What he lacks in height he makes up for in ability to get off the floor quickly and explosively. That’s why he was able to block Bol Bol….but he doesn’t stand a chance against the big centers who will back him down to where he is under the rim but agree it’s possible in certain matchups or certain plays.
I'm assuming he continues to get stronger. But sure, there will always be guys who are just too big. That's why you have guys like Adams on the roster, right?
Amen was the 2nd most comparable to him for defense score (using crafted defensive +/- and defensive versatility rating). Just slightly behind Chris Paul. I like that. Amen was the 4th most comparable to him for explosiveness (which they just used vertical leap as the barometer. I'm not sure about those numbers they have for vertical leap, though. Amen was the 26th most comparable to him for dominance (using crafted +/-) Amen may be moving up on the stature comparison, too. lol. I can't help but think that if his usage and and shooting improve, he'll shoot up these particular ratings. Interesting video, and at least one way to look at it.
Nah - people have said the similarities about him since high school. But 1) it's a pipe dream as of now and 2) Quit trying to become an "I told you so" legend.
??? Look at his highlight reel he is already using his size and length vs 1 and 2. He is 6'7 they cant guard him on fast breaks, they cant stop him from getting rebounds and he is locking them up and throwing away the key on defense cuz he is half a foot taller but even faster and quicker than them. Amen's athleticism and length makes him one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. If we have Brooks or Tari at 3 and Amen at 1 or 2, that makes the perimeter defense elite esp since Jalen, FVV and RS are average defenders at worst. If you play him at 3 not sure what he does that Eason doesn't do. At 4 is even worse because Jabari provides spacing and stretch for Sengun and Jalen and thats obv his weakness. Amen is gonna be one of the team superstars you dont want him banging and grinding vs bigger players and becoming injury prone due to all the contact.
Have you watched that video? The back half of that video is basically Amen going nuts with FVV and Green on the court whether it be from cuts, in transition, on the offensive glass, or as the roll man. Go to 21:06 of that video to see an example of what he does that Tari can't do. Lots of other Amen as the roll man in the PnR in that video where Amen is under control but going hard towards basket (Tari can go hard towards the basket, but does not have the agility to finish as well as Amen). JSJ sucked at defending as a center last season, but the NBA did not solve how do you stop a FVV-Amen PnR with JSJ dragging the center out of the paint. Not sure how it will work with Sengun or Adams, but Amen makes it look like everyone else is moving in slow motion when he gets the ball rolling to the basket. Here's a video with a lot of those highlights, but focused on Amen as a roll man.
Kinda like a smaller but more agile Giannis going down hill. Giving him space to roll down hill uncontested just gives him so much forward momentum with his speed and length that it just overcomes even drop coverage defense.
I've used that comp before. While Giannis does it more with speed and power, Amen, as you said, does it with speed and agility. Even when a third defender slides over, Amen just changes direction for easy baskets. I didn't see it in any of the highlights from the video I posted, but when a team does defend his roll well, he just passes it to an open man. The biggest detriments to using Amen as a roll man seems to be that the Rockets have 2 big men that some of their best attributes are setting screens, the Rockets small ball centers can't handle centers defensively, and the Rockets are light on floor spacers. Maybe the NBA changes how they defend Amen such that it no longer works. Last 30 games or so last season when Amen was playing more a 3 or a 4, Amen looked amazing with space while headed to the rim with the ball. I just hope Udoka can figure out a way to use Sengun and Amen at the same time without those two getting in each other's way or more importantly their defender not getting in the other's way.
I'd like to see this roster mature together too - but how do you pay them all? Who's worth paying? These dudes come into the league so young now, it takes their entire rookie contract to figure out who they really are - and in some cases you still aren't sure. Jalen's not going to sign for less than the max & I think some desperate team will give him that in RFA. Sengun would probably get a max offer too .... The bill comes due on both of them at seasons end .... a decision has to be made one way or another. Jabari is going to get a hefty offer too, despite how many view him here, dudes that can shoot 36%+ from 3 and defend 1-5 aren't cheap. Tari shot 36% from 3 last year and is just as good a defender as Jabari (maybe more dynamic / disruptive?) If he can stay healthy this year he's getting a big raise. Jabari somewhere between 17-25% with Tari in the lower end of that range (16-18%) I almost can't imagine what their cap hits will be on their 2nd contracts with the new CBA, the money is so far beyond what we've seen in the past, Tari might end up with close to ~$30m yearly - Brooks current contract equates to ~$27.5m in what would be year 1 of a Tari extension. (~16% of the cap) Then you have Cam & Amen coming up for extensions the following year .... This is probably the first, last and only year we'll see the quote "core 7" play together and I think that's quite unfortunate for the Rockets because there is a very high chance they let the wrong guy get away .... a Harden-like situation.
Question: "How do you pay them all?" Answer: "You don't!" That question has never been valid. Why? Because the Rockets didn't go 7/7 drafting Jalen, Alpi, Bari, Tari, Amen, Cam and Reed. This year, at least 2-3 of them will play their way off the roster and the Rockets won't want them long term. I promise. So don't sweat it. The distinctions will start becoming clear this year and your worry will disappear.
Overall agree. The way I see it as an approximate value: Sengun 25% Green 15-25% Jabari and Tari 30-35% combined Amen 25% Cam...10-25% Reed....I'd guess 25% I'm definitely on the need to learn quick on Green bandwagon. Also, Rockets need to learn if Sengun and Amen work together as I think they have the best odds of being worth the rookie max extension. I think odds are good that the Rockets get at least 2 guys worth the rookie extension max. Ideally, the Rockets know Green is worth a max contract by the deadline or they package him with picks for a star on a max contract. I think Tari and Jabari get extended next offseason in the hopes that they will sign for a decent chunk less than the max.
No .... I made the comparison quite a while back. May have been in this thread. The size, speed, versatility & passing are very similar.
I cam here to say the same. "The Max" only means something if someone has money to offer it, @Corrosion ...and there aren't many teams with that kind of money this offseason - actually, there are two - Brooklyn and Houston and Brooklyn is going into year 1 of a rebuild so I don't know what value Jalen Green would have putting up shots on a bad team that already has Cam Thomas in the Jalen Green role with better stats.
Jalen Green with Cam Thomas freedom to not tty on defense would be a 26 PPG scorer. He was a 22 ppg scorer a age 20 on a 22 win team. His third year was about learning to condition himself while having actual expectations on defense.
