Yeah. But the lessening of his impact will also cost him millions. His hot shooting was never going to be sustainable. What makes him valuable is his hustle.
And somehow shot better from 3 than almost all of them in spite of not being considered a shooter. That 3 headed monster of Ariza, Tucker and Mbah a Moute was something else during that 60 win run... These guys wish they could hit that level of bball IQ.
They were all just built different, there is a clear consistency in the way Stone drafts players... Mentally soft seems to be a requirement. Reed Sheppard may turn out to be his best player drafted overall but that's because he was almost forced to draft Reed in such a weak class .. I'm sure he was looking for a dumb soft non shooting athletic player....
Its that classic dilemma, between considering the inflexible team approach, and in doing personal ideal over everything My personal ideal, Tari 'should' start over Jabari, based on who currently offers better max output, not on "potential". But Tari will not start over Jabari, cuz rigid team approach. So opinion based on that When the team was finding a rhythm with Reed starting, they rushed in Jabari early off injury, threw him right back into starting. (Who was a flop and cost the game). That shows the team dedication of Jabari no matter what. Last season, only a longer hand injury and Amen super play as a "premiere Ime player" relegated Jabari to the bench
Yup, there's a lot of favoritism on this team. Celtics fans felt this too. If Jabari lost his spot to Jalen/Amen/Brooks wing trio I'm not sure why he wouldn't lose it to Amen/Tari/Durant. Tari is simply the better defender and shooter. We need that at the moment. Jabari's skills don't overlap with the needs of the starting unit. His skills are desperately needed in the second unit though.
Like I said, don't care. I don't change a starting lineup based on who recently got hot or not. I've been consistent with this since before Jabari's slump when he was shooting well. Jabari has started for most of his first 4 seasons and has had plenty of chances he didn't seize. I'm sticking to the 40% shooter on the season and honestly that shouldn't be so hard to understand even if you don't agree.
Breach it to the heavens bro!!! Even Clint's perimeter defense was beyond great that year!!! Then he got paid and dyed his hair blonde...
Last 10 3P%: 20% Season Avg 3P%: 41% Career Avg 3P%: 37% 50% was too good to be true. BTW: Okogie Last 10 3P%: 50% Okogie Season Avg 3P%: 40% Okogie Career Avg 3P%: 31% Jabari last 10 3P%: 41% Jabari Season Avg 3P%: 37% Jabari Career Avg 3P%: 35%
Tari is not a 40% shooter...it was a anomaly...add in his pouting and stupid fouls and he's no where near as effective in the starting lineup as Bari...heck Bari legit been our 2nd best player for like a month 1/2 before he turned ankle...you could pencil in 16+ points 8+ rebounds and 2+ blocks If people want Reed to start then Tari goes to bench Amen goes to 3 and you still need Bari to cover for Alpi and Reed
Nah. I prefer to go by season average. Don't need Bari for anything but super sub role. Amen/Tari/Durant is plenty of length. All 3 have 7ft+ wingspan. I'm rewarding the guy who's shooting over 40% and playing better defense.
You really believe Tari is a 40% shooter after 3 34% seasons? I thought you loved Jalen Green's hot streak and wanted to ignore his season average.
When it comes to Tari, he had a hot start to the season when it comes to shooting the 3, but he's falling back down to earth. In his last 20 games, he's a 34% 3 point shooter which is what he was last season. On top of that, he can't stay healthy and has an Ime tier IQ. So while I love the effort he brings....and despite his mom's tantrum about it on X, he shouldn't be starting and he probably shouldn't get more than a 4 year 60 mil on his next contract....with injury protections for the team.
I think you're reading too much into 40 games @Mathloom . I do think Tari has legitimately improved, but I'm not at all certain he's a better shooter than Jabari in terms of true talent level. My feeling is that at best, he's about the same (within +/- 1% on their expected 3P percentages moving forward). You also have to consider that we've already locked Jabari up on a long contract, so we are definitely invested in his long-term development, whereas Tari is more iffy and could even leave for nothing if he gets a big enough offer sheet. Furthermore, I firmly believe Tari's minutes load needs to be kept down because of all the injury problems he's had and because he has that rod in his leg.
Yep, I think starting Tari was actually a good thing for our team. It proved: 1) Not worth the same contract we gave Jabari $23M per year -> Tari should get under $20M per year 2) Tari is a downgrade from Dillon Brooks 3) Tari can't create offense for himself nor shoot the 3 ball at a consistent rate to justify him become a starter With FVV coming back next season, our projected starting lineup will be Sengun/Jabari/KD/Amen/FVV No way we'll pay $20M for Tari who probably won't be our top player coming off the bench next season with the emergence of Reed. Steven Adams and DFS will be paid $13M next season...Tari's production is greater than those two so Stone may give him $18M per year...we'll see, but he's a key player for our team since DFS is currently a flop thus far for us this year
I preface in saying FVV and KD adds value to this team. And not just 'abstract' stuff like vet presence, but actual results in win/loss. Team wouldn't be here last two seasons without them. Eventually guys like KD, FVV, and Adams won't be around. Roster will fluctuate, things are fluid, but if the young stable continue to improve: in a few seasons: this could end up being the five: Reed Tari Amen Bari Sengun
I said this before the season started and it remains true: Tari is a very very good player in a specific role we have for him, as a high impact energy 6th/7th man, but it's a role that he does not want. That's fair. The role that he wants - as a starting and consistently trusted wing - isn't available for him here long term. He is also only mediocre in that role (yes Jabari is better than him at it). So Tari will not be here long-term. He knows it by now. He'll either be S&T'ed this summer, or get extended to be traded next season when eligible. To maximize the team's transactional position this summer - it's important that Tari appears externally to be a player the Rockets aren't out on. Hence he's gonna get starts and minutes and nobody is gonna say anything out of pocket the rest of this season. But the writing is on the wall.
I'm a believer in the jumper to be honest. I see form improvement and it's normal for someone to dip a bit. He also started the season poorly. He's just rushing his shots a bit overconfidently. They'll fix it quick. Jabari is a very mediocre jumpshooter to me until he proves otherwise. You wanna talk about sample size how about 4 years of hovering at 34-36%? We had to invest in him to not lose him for nothing and I just see him as a very good player for most other teams. Same with Tari, why on earth would we let him go if the market believes in him and his defense/shooting are better than Bari? Even if just to re-trade, I think they keep him. I have no issues with Bari but he's been outplayed fair and square according to things I value for our core guys. Just like I loved Tari off the bench, I'd love Jabari off the bench too. I just want Tari's energy, shooting and ability to guard smaller players.
