How do you propose teams will hide power forwards on Amen Thompson in man-to-man defense when he will use his speed and quickness to easily blow by them and collapse their defense? Teams would have to play zone to hide a power forward on Amen, and the Rockets now have Durant to help shoot opponents out of it.
Makes sense if you want Amen to maximize his abilities to get in the paint more and not put as much pressure on him to create on the perimeter. Amen can still bring the ball up and then run out if Ime doesn’t want KD to wear himself out early in plays. With Ime’s sort of unstructured offense really 1-4 is almost all interchangeable. Especially at the start of the play. As the play action starts though yeah you want Amen in the dunker spot, Sengun on the high post, Jabari on the low block, and you def want KD and FVV on the perimeter looking for open shots at this point in their careers. So makes sense and I think there’s good balance with the starting 5 for sure.
I’m sorry I went overboard with this comment, but it was not a well informed comment. Having Durant opens up the lanes for Amen not the opposite.
damn in that grok rendition she looks like she has down syndrome. i guess grok thinks she has down syndrome.
"- last szn, best lineups were 1 small guard + 3 wings + 1 center" So it looks like Amen is classified as a wing. I was classifying him as a guard. I don't know how many times I said the lineups were FVV + Amen without Green were great, Green + Amen without FVV wasn't bad (kind of good), FVV+Green+ Amen was bad (except the playoffs). I will say the starting lineup of FVV-Green-Brooks-JSJ-Sengun worked in the regular season. I expect Reed is taking Green's guard minutes.
Durant can be whatever he wants to be on offense. And Amen can play any position on defense. Ime only needs to figure out what the other three guys on the floor need to do. Anyone on CF can be the Rockets coach easily.
I admit I have very little understanding of KD's defense last year beyond publicly available stats, but just from his age and his offensive load for this particular team, I just want him taking the easiest possible assignment on defense. I know the Rockets switch mostly everything, but you still gotta do it in a way that minimize his effort on defense.
This is a really idiotic take that I don't believe is coming from anyone of note in the building. If it's position-less basketball then there's no positions. If there are positions, your position is determined by who you guard and who guards you. KD will be guarding PF's and SF/PF's will be guarding KD the huge majority of the time. It's definitely a concern that we don't have anyone who can put an elite amount of pressure on the rim nor is our overall shooting good though to extra-space the floor making it easier on KD/Amen. Not to mention with Sengun/KD/FVV on the floor Amen will barely have the ball in that type of scenario. KD is going to improve our 3pt shooting but it's not going to change the fact that teams can easily pack the paint. If Amen can't shoot from 3 he'll be attacking sagging/cheating defenders again. They never cheated off Green or Brooks (41% catch and shooters) and they won't cheat off KD or Jabari either. They sagged off Amen a lot and cheated off Sengun a little to create a paint that suffocates the post and the drives. Nothing has changed in that regard. KD uses the midrange to collapse the defense (as he mentioned in his interview) so when he passes out of it he said he expects the others to make 3's. It would be stupid to then run into a paint where KD collapsed the defense. A team without rim pressure and not elite (as a team) at 3PT shooting wouldn't go anywhere in the playoffs. It will also see a ton of FG% fluctuation thus making it harder to create long winning streaks. Luckily at least one of Amen or Sengun will improve their shooting this off-season. Or one of them will be in trouble. Either way we'll be fine to be honest. We're fully loaded.
positionless basketball. And yeah KD replaced Jalen in theory. Amen is getting Dillon’s spot. Starting 5 runs with anyone. I’m a pretty big fan of Jalen Green but betting on KD to average 25ppg and Jalen to come short of that is a pretty safe bet. You add 4-5 points a game right there. Probably worth a few more wins on that alone. Amen’s defense is superior to Brooks and despite the drop off in range shooting Amen’s advanced stats depicts better player on offense too. This team won 52 games, 2nd in a brutal conference only to the eventual champion and just improved 2 starting lineup players. Despite the positionless basketball setup, they are still going to need a bench scorer. Cam, bruv, golden opportunity here. Come to camp in mid season shape and EARN the minutes. There’s still a future where he becomes the team’s leading scorer and not just because he’ll put up stupid shots.
Yes…exactly. If KD is the “guard”, a soft zone where Amen is left open as a big sags into the paint and a small is into KD’s handle. If Amen is the playmaker, again good teams will have a big sit in a zone to try to force him to shoot. Did you guys even watch the Rockets play last year?
Ive been beating this drum. Dubose is stealing my takes. Stone and Ime don't value a traditional SG, so they don't see a need for one.
LOL... You think putting small guys on KD is the defensive answer opposing teams will come up with? Come on man. Take a second and think about that.
Yes, shrinking the floor and forcing KD to shoot mid-rangers or else force passes into tight windows with a late double is how good teams defend him. He will either make a lot of 2s or turn the ball over. If you think KD is an offense by himself, you’re going to be disappointed.
