Amen Thompson - Point [Forward or Guard?]

Amen has repeatedly said that Alpi is "his twin".

I love this twin combination A LOT more than the KPJ/Jalen twin thing.

They can work well together on defense, and their strengths are very complementary (the only thing that both don't have is a good 3-point shot). Alpi is stronger and can box out, but Amen has that pogo stick jumping ability where he can get up very quickly from a standing start. So Alpi boxing out and Amen/Tari going for rebounds will be a sight to behold. Alpi will still get plenty of rebounds of his own, but especially on the offensive end, I can see lots of additional possessions from that.

Edited to add video of the quote and Amen's awesome assist, as well as Alpi's assist to Amen:

 

I really hope both of them learn to shoot acceptably well from three. If they do, the league is finished

 

Anybody here that remembers the KPJ/Jalen marriage in a fond way needs their head screwed on because obviously it's missing.

 

In my example I meant what if their small guy is better than our big guy. For example if they have Dame Lillard and we have Dejounte Murray, the mismatch is in their favor not ours despite the size difference.

I’m really struggling to understand your perspective. In general I want the best player (highest statistical impact on wins) regardless of size. I’m sure there’s some overlap with size, strength, speed, vertical or other qualities but the bottom line is who is producing the most regardless of what physical advantages they have.

Also you say a small guy with Sengun wouldn’t work but we’re currently seeing exceptional results pairing him with a 5’10 average starter in the NBA (FVV). The offense these two produce together is elite. I think Sengun can play with anyone except a non-shooter.

Size is not an advantage unless all else is held constant. In real life, all else is never constant. Just get the best player imo.

 

No his shooting wouldn't be much of an issue if we don't have more than 2 nonshooters in our lineup. Assuming Sengun becomes a 32-33% shooter from the perimeter with Amen in the lineup we can survive in this league. I'd much rather having a nonshooter at small forward than weak ball handler at #1. His relationship with the ball is not good and no serious NBA team starts him at #1. Brunson, Garland, Haliburton, Maxey, Conley, Lillard, Murray, Harden, McCollum etc. I frankly don't give a damn about how unique a guy is, that he's such an outlier if he lacks the most important skill to excel at his role. This is not different than saying Green can have an impact on game in many many many many different ways even if he can't shoot the ball. If you are a shooting guard and you can't shoot you need to **** off my team. If you have subpar handles when you face adversities you WILL **** the bed. They will snatch the ball out your hand, force you to turn the ball over. Listing a player's different qualities and implying that he doesn't need to have a good relationship with the ball to be a top pg is wild. Basketball has evolved but we are not in an era where a pg doesn't need to have good handles to be successful. I like him but we drafted too many talented kids whose main qualities doesn't match with their positions. Jalen, a shooting guard, can't shoot. Amen a point guard who are below average ball handler and terrible shoooter and Sengun a center who is average defender at best. He's lucky that Sabonis and Jokic exist. Amen is lucky that Simmons exists.

 

I should have voted center.

Centers can get by with a bad 3 point shot. amirite?

 

Its hard to understate just how devasting having TWO high IQ bball players can be but Alpi and Amen show it every time the two of them are together - they just think SO much faster than everyone else...and Amen's physical gifts make him very special.

...to the poster above - it's true that if Amen and Alpi get 3pt range, the league better watch it because this team becomes next level if that happens.

 

Divorced.

 

They have totally different games, but the analogy is actually a good one when comparing the defensive impact.

 

Amen + Cam + Sengun would be our Big 3.

 

The handle issue is so overblown on here its not funny. He has already improved his consistency w the handle and to pretend he won't further improve as he adjusts to the NBA and through working on his craft is a bit ridiculous. The shot is one thing but watching the games the handle is not nearly as dire as people make it sound. He has to clean it up like almost every other young guard

 

I'm starting to get excited about this Amen kid.

 

I don't think his handle has improved immensely - I still see the ball getting too far away from him a bit out there as he is bringing it up.....but what I have seen from him is he is defintely playing within himself much more than he was earlier in the season - he's picking his spots much better and not trying to dribble the ball too much. I think that's part of our new offensive system and it's just Amen buying in because it allows us to protect the ball better as a team.

 

He was obviously nervous as hell those first games of the season. That’s the kind of comment I read and I’m just like oh you haven’t watched a game in months? Cool.

To think he missed 25 ish games and seeing how quickly he’s settled in and begun to develop really, really impressive play. You just have to wonder how far he would be with health? How much can he grow if he’s kinda winging it midsession due to unforeseen circumstances? Not only the remaining games but in an offseason where he’s not focusing on getting drafted.

 

Maybe all fan bases are like ours. We have a budding superstar, maybe 2 or 3, but just can’t help wring our hands that a rookie with about 30 games under his belt has too high a dribble and gets ahead of himself every once in a while. We should lo be excited watching this plethora of young extraordinarily talented players on this team. Add all the assets we have amassed to a good,if not great coach, and we are probably watching a perennial contender being built before our eyes. Relax and enjoy the ride.

 

A lineup with those 2 would need us to replace Green with Cam as we will need all the shooting outlets possible given the horrendous shooting from both of them

 

In my example, I meant what if they my big guy is better than your small guy. For example, if they have Dame Lilliard and we have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the mismatch is in our favor not theirs despite you acting like size doesn't matter in a league that the average height is 8 inches taller than the normal population. The other team isn't going to play Dame Lillard on SGA over Amen. You make an assumption, but can't understand that others can make assumptions even if those assumptions are more likely.

What I find funny is that your assumption has the other team playing a bigger player on Amen (i.e., you are assuming bigger players are better defenders).

I will revise my statement to be: There are very few good young PGs that the Rockets could acquire that would push Amen to SG if Amen is worth starting as a guard. There are just so few good small SGs that odds are the Rockets will not have a player to hide a small PG on. Sure, if the Rockets find a great small player, they will go with him.