Lmao no it was not an accurate description of what happened last night. Go rewatch it and tell me how many times Amen was standing in the corner.
Nah you're misreading, I'm comparing them as offensive weapons/stars (also known in the league as "Franchise Players.") If you like later I'll compare the number of monster scoring performances on above 60% from 3 season to season later after I've eaten? It's so far removed it's actually insane. Now, I do 100% agree that Amen is a more functional player, great defender, great as a 3rd/4th option cutter you can dump it into, but he aint no franchise anything. As a scorer/shooter, Jalen makes Amen look like an amateur, and Jalen aint **** himself. Amen is a more athletic Iguodala with a worse shot, worse vision and worse passing. So far the only draftee with Franchise potential is Sengun (who is still the best player we drafted.) I fell for the Fool's Gold with Jalen, and he could actually shoot sometimes. I'm not buying into Amen as a superstar in any universe I'm afraid.
Agree that the hope is one of them develops a shot - and agree it likely isn't happening for either. That being said, I'm not as high on Sengun. I agree that him and KD are the better players today but KD is likely retired in two years so I wouldn't make moves to pair him and Sengun knowing it's a short term situation...and also knowing that other players of advanced age on this roster similar to him are also injury prone. Personally I think a big that is not switchable, is just an average defender, and has little range outside of the paint poses more problems to team construction than Amen's limitations as a shooter....but I see why you say that because if KD and Alpi are gone - who is going to score the ball if Reed shows up every 5th game and Amen is not a pure scorer. Ultimately we need to solve the long term answer at a scorer to build around - I just think Alpi and the draft picks are the only viable way to get that player because we didn't really find that "any night this guy can be a Batman" player in the draft unfortunately. Alpi is a Batman only in specific matchups.
Yeah, honestly it’s just all dependent on who we receive back in a hypothetical trade of one of the two. It’s just harder to find stretch bigs so that also factored into my reasoning.
Any improvement going forward will be incremental. He's probably spent the past 5 years working with professional shooting coaches, yet his already bad 3pt shooting has regressed to terrible this season. You can absolutely judge anyone if they've been in the league for 3 years - that's why the players become extension eligible at that point. This dude is a taller but less talented Russell Westbrook. He can generate a lot of stats and a few highlight plays every game, but he can't impact winning at the highest level. He raises your floor but caps your ceiling, which is the absolute worst position for an NBA team. You think Amen will improve? I say right now his value is the highest it will ever be. He will be exposed in the playoffs, his trade value will plummet, and he'll likely become a restricted FA.
Just a matter of opinion. Fortunately most of the league agrees with me and the Rockets FO certainly does. So I get to watch one of my favorite players play for my favorite team while you suck your thumb in the corner.
I'd say the league as a whole loves Amen. Does the league as a whole think he's guaranteed to develop a shot, and that guys sagging off Amen isn't an issue? No. I'd say most of the coaches would acknowledge it and try to find solutions. The Rockets are obviously working on it. Even Amen acknowledged they are working on it.
Our system is failing Amen... Reed is averaging 12pts, but would average 20pts with the Warriors. Kuddos to Ime getting us here, but I think we need to make a coaching change if we get bounced out the 1st round again. Question: who could we replace Ime with???
Amen changed his shooting form. Shame on the people that programmed him when he was young, and didnt intervene. Aaron Gordon went through the same transition and look at him now. It can be done, but he has to start somewhere. He doesn't have arch on his shot and he's fading on all of his jumpshots. Those 2 things right there will fix a lot.
I think this season's team is about the worst situation Amen could be in while still being on a good team. We play incredibly slow and don't shoot very many three pointers, and lately we suck when we do take them. Our starting center is a great player but he can't shoot and is just okay in transition; kind of the opposite of the "athletic shotblocking lob threat" type in that regard. Amen thrives in transition and needs a lot of floor spacers around him to compensate for his biggest weakness. To his credit, he's still been able to play well and be one of the best players on a playoff team. But I think the narrative around him would be a lot different if the roster was built to better-suit his strengths and weaknesses.
Agreed. This team feels like a Jeff Van Gundy roster, and we all know how his teams performed in the playoffs...
And how is that the Rockets' fault? If he can't develop a reliable jumpshot or half-court game, he will never be a mainstay of a championship calibre team.
