In no universe is Dillon a better defensive player than Amen. Everyone is acknowledging that he has been playing great this year. Just most reasonable fans are expecting him to revert back to the norm, which is an ok shooter that plays good, not great defense, and is a poor rebounder. I will say, he came in this year in the best shape of his life and maybe because of that he can maintain. The other aspect that you refuse to acknowledge is that the future of this team is tied up in the progression of its young players, not vet role players. Decisions have to be made regarding paying our young players or riding above average vets to mediocrity for years to come. Ime and Stone are striking a balance right now, but at least by next year they will have to make some hard decisions. As good as the team is playing right now, I don’t believe they will mess with the rotation, but it is inevitable at some point that FVV and Dillon will slowly be phased out. If there is a big trade at some point FVV and/or Dillons salary will almost certainly need to be a part of the trade. Yule see.
Yeah I asked Ime Udoka who he preferred and he laughed and hung up. I didn't actually read the rest of your post because you don't even watch the games and spent last off-season telling us absolute lies about how Smith was "the primary defender" on Wemby etc, something that is just verifiably false, and then ran away because you don't actually watch you just have a dumb axe to grind. Anyway back here in the real world, there's a good case to make that in the non- Wemby division, Brooks is turning in a Defensive Player of the Year level of performance. Anyway nobody listen to this fool @Hemingway - he offers nothing.
Dillon has won me over. He needs to stay. We need all of Dillon, Amen, Tari to keep our defense as great as it has been.
Agree that Amen is likely a better defender than Brooks...though close. On future of the team, whether you like it or not, it is obvious that the Rockets are trying to win during Brooks's contract. Whether he's traded or not, the Rockets will want wins while he's on the team (i.e. , he only gets phased out if there are 8 players better than him).
I'm not sure what the stats say, but just watching them I would lean to it not being that close. Brooks is a good defender... But Amen, IMO, has all time defensive ability... To me, Brooks is more in the mold of a Pat Bev...Mostly Hustle and smarts with good strength... Whereas Amen has all that, plus elite physical traits...like a prime Kawhi Leonard...
You're confusing athleticism for defense. In vacuum sure, but on the Court? Can Amen Thompson jump higher, can he menace smaller players in a way Brooks doesn't? Sure. Does he turn defense into offense a lot? Also sure. But Dillon is the primes inter pares - he takes the other team's toughest cover starting at 12:00, P1 - be it Karl Anthony Towns, Wemby, Jokic, Shea Gilgeous Alexander etc - and also handles them till 0:00 P4. Also just watch him doing the non box score stuff, he knows when to stick a hand out, when to double off his man. - it's insane that the Rockets defensive efficiency is so high when he is on the court because his minutes are designed to mirror the other teams greatest offensive threat - if anything you'd expect Thompson or Season to be higher as a result. But just watch him. He wrecks possessions by doing things like forcing his man out for a few extra seconds that ends up putting extra **** clock pressure etc. There's a reason why he's a staff favorite and it's not his sparkling personal charisma.
No. I'm confusing defense for defense. I think Brooks and Amen are both top flight defenders among non-centers. On smaller players, Amen is definitely more menacing than Brooks. Brooks's advantage is on the bigger players and his experience helps him be a better communicator. Brooks is a starter because of Sengun, because he can shoot, and Ime isn't going to change a lineup that is working without good reason. I don't think Brooks should be taken out of the starting lineup. On defensive rating, Thompson has played a lot more with Adams who has stunk it up and generally has played with a worse defensive team not counting Eason (a lot of Sheppard and Whitmore minutes along with Adams). While with Sengun (for whom the Rockets generally don't play with many non-rotation players), the defense has been slightly better (essentuially the same) with Thompson than with Brooks despite Sheppard being out there with Thompson and Sengun about 20% of their time. Also, this season still has a small sample. Amen destroyed Brooks last season in a much larger sample. Granted, Brooks did get hurt and then just as he was getting back up to speed Sengun went down. Without Sengun, the Rockets didn't have to pre-switch or scram switch as much (i.e., IMO, where Brooks is most valuable). I am happy the Rockets have both Brooks and Amen. Tari too. 2 of those 3 should be out there at all times in my opinion. Granted, I'm pretty sure my opinion that 2 of the those 3 should be out there is the reason for this for thread as I think Jabari, despite a great 2 games, is being pushed by Tari more than Brooks is being pushed by Tari.
They are both top defenders. Amen is quicker and more athletic. Brooks is a smart defender (mostly, he needs to cut out the whining and techs).
Edit: Also, I did say probably. I don't think it is a big difference between Amen and Brooks defensively as they have different pluses. I think it is close and I could be wrong.
The only thing that prevents Amen to be a starter is his shooting. If Amen could shoot the 3 at Brooks' level (around 35% career), he'd be the starter. Then the Dillon vs Jabari would be relevant about who should be coming off the bench. And Tari should also be in the conversation too.
Thompson has played 49 minutes next to Adams, Brooks has played 36 minutes next to Adams A "lot more?" That 13 minute differential doesn't seem remotely close to being big enough make up the difference you're suggesting. Thompson's most frequent lineup-mates in order: Eason 243 Green 190 Vanvleet 173 Brooks 164 Sengun 146 Sheppard 134 Smith Jr 124 Landale 94 Adams 49 Holiday 35 For the record, the Rockets with Brooks-Thompson outscore opponents 112-87.6, the best defensive pairing they have. That's just barely the second best net rating of any pairing, with the best being Brooks-Eason 120.8-94
I don't see why people need to compare Brooks with Amen. The Rockets aren't trading Brooks if Amen suddenly takes another step. If they trade Brooks and Tari/Amen starts the way people want, the Rockets would have starting lineup of Sengun/Amen/Tari/Jalen/FVV and bench of Adams/Landale at center and Jabari/Sheppard/Cam. Notice there are zero guys off the bench who can play the traditional SF role, as Cam/Sheppard are guards and Jabari mostly PF. Like it or not the Rockets need Brooks, especially if Cam continues to be in the doghouse.
Brooks fits very well with Alpi because a) he will protect Alpi from picking up unnecessary fouls, by taking on the opponent's best offensive player, no matter how tall that player is (see: Wemby) and b) he can hit the open three when fed by Alpi We must keep Amen, Tari, Brooks - together with Alpi, they are what makes our defensive identity. The +/- of that four man lineup is insanely good (a ridiculous +73.9, 100th percentile on both offense and defense, yes, small sample size - Ime, enlarge the sample size, please). Almost doesn't matter who the fifth guy is. I would actually like to see the four of them with Sheppard for some extended minutes. That's my vision for the Rockets championship team in the future.
Now who is making stuff up. Ime has stated Amen is the young player he is most excited about. He stated Amen is often the best basketball player on the court. You can take all the 14 game stats you want to make your case, but talk across the league is that Amen may earn all defensive team consideration even though he is coming off the bench. Like it or not brooks won’t be on this team beyond next year at best. It is a strange mountain to die on. Ask Memphis fans. Amen and Tari are the main reason we are off to the start we are, not Dillon brooks even at his absolute best he has ever been.
You hit the nail on the head I dont understand why its a 1v1 between Brooks and Amen lol. Brooks is only 28 and has the type of game that will give him 7 more years in the league as guys like Trevor Ariza, Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier have shown. He will be here a long time whether starting or off the bench.
People really should watch Dillon Brooks Brooks on Giannis poss 1 - dribble drive no points Brooks on Giannis poss 2 - same Brooks on Giannis poss 3 - same (pass off to 3 pointer who missed) Brooks on Giannis poss 4 - Sengun gets Giannis, Brooks helps over onto him and knocks the ball away. steal. That's DPOY voting level stuff.
If you watched todays game and said what a defensive gem by brooks you are beyond delusional. Brooks cannot guard quick guards. Every time he gets switched on quick guards he gets eaten alive. The bucks were doing everything they could to get Dillon switched on to Dame. It doesn’t mean Dillon is a bad defender, it means it was a bad matchup for him and Eason should have been in the game instead of Dillon.
Dillon, Amen, and Tari are good defender in their own different ways. Dillion is strong and knows leverage. He is suitable to guard big men who attack from outside (Wemby, KAT, Giannis). But he's too slow to guard speedy guards. Amen is lightning fasts and long. He can guard anybody except strong big men. Tari is sneaky, always has his hands in the cookie jar. In terms of physical traits (speed, strength, length), he is kind of in between Dillon and Amen. Amen and Tari are much better rebounders than Dillon. Overall, I'd take Amen first. Tari and Dillon are kind of a wash. Amen's biggest weakness is shooting on offense.
Yeah but on that winning shot Jalen didn't step in to stop Dame - he waved at him on the way by, it was terrible D by Green. DD
