Compared to 30 games of Amen. Let’s quit acting like there is no way Amen improves his shot. I don’t think I’ve seen an NBA player as dedicated to basketball since Larry Bird.
You can't switch the conversation there - I'm talking about how to make Amen an effective player offensively despite being a poor shooter and then you use the OKC team construction to say that's why we can't take some lessons from Westbrook because a Harden led Rockets team(honestly the 2nd/3rd best team in basketball at the time) beat them. Thats a great argument....for an entirely different conversation.
I will say the most encouraging thing to come out of Summer League was Reed playing the point and using his gravity as a shooter to get defenders trying to run him off the line out of a defensive position which allowed him to head to the hoop and be effective in the mid range with hitting those runners/floaters. You don't necessarily have to be a great rim finisher if you can hit that mid range consistently and most shooters can't hit that runner well enough to be a threat there...but for guys like CP3, that gave them mid range gravity which meant bigs had to step out to stop them and opened up the rim for smart cutters(like Amen). While I agree that Reed's size makes him less likely to be a solid rim finisher similar to FVV, I think Reed has the potential to be more dangerous because he could have mid range gravity in a way that FVV does not but guys like Nash and CP3 did and by default that gives you better chance to finish at the rim if you are able to pull bigs away from the basket and make them defend you in space....this is all based on very limited data of Reed playing point and showcasing an effective mid range but if the ball handling and PG level quick thinking is real, there is potentially a wide gulf between what Fred is capable of based on his size vs what Reed is because of the gravity the elite shooting brings.
There's just no reason to complicate things when they are this obvious. Amen is really good in the dunker role and the Rockets have 2 better actual PG's. At least in the short term, Amen is a forward.
At this point. I don't know how to classify him positionally. The shooting issues make it hard to play him as a 2 or 3 (wing). I suppose you could play him as a 3 assuming you had shooters everywhere else. He was drafted as a point, but his handles aren't quite ready for that as a starter anyway ..... and again, the shooting has to improve or he's Westbrook where teams back off him and crowd the paint. For now, I think his most productive position is the 4-5 like Draymond Green - his game is very similar (currently) with Amen's game being infinitely better in transition. I do think you can play him with Sengun and Jabari as your 3-4-5. Sengun in the high post / picker, Jabari essentially your 3 on offense, playing on the wing / shooter and Amen in the Draymond spot - dunker / rebounder / connective passer. Your 1 & 2 need to be good shooters too .... Defensively, that group should be solid enough. He's really raw as a player, because of that, it's really hard to nail him down positionally. Ideally / eventually, I think (hope?) he's a point guard who's a matchup nightmare but he needs to sharpen the ballhandling skills and improve the shooting to become that. Him improving his shooting is pretty critical to his future success, if he can't improve on last year's 17.5% it really limits him positionally on the offensive end.
I never said he can't improve on it. It's gonna take a long time to get to a respectable 30 percent from 13 percent on a few shots from the 3 point line.
That's why he really doesn't fit with the starters. You simply can't have 3 non-shooters on the court together and the starting lineup already has Sengun and Green who can't shoot. With the bench unit he's out there with Sheppard, Tari, Cam, and Adams.... you can get away with 2 non-shooters, but not 3.
Mostly agree with this. His speed/agility have been too much for 4/5s and even 3s moreso than his size has mattered for guards. On handles, this usually takes time. If he develops PG handles, he probably should still play at the 3 or 4 because the speed/agility are already too much for those players. Add in handles, and he'll be unstoppable. I think he's pressing Jabari and Brooks for their starting spots. I think Reed will be a great compliment to his game.
Draymond went from a 21% 3 point shooter to a 33% 3 point shooter from his rookie year to his sophomore year. Also Amen was a 14% shooter not a 13% shooter.
If I were the Rockets FO and coaching staff, I would try to figure out how the future backcourt shapes up as soon as possible, even at the expense of winning some games. This would involve experimenting on Amen and Reed at the point, playing them together, playing each of them with Jalen, etc. I think both Amen and Reed are smart enough kind of guy to figure things out quickly.
I am excited to see the growth of the young core! Let them make some mistakes. Although I want to see the young guys get a chance to grow, I do expect a push for a playoff spot and some players who are not happy about playing time after the all-star break.
A I agree. He will get more time in the “dunker role”, but they will keep developing him as a PG. With FVV going away in a year or two there is no way they don’t start developing him as his replacement. Sheppard has not played a single NBA game and acting like he is definitely an NBA worthy PG is like saying Jalen Green is obviously the sg of the future before he ever played a game. If Amen becomes an all-star level Pg it is a much more valuable asset than him being an elite wing in a league full of elite wings and more coming. Compare it to baseball, Diaz is probably the best catcher in baseball. Even with his great hit tool, his differential between other 1b’s is not even close to his differential as a catcher.
There's nothing wrong with developing the guard skills of every single player, but I'm just not sure even the team sees him as a true option at PG. As to Sheppard, I'm going on skillset and expectations, if he fails to live up to expectations or demonstrates a different or lesser skillset, we'll have a very different conversation at that point. As of right now, there's no reason to think Sheppard isn't immediately the backup PG and most likely the starter his sophomore year. When it comes to Amen, you can either have him as a deeply flawed PG, or a forward with elite for his position guard skills. IMO I think it's pretty much a no brainer. You use this season to groom Sheppard for the starting PG role and you continue to develop Amen as a point forward type. I get that you are saying Sheppard has yet to play a regular season NBA game.....but you don't draft the best PG in the class #3 overall if you don't see him as a starting PG REALLY soon.
Amen and Reed are the future 1A and 1B ball handlers on the team similar to what the Rockets did with CP3/Harden. Different dynamics but they complement each other well. Reed can be put into any role and he'll be fine. If I ventured a guess, it's that the team currently has Amen/Reed/Jabari/Sengun in their long term plans.
I think that's about right, Sheppard, Sengun, and Amen give you 3 competent ball handlers that should all compliment one another
Alpe is a passer but a he ain't a great handler yet. Similarly Amen is not a great handler yet. Reed looks promising but can he withstand the heat of real competition? Time will tell.
If he improves his handle or his shot we're going to see a different kind of beast next season. Some shades of a more athletic Jimmy Butler. I trust him with it, he seems like he loves basketball off the court just as much as he does on the court.
