Amen Thompson is the Rockets' REAL franchise player

Man his shot looks a lot better but I’m not going to get sucked into the Ben Simmons off season shooting video hype.

 

Meh. Ben Simmons failed because he was mentally weak. That’s not an issue with Amen.

 

Amen will probably average over 20 PPG this upcoming season. If he does in fact make a leap, its going to make the Rockets incredibly difficult to defend. Especially since we finally have a starting lineup where 4 out of the 5 guys are basketball savants and intelligent passers.

The amazing thing is that there isnt anyone in the way of the offense now. KD isn't at a point in his career where he's going to need to be averaging 28 PPG to make the team function. Amen and Sengun should be around 20 PPG respectively each. People wonder if Amen will "make the leap" but realistically he made one this last year and the team won 52 games as a result. He was the single biggest catalyst for our ascension into the West elite and the #1 reason why Durant is here.

 

That, plus he did legitimately struggle with injuries. Despite his flaws, he was an All-Star caliber player his first three or four seasons before the back problems really became an issue for him.

Amen is a dawg so I'm not worried about the mental side at all, and his injuries so far have just been normal ankle sprains IIRC, so hopefully he'll avoid health problems too. (Knock on wood.)

 

LIkely will play some combo guard when FVV sits with holliday or Sheppard. We know Sheppard won't play with FVV in the rotation since both are small. Sheppard was mainly in lineups with Amen last year probably since Amen offsets Sheppard's size if Sheppard plays 2.

 

Frankly I believe this team plays better with less Sengun and Fred in those predictable high screen or DHO sets. I agree Amen needs more touches and actions for him. I believe coaches still think Fred is the best choice out there at point for this team due to Amen's abilities and where he scores. If he dumps it to Sengun on the low/mid post him lingering on the 3 pt line does no good since he can't shoot. This compresses the defense.

If he brings the ball up on the perimeter teams will sag or play a zone scheme since they know he will either drive or pass. Having another ball handler at the point allows Amen to cut from the perimeter or baseline. He can play at the dunker's spot or short corner. He can screen and short roll or slip. He can get the ball rotated to him from Fred and drive from the perimeter.

I made the D-WADE comparison in the other post. Wade played point for the first couple years. Was TO prone and couldn't shoot beyond 10 ft. He was best driving and cutting and playmaking from there.