To me, he has to completely rework his jump shot. His mechanics are bordering on Michael Kidd Gilchrist like. He will be a role player at best with his current form.
Coming in I knew his shot was suspect, but I thought his strengths were facilitating, court vision and finishing at the rim... I haven't noticed any flashes of that from him yet. Maybe a smidge of finishing. Impressive marketing campaign by OTE to get these guys drafted so high while still raw lol.
His mechanics are not nearly as bad as MKG's. I think Amen's shot is very fixable but only time will tell.
Form is not everything....then you have to move to a healthy dose or volume..... Shooting 1 or 2 threes a game....everybody can attempt that....
Of course form isn't the only thing. I was specifically addressing the comparison to MKG with that comment.
Reminder that Amen put up 16/6/6 in OTE against mostly unranked 16-18 year olds. OTE def paid media influencers to spam Thompson highlights all over the internet.
MKG should never be mentioned, dude had all the physical tools to be a good player......but yeah sometimes people cannot get it right.
OTE is a money making machine and they also invest a lot in those hype machines.....would make sense to get some money back.
The funny story that most people don't know is that Thompsons were OTE's first big signing. They were ranked 30-40 high 4 star prospects. Immediately after joining the OTE, they were talked up on social media as top 5 picks due to undeniable physical attributes. OTE has definiately used Thompson's draft sucess in recruiting quite a few high ranked 5 starts. For example, Naas Cunningham was #1 for his class. But after one year, he dropped to #40 in his class. The league is both a sham high school, and a sham development league.
I do not like that, at least with College you might actually take courses and foster academics...... And if you play abroad in Australia, it would be a great life experience.
Yes, that's my biggest issue with OTE; the fradulent front for both 'pro' basketball and 'real' high school. Kids like Naas supposedly are taking high school classes while playing in a 'pro league' but aren't getting paid as to preserve their college eligibility. I respect kids who choose to play G-League (or overseas) and not pretend to play school on paper more really.
I think every aspect of his game was overrated going into the draft. I think he will be a serviceable player, I love his versatility, but he still needs so much work. He won't be a bust, but I don't think its likely that he will be able to fix all the holes in his game to ever really live up to where he was drafted. That's not his fault though. He seems like a good dude and a hard worker, I'm sure he will get better, but he is looking like a reach so far.
I refuse to analyze Amen Thompson playing backup wing minutes. He's a wild horse getting used to the game and if they aren't going to put him in a position to run offense or utilize his crazy athleticism, he's just a minutes eater and doing his job sufficiently. Amen running PnR with Sengun, with Green, Brooks and Jabari spacing floor would be a monster.
The gripe seems to be that Rafa is picking Top 4 picks on National Board predictions.... At least with Sengün Witus and Co. actually did a lot of research overseas.....they had to...
To be fair, Amen ran the offence today for a stint, and didn't look great. The Wolves sagged off him to make him shoot, and he missed a bunch of layups. On the positive side, he showed an ability to get to the rim, even against a jumbo front line, and played disruptive defence. There is certainly something there, but he is a rookie who has missed a bunch of games through injury already
I think the goal is to make him a super role player first.......in his near future. I do not care if he is a bust but OKC could even play Thabeet 25 minutes..... You can still play busts....
I am not giving up on the kid's shooting after 13 games. It took Jalen Suggs a third season to go from 21% to 37%. Lonzo Ball went from 30% his rookie year to 38% his third season. There is hope.
People keep talking about his jump shot but for me, the much larger concern is the complete and total lack of a handle. Loses the ball constantly and can't attack because of it.
The Rockets knew Amen Thompson was raw when they drafted him. He would have gone #2 in the draft if he wasn’t so raw. He is more volatile than most guys that go 4th in the draft, but he also has more upside. He has had an unusual amateur career, he needs a lot of help on his outside shot and he needs to tighten his handle- but those are doable, and he has outstanding/other worldly athleticism, great size and length and is a gifted natural passer. He has so far been about what I expected. His three point shot is terrible, and I expected that. His handle has been shaky at times, but other times he can make some spectacular plays with it. I am confident that his handle will get better over the next couple of years, he just hasn’t played against this level of competition. His passing aptitude is already good, and his assist to turnover rate isn’t bad for a rookie. His size and defense translate and he can physically beat teams to the hole. He is basically where he was when we drafted him - if he can find a mid range “money” spot or he improves to a 35% three point shooter - then he is at least an all star, if not a superstar. If he doesn’t find a spot on the floor where he can hit open jumpers - then he will end up out of the league like Brandon Jennings or will be a long term reserve like Kenyan Dooling. Some guys, actually most guys - improve on the perimeter when they play in the league a season or two. The question is how much.
