I honestly don’t care if he comes back or not this season - because I have seen enough. I am sure the coaches (the only part of the organization that actually deeply understands basketball) have seen enough and know what he should and should not work on. His rookie season - at 19 years old was a resounding success. Hopefully he works with his coaching staff and veterans this off season and takes a big step next year.
To be completely honest, while Cam showed a lot of potential I feel like he is behind everyone else when it comes to playing winning basketball. Of course a lot of this had to do with his youth and inexperience, but the reality is Cam wasn't doing anything for us when his shot isn't going in. He was prone to getting tunnel vision, he didn't crash the boards and the worst part is his defense was horrible. He needs a lot more work and maybe needs to watch more tape of Amen so he learns there are other ways to contribute besides scoring. Hopefully now he is still MIA the coaches are going thru tape with him.
He might end up being better than Jalen Green - kind of hard to say about a 19 year old. He has some very loud skills and has had several prominent NBA players/coaches say he will be a star. You just have to be patient - track improvement and until you see real “deal breakers”, be open to future performance and improvement. The Rockets right now have some unproven but high upside players and Cam is one of them.
I think Cam is the only one who is unproven lol. Sengun, JG, Jabari, Amen and Tari have all already proven themselves and showed up in important games consistently.
Heck, Amen might end up being better, yeah, the scoring, but the game is not always about scoring...... If Amen can get his rebounding up to 8 or 9....... But yup, I see injury possibilities with all 3 of them, whoever is going to be the most durable, IMO. Cam and Amen have the rare advantage that Ime has been there since their rookie year and they have essentially 2 and a half years on Jalen.
Don’t rush him back Ime but yeah it would be great to have him back. He’s had an amazing start to his career, that 3PT shot changes everything. He has played just 38 games at 18 minutes, so he’s still very raw even for a rookie. Was 19 when we drafted him (is he still?). Just needs to improve his euro-step and defense right now. Keep polishing the handle. Can’t imagine he won’t be a big scorer in the league.
That’s certainly possible of course. My post wasn’t a slight to Cam. I like him a lot. But some people claimed he’s already better than Jalen now, and should replace Jalen as a starter. That’s how ridiculous the Jalen hate has become.