guy for a bunch of years guy than a 30+ ppg scorer.

Agree with that but he may me ah crazy 6'5 15-10-8 guy more likely becoming modern pippen..

[Sane]

Amen is already almost 20ppg as a starter this season. His second season, 21/22 years old.

You guys think basically his offense will not improve at all, he's just going to average 15-20 for the next 15 years?

So for the rest of his career, this kid who improved like hell since his first season, works hard on and off the court, coachable, encyclopedic knowledge of the game, this guy is just not going to get worse that's his likely outcome? A 21 year old who loves scoring will not score a a few more points? lol

Come on. Amen is practically guaranteed 25 ppg in a few years time when his jumper and handle are a bit improved and he puts on a bit of muscle.

[Sane]

Bill Simmons said on his pod today he may not trade Amen for anyone in the league...the hype is officially on.

I’d say his value is top 5-7 given his upside, age, versatile skillset and defensive mindset. But he’s crazy to say anyone in the league Luka/Jokic/SGA have proven they are #1’s. They are 26 for the two guards and 29 years old for Jokic. Jokic likely has 6-7 years at least at this MVP tier, as do the other two. Wemby has unfathomable upside. I don’t think any GM takes Amen over these guys.

How much better do you think Amen is than his bro?

I think Ausar has been hampered by injuries, making him do more rehab than development. Don't sleep on him at all. Give him time to figure out the NBA and catch up. Amen did NOT look like he could handle this much usage last season, some had even given up on that idea and wanted to turn him into a swiss army knife. It's just not who he is though. They do all those things because they're good kids and are crazy about winning. People think they're like a Kirilenko but they like to score a little more. Actually they're more like overly unselfish Michael Jordan with a broken jumper. I bet Michael Jordan could grab 10 rebounds a game too if he wanted to. Very similar to young Giannis too in the sense that they sometimes themselves don't seem to understand how special they are, they are just getting the confidence in these first few seasons.

I'm not sure there's much of a difference between the two to be honest in terms of potential. Amen has improved his jumper and FT mechanics a lot in one off-season. Ausar was kind of seen as the slightly better shooter before the NBA. I think there's definitely reason to be optimistic there. The creativity, handle (for a forward) and transition game are all there. Coaching staff matters A LOT. Trust me on that, and I've been a Rockets fan when JBB was our coach.

I think the biggest thing is people think these two won't develop the jumper, but it's looking like a bad idea to bet against it. Ausar's defense, passing and if he can hit a wide open 3 at a decent rate - would mean you're already talking about a $30m+ player. I think they will need about 2 years to develop respectable jumpers. It seems reasonably likely they slightly improve their handle and majorly improve their shooting.

[Sane]

I know this is sarcasm, but they are literally a repeat of Grizzlies in 2022+2023, and we saw how that turned out. Very young, loaded with athleticism and talent that just overwhelmed team with that and defense. But they lacked a CLEAR go to playoff closer that was reliable, and when teams are allowed to get more physical, their IQ deficiency (relative to the top tier teams) cost them.

They don't have a top 10 player or MVP tier guy. They have a bunch of 2nd, 3rd and 4th option worthy guys on contenders that don't have the pressure of superstars. Come playoff time these kind of teams just have zero chance. If you don't have a guy you can look at and say yea, he can carry you for multiple series... you pretty much have no shot. They don't have an SGA, Jokic, Luka, LeBron, Kawhi, AD, Ant, KD or Booker tier guy out west.

They are very talented, team, physical. I'm not bashing them. But like Memphis before them which went 2nd round then swept out of 1st the next year.... I don't expect them to do anything at all in the playoffs. This is a team where I can see them losing to basically every team out west in round 1. Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, OKC, Mavs, even random team like the Spurs or Wolves most likely.

What's my prediction? They are a 52-54 win team that gets beat in the 1st round, or badly beat in round 2 if they get a good draw. They are headed now toward a showdown with the Lakers or Clippers in round 1 and I don't think they would beat either one.

You jelly Houston and Memphis getting all the attention?

We haven't forgot about OKC let the new up and coming teams get their shine on bro.

I'm one of the few here that picked Houston to take a huge leap this year. I definitely give credit to them turning around a very dysfunctional team in a year or two, largely due to a coach who's actually a leader who doesn't put up with nonsense. I'm just being honest here. They feel like a 50+ win, 1st round flameout. I don't trust them vs mid-lower seeded veteran teams in the playoffs. Do you honestly see them handling Jokic/LeBron/Kawhi or Luka in a series?

I know you're being honest, but I'm being honest too. This is basically an assessment based on hearsay.

We're nothing like the Grizzlies. Our Dillon Brooks is a good shooter. We have a player who is very good at safely setting up the offense for everyone (FVV a far better floor general than anyone on their team). Our C is a post and passing C. They played Adams (screen assists) and JJ (stretch), completely different. Adams is just a part-time backup for us, we actually looking for another C. Our record against good teams is much better than theirs was. To be honest, our picks and prospects are better than theirs overall.

I think you're using basketball mythology to make an assessment (stars have to land in exactly such and such way). We have 10 teams with stars sitting behind us in the West and none of them sound like they're just relaxing before taking things seriously. They sound like they're panicking. You have an opinion: you need stars to win a championship. That's just an opinion. There's no evidence to say stars are acquired before a championship rather than born after successful playoff series'. Can't make an assessment based on that.

The only thing we know is if you win a lot in the regular season, if you have a good net rating, if you have good playoff experience on your team, if you have a good coach, if you finish with a top 10 offense and a top 10 defense. These things we know factually are linked to winning a championship.

You are just underrating our stars, that's all that's happening here. We don't need anyone else to have a competitive second round series this season and become contenders next season. The kids are going to make mistakes in their first playoff run, that has nothing to do with whether they are stars. The stars will shine regardless.

[robbie84]

If Brooks hits 10 threes like he did last night they'll win it all lol.
On a serious note, I like their toughness. Ime has got them focused defensively.

[lethalizer]

Amen is already almost 20ppg as a starter this season. His second season, 21/22 years old.

Disclaimer: I love Amen, especially on defense.

To your point though, he's averaging 17.87 ppg on 16 total starts this season.

Needs a bit more of a sample size before we can say he's an "almost 20 ppg as a starter for a season".

[Statlanta]

We shall see, I'm waiting to see when they will commit their own version of bone head mistakes in the playoffs like Shai Gilgeous Alexander fouling a 3pt shooter on a go ahead basket, or Anthony Edwards leaving a wide open paint to Ja Morant for a buzzer beater, or Ja Morant trying to jump over LeBron James on a 2 on 1 fastbreak in a tie game with 2 mins to go.

Is it going to be Sengun elbowing people with the game on the line, or Van Vleet getting hunted on defense, or Amen Thompson throwing the ball out of bounds, or Jalen Green taking hero shots, or Dillon Brooks getting wild technicals instigating the other team?

[jasonxxx102]

Amen looks great. To say he’s a guaranteed 25ppg scorer is insane considering he can’t shoot.

Where is the efficient scoring volume going to come from?

[NiceLikeChrist]

They are basically a worse version of the post trade Knicks last season. Play hard, hack a lot on defense and bully teams and get away with it due to rep, never out of a game.

I don’t expect them to do much in the postseason though. They won’t have the best players on the court in most of their matchups.

[jasonxxx102]

I got flamed for saying exactly this.

Image from statcenter on twitter

[cgf]

You jelly Houston and Memphis getting all the attention?

We haven't forgot about OKC let the new up and coming teams get their shine on bro.

I'm one of the few here that picked Houston to take a huge leap this year. I definitely give credit to them turning around a very dysfunctional team in a year or two, largely due to a coach who's actually a leader who doesn't put up with nonsense. I'm just being honest here. They feel like a 50+ win, 1st round flameout. I don't trust them vs mid-lower seeded veteran teams in the playoffs. Do you honestly see them handling Jokic/LeBron/Kawhi or Luka in a series?

I know you're being honest, but I'm being honest too. This is basically an assessment based on hearsay.

We're nothing like the Grizzlies. Our Dillon Brooks is a good shooter. We have a player who is very good at safely setting up the offense for everyone (FVV a far better floor general than anyone on their team). Our C is a post and passing C. They played Adams (screen assists) and JJ (stretch), completely different. Adams is just a part-time backup for us, we actually looking for another C. Our record against good teams is much better than theirs was. To be honest, our picks and prospects are better than theirs overall.

I think you're using basketball mythology to make an assessment (stars have to land in exactly such and such way). We have 10 teams with stars sitting behind us in the West and none of them sound like they're just relaxing before taking things seriously. They sound like they're panicking. You have an opinion: you need stars to win a championship. That's just an opinion. There's no evidence to say stars are acquired before a championship rather than born after successful playoff series'. Can't make an assessment based on that.

The only thing we know is if you win a lot in the regular season, if you have a good net rating, if you have good playoff experience on your team, if you have a good coach, if you finish with a top 10 offense and a top 10 defense. These things we know factually are linked to winning a championship.

You are just underrating our stars, that's all that's happening here. We don't need anyone else to have a competitive second round series this season and become contenders next season. The kids are going to make mistakes in their first playoff run, that has nothing to do with whether they are stars. The stars will shine regardless.

Your stars could certainly prove themselves to be of that caliber, but the playoffs often come down to having a closer in crunchtime who you can bank on to create against a set defense when there are no good shots to be found. Outside of Jokic, it's rare for a bigman to have the handle to be your crunchtime ballhandler, and FVV isn't on the same level as other top teams' closers. So how far your run goes is likely to come down to Thompson or Green delivering in those moments.

They totally could, even if it's a Jordan Poole like, well-timed hotstreak rather than the start of sustained brilliance...and you have the defense / depth to make that an easier ask than it is for a team who has to go bucket-for-bucket. But I get why people worry about your crunchtime offense in the playoffs, when closeouts will be crisper & role players tend not to shoot as well, since the shots are harder.

But I don't watch the west as much as the east, so don't have very strong feelings about how your kids will do in those moments. I'm skeptical, but I do think the top of the west is very vulnerable this year (outside of OKC).

[cgf]

They are basically a worse version of the post trade Knicks last season. Play hard, hack a lot on defense and bully teams and get away with it due to rep, never out of a game.

I don’t expect them to do much in the postseason though. They won’t have the best players on the court in most of their matchups.

The January Knicks were a monster before the injuries started to pile up and if things had played out a little differently could've given the Celtics their biggest test last spring.

I don't think these Rockets' offense has anything as reliable as BRundle, and they don't have as much shooting. Julius was on his way to a 3rd All-NBA team in 4 years after shaking off the rust; averaging 25-9-5 on almost 60%TS after the first 6 games...and Brunson hit a level that no Rocket has shown yet.

Houston does have much better depth than we did though, so injuries shouldn't be as much of a threat to their run as they were to ours. Orlando with fewer injuries seems like the more apt comparison to an eastern conference team last season.

[NoStatsGuy]

No, no, no, they still have a lot to prove, is what I keep hearing, when I hear anything about them at all. For example they still haven’t beaten two top placed teams in different time zones on the same day, that’s the kind of thing that the Rockets have to do to earn some respect. You know, the usual thing.

yea it usually goes like that.

not many people care that much about the regular season. too many times have we seen good, young teams clicking, putting together a great season and then get smacked in the playoffs. you earn your **** in the playoffs. doesnt mean i dont believe in the rockets, i think they are amazing. but i wanna see them in the playoffs before i call them legit. most likely they gonna get kicked out early for a couple more years. just happens to young teams looking at OKC, Orlando, kings, wolves, pacers, cavs for example. they all getting valuable experience these last couple years.

[LarsV8]

I got flamed for saying exactly this.

Image from statcenter on twitter

I don't think you understand what you are looking at.