I think it will depend on how Sengun is used in our offense. His archetype is Jokic. He will likely reach Jokic's playmaking level when he matures. But I don't envision him being a scorer like Jokic. Sengun's midrange and 3pt shooting will have to be significantly better to be able to come close to Jokic. and Jokic has the advantage of size. And the Rockets have more ball handlers. Sengun's usage won't be high enough to get to those other elite player's level unless he turn into an unstoppable monster when the team has no choice but give him the ball.
I agree 100% I just also think the remote chance that Sengun emerges into an unstoppable monster is still higher than Amen getting a 3 ball and that instantly turning him into a top 5 player.
The chances that he reaches Jokic's level as a playmaker is sub 1%. Jokic is in the top 2-3 all time, there is no chance in hell Sengun reaches THAT.
I guess I have more faith in Sengun's playmaking than you do. But like I said, it really depends on how he is used. He has a couple of disadvantages. One, his lesser scoring ability will affect how teams defend him. Two, playing under Udoka will probably means playing in a less creative offense. I think Jokic might not have been developed into top 2-3 playmakers of all time if he didn't play in Denver.
I just think way higher of Jokic than you do. There are literally one or two people in the history of the sport who have the vision and playmaking ability of Jokic. It's really no different than someone saying "certainly reed will shoot as well as curry". You can say there's a tiny chance it happens (i think it's literally impossible) but saying that you're sure it will happen is insane.
There is more to be a top player in the league than putting up points, assists and rebounds. Amen is substantially better now on the defensive end than anything close to what Sengun can become on that side. Also Amen showed incredible growth from year one to year two. If he gets his scoring to 20-22PPG without losing anything on the defensive side like claw did back in the day watch out.
I agree, Jokic is an all time great. He does things that were unheard of for a man his size. Sengune doesn’t have to be Jokic to be successful. Because Sengune is a top 15 player in the NBA right now. And that is a huge part for building a winner.
Sure, i was just commenting specifically on the idea that sengun will become as good of a playmaker as jokic, because he won't.
Ime says jumbo lineup to start the season against OKC Danielle Lerner: Rockets coach Ime Udoka said the opening night starting lineup vs OKC will be the jumbo lineup of Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Şengün and Steven Adams. bsky.app
Amen's a great defender, no question. Show me one great defender who's that average on offense who's been considered a top 5 player? Those players I listed are currently top 5 players, Amen isn't top 20 yet, or close to it.
I feel like we almost have to against them tbh. We couldn't run Reed out there against that backcourt, he'll get destroyed.
Jumbo Gumbo ball. I hope refs don't screw us and we come out with a win, that would be a sweet sweet way to start the year. Beating OKC.
I wonder if FVV even was still healthy, we would still run line-up like this with him coming off the bench.
I actually think he's a proven enough defender that Ime would've ran him at the point against OKC. Never forget that as a community, we have a lot less faith/belief in FVV than Ime does haha.
Well, Ben Wallace finished 7th, 8th, and 10th in MVP and Amen is certainly better offensively than him.
So none then? I don't believe I asked for the numbers on people who weren't top 5 players in the league. I can show you literally decades worth of top 5 players who put up points, assists and rebounds if you like?
Anyone lower than 3rd in MVP voting pretty much means not close to winning. There are reasons why offense is almost always prioritized over defense when it comes to individual impact. First, there is no reliable stats that measure individual defensive impact. Blocks, steals, rebounds are all flawed indicators. Although the same can be said about individual offense, at least there are much more easily accessible numbers that can indicate a player's offensive value. Second, more importantly, offense depends on individual player's skills much more than defense. One elite offensive player can dominate a game. One elite defensive player can only guard one opposing player at a time. Bottom line, if you were to build a team around either the best defensive player with mediocre offense or the best offensive player with mediocre defense, you'd choose the offensive player every time.
Depends. For instance, if the league is full of really good offensive centers, then maybe you go with the best defensive center and build around them.
If Ime doesn’t screw it up with this stupid two big lineup, Amen will average >20 pts this year. I think he averages more points than Alpi and Alpi averages more assists than Amen.
Don't know if this has been posted already but I just want to give credit to the rockets media department. This is very well done. I hope this is a regular series
