another random thought: Can everyone reach the all-star level of play and be on the same team? Remember there is only one ball. To get all-star numbers one needs all-star touches and all star-calls from the refs (the league needs to back it, too). Reminder FVV is going to get his & Brook has taken his share and then some in the past. Coach hold a lot of futures in his hands. Playing time isn’t a given, let alone playing style. Hard to put up 20 points a night for 1 player let a lone 3 other players doing the same while the being coached to slow the ball down by playing defense. We will see.
GSW had four simultaneous all-star selections in 2017 and 2018. Atlanta did it in 2015. Boston did it in 2011. Realistically though, at least one of Green/Sengun/Smith/Amen will probably not reach all-star levels of play. It's possible they all will, but not very likely. Doesn't mean any of them will be a total bust, but odds are at least one will end up somewhere around rotation player/starter without becoming a star-level player.
If I had to put them into tiers I’d put Amen at the top followed by Sengun and Green and below them Jabari. But that’s just a rough guess….Like if Jabari became a superstar and best player in the team I wouldn’t be surprised.
Where is FVV and Brooks in this picture? Smith looked all-worldly in Summer League because offense was flowing through him. I highly doubt that will happen in the regular season. Much like Sengun needs the ball to make the passes to the cutters so the offense needs to flow through him (Is he really a 6th man because of FVV). Green needs the ball because most of his game is rhythm off of his dribble (Is he really a 6th man). Porter is more of the same. I looking forward to see how it all works out. Go Rockets
Yeah we'll see. I'm extremely worried about Brooks taking too many touches from the young core. Hopefully his contract won't stand in the way of Ime benching him as necessary in a year or two. Less concerned with FVV since he is a short term stopgap if Amen seems ready to take over.
Good to have high hopes for at least one of our young guys, but I can't help but find these hopes & wishes unfounded.
Denver last year had Jokic at 24/9/11, Murray at 20/4/6, MPJ at 17/5/1, and Gordon at 16/6/3. Given how much people are comparing the Rockets to Denver, assuming all the young'uns develop, that's a very reasonable distribution of stats except Green in the Murray role with more points and Sengun with fewer. FVV being the 3rd/4th option until Amen look like a star in this hypothetical best case scenario.
For me superstars impact the game in more than one area. I put 2 way players as the pinnacle of this. Only Amen and maybe Jabari project to be two way players. Amen projects to even more adding in playmaking. At a minimum you have to have a major impact on the game in more than one area. If all a guy does is score he's just a role player in my mind.
Superstars impact the game by impacting the game. If a superstar's ability to create so much scoring gravity it positively effects the entire's teams offensive spacing and efficiency they are a superstar(Curry, KD, Dame, Harden, Booker etc) There is no clear defined rule. If someone is a role player on offense and a elite defender, they probably aren't a superstar. Tony Allen wasn't a superstar. Marcus Smart isn't a superstar while being a elite defender his entire career and even being a above average offensive player in the past few years. Superstars are elite self creators also.
The player with the highest ceiling and the best chance of being a truly elite star is Amen Thompson and it really isn't even close. Thompson has the best size, he has the best playmaking ability, he is the Rockets best penetrator, he has a very high defensive upside and as an athlete, he is on another level than anyone on the Rockets. For Thompson it is all going to come down to whether he improves as a shooter. The Rockets have some other players that have all star upside - Sengun, Green and Smith - but I don't think any of them have true superstar upside.
I mean Green was a higher level draft prospect and Amen hasn't played a NBA game yet so we can only go by predraft rankings.
They are similar level prospects entering the NBA, they just came from different draft classes and talent at the top of the class. No, Amen Thompson hasn't played in the NBA yet. All we have is what he did in a single pre-season game, and game tape of him before entering the NBA. Still - we know that Amen is a point guard that has elite size, is a good natural passer, has a very long wingspan, has a vertical in the mid 40's or higher, is very quick and excellent and stop and go and has huge hands - and cannot shoot well outside of 10 feet. Jalen Green is also very quick and also is an elite athlete - but not quite as good - but still elite. However, we also know that he doesn't have great size, that he doesn't have the save wingspan or the frame to put on weight like Amen - and he also isn't as good a ball handler or passer as Thompson. He is a better natural and functional shooter than Thompson. So a lot of Green's value is going to be tied up in his ability to score efficiently and in bulk. For him to be a superstar, he will need to score like Lillard or near prime Harden - because he isn't as good as other aspects of the game. It doesn't mean he will not do it, I think he is going to take a major step this year - I think he will be an all star in the next couple seasons --- but those limitations I think make him less likely to be a superstar, than someone like Amen Thompson that really only needs to become a close to average shooter to make a huge impact. It isn't that I dislike Green - in fact the thing I am the most excited about is seeing a backcourt of Amen and Jalen ......... they fit each other very well, and they are the most athletic backcourt in the league and the highest upside as a backcourt in the league. Amen just can do more things than Jalen Green.
I disagree on Amen being a better ball handler. Green came in with a more refined game outside of awareness and desire to look for teammates. It wasn't just his shooting that was more refined. He had more of a in-between game and his movements were more fluid. What Amen is significantly better than Green is, is his ability to look ahead and examine the positioning of where all his teammates are while handling the ball. His head is on a swivel and he will know if a teammate has a opening on any area of the court way more often than Green. For example Green seems to not know corner shooters exist. Always tried to go for the finish at the time when there are open corner players. Also if Green wants to become a superstar he has to pick some of those habits that Amen has when it comes to examining the floor and positioning of teammates.
Amen, Jalen, Alp, Jabari In a couple of years the Amen/Green backcourt will be a terror for opponents.
Other than Amen vs. Green as a ball-handler, I agree with this. I think Amen is a better ball-handler than Green but both still need to tighten up here. Green isn't bad, but his left hand is weak and he makes bad decisions sometimes resulting in TOs. Overall, though, I'm really high on both (they were my choices in this poll). I think Green is going to take a huge step this year. His biggest issue has been consistency, but his best games are superstar-esque. He has it when it comes to being a scorer - he really just needs to improve his playmaking and defense. I hope he'll step up to the challenge because his potential is immense and only he can cap his own ceiling. Amen, on the other hand, if he can be a Westbrook without all of the bad shots, he's already extremely valuable. That's a superstar.
If Amen can be a more physically gifted Josh Giddey in his first few years, he definitely will be on track to be a superstar. I think a more physically gifted Giddey is near exactly what Amen is
Also Green and Amen have similar differences in skillsets as Jordan and Pippen. Obviously not saying that will be the level of players especially the Jordan comp but in terms of style of play and differences in skillsets it's very reminiscent of Jordan and Pippen at least on offense. Definitely not on defense because Green
