Fred last season: Great defense 5.6 assists to 1.5 TO 14.1 points on 12.7 shots 38/34/81 splits Amen this season: Twice the defender Fred could be 5.2 assists to 2.3 TO 17 points on 14 shots 47/20/75 splits (very promising FT%, may be his jumper will get stronger) This projected only started 12 games ago. Fred has been learning the PG position for 2 decades. People need to chill.
FVV last year produced at a level that got him $25mil/yr. Amen is considered as of this past offseason to be a sure fire max player on his next contract. Him performing on par with FVV's last season is not a good thing.
For a player thrusted to play NBA PG just before the season starts and learning it on the fly, I would say he's doing pretty good overall. Amen is leading the team in Net Rating https://www.nba.com/stats/players/advanced?CF=TEAM_ABBREVIATION*E*HOU&dir=A&sort=NET_RATING And 2nd to Alpi in BPM https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?CF=TEAM_ABBREVIATION*E*HOU&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS highlight watchers and game to game critiques need to chill
I fully understand your long term vision for Amen as the franchise player, and the desire to continue developing him as a PG until he’s ready to take over once Durant moves on. That approach makes sense from a developmental standpoint, but with KD still here, we’re in a different phase. Our current priority seems to be maximizing our window to seriously compete for a championship. By not utilizing Amen in the role that best amplifies his defensive gifts, we’re diluting one of the core strengths that make this team a legitimate contender. His shooting inconsistency is a trade off we can live with; what’s irreplaceable in a playoff environment is his defensive versatility and impact. I also don’t believe we have the luxury of waiting for Amen to evolve into a true PG, especially since developing a reliable jump shot is a multi year process. We could do that 2 years ago but I don't see how we can do that now. Without having a reliable jumpshot, his path to being the franchise centerpiece remains uncertain. Meanwhile, Durant’s remaining years are valuable and we can’t afford to waste them. Bringing KD in was a clear declaration that we’re in win now mode, and to capitalize on that, Amen needs to adapt to the role where he can contribute most effectively right away. The roster moves we made this season support that logic, and I think Stone’s decisions reflect the same mindset. If Fred hadn’t been injured, Amen likely wouldn’t even be running the point right now, which shows that this wasn’t a planned developmental focus, it was situational. Once KD’s tenure ends, the dynamics will shift naturally. Other players will continue to grow, and there’s a strong chance we won’t need Amen to be significantly better, as long as he continues excelling in what he already does best while making steady progress as a shooter. For now, the focus should be on winning at the highest level, and that starts with maximizing our strengths, not forcing roles that compromise them.
Man you seem to always struggle with context in your analysis. Your thought was already addressed in the post. Performing ALMOST on par as a PG when FVV has hundreds of games of practice as a full time PG and Amen has 12 games as a full time PG is a very good thing. He's already a far better player than FVV, no one is interested in discussing that.
Not really, he produced in his first year and the Rockets just trusted him enough for his culture setting......last year was average to below average for his standards.... JG and FVV were the Inefficient Shooting Brehs.....why Stone made the Move to Durant...lol. 25-29 million for past services and above average Defense so to speak.
we had one of the most inefficient starting backcourt of FVV and JG last year people forget the multiple games of 10/35 combined fga the brick brothers were laying last year. The only saving grace was that FVV balled out in the playoffs to keep us in it. But in the regular season FVV was shooting horribly.
People forget that Jalen Green was facilitating the offense last season even with a healthy FVV. The whole concept of the point guard position in the modern NBA is ancient history at this point. I like to refer to it as "Lead Guard". Meaning the person on the perimeter in the half court that starts the play when the play actually starts, and usually the person that the screen setter is coming up to set a screen for in the pick and roll. So right now our "lead guard" is probably Kevin Durant. Where a smaller guard like a FVV, or a future version of Reed Sheppard comes into play is really to serve as a ball handler to bring the ball up the court efficiently and fast through tough back court defensive pressure, make a pass to the "lead guard" if they don't also bring the ball up the court (see Harden) to take some of the load off of them, and serve as a floor spacer, off the ball shooter, and vocal floor general to help get the 3,4,5 where they need to go. IMO, I do not believe Amen is best utilized as a "point guard"... or a small guard/off guard role like FVV, and Future Reed are built for. IMO, it's a waste of his talents. Right now while KD is in his prime I would prefer Amen to serve in the role that a Shawn Marion type of 3/4 would serve because RIGHT NOW he's a superstar in that type of role. HOWEVER as KD gets older I would want Amen to more and more shift into that "lead guard" role as a wing player. In a couple of years, I would want Reed to bring the ball up, pass it to Amen in the high post as the "lead guard" and for him and Sengun to play off of each other in the pick and role/pick and pop type sets. That is the future of this team and Amen's role. But right now THIS SEASON I want the ball in KD's hands, and I want Amen to be a superstar in the role he is already a superstar in. He's been fine as the small guard/point guard, but its not allowing him to do what he does best now, and he's not the lead guard anyways so it's kind of pointless when the play starts and he needs to then run into position in the 3/4 Shawn Marion role after giving the ball up to KD.
This. You are wasting his energy and talent by having him bring the ball up, setup KD or Sengun, and then run all the way over in the 3/4 dunker spot to try and position himself in the play. Last year the dude was a superstar in that Shawn Marion role. You are wasting his energy doing this nonsense just so he can bring the ball up and look like a point guard. Let Reed, and Holiday do that crap. As noted above, when KD declines in a year or so, more and more Amen can move into that lead guard role that KD plays now, but right now the team is better with KD in that role, and the team REALLY needs Amen to be back to doing what he was doing last season.
I want Amen to be Amen. I want opposing teams to have to defend him as if he's the PG, as if he's the lead guard, and as if he's Shawn Marion. I don't want to pigeonhole Amen into one role, as it is easier to defend one role. Use Amen's versatility.
This and I want Reed to play the instant offense off the bench. Ime stated it 2 years ago. He would like to have multiple initiators. I’m fine with playing Amen at multiple positions and Reed at both PG/SG. Just as I said this team will primarily use Amen, Sengun, and Durant to lead the offense. Reed takes that role off the bench. If Ime will get rid of the zone I think it improves Reed’s defense and helps him block out his man from the offensive boards. The only reason to start Reed right now is if there is an injury or Okogie drops off to less than 35% from 3 (unlikely in my opinioo).
It maybe (probably) will be a mixture of both. But I think we're on the same page just different spectrums. Amen needs to become a star. Whether that happens through a slow progression or a fast, learn through your mistakes sort of thing is fine either way. I just don't want him to be pigeonholed into one role just because that's what suits him best *right now*. I'm also in disagreement for example with folk that think Reed is a great off the bench sparkplug. He needs to be getting groomed for being the defacto PG of this team but ultimately the trio of Amen/Sengun/Reed is seeming like what the future is going to be moving forward.
Yes, I've been saying that Amen should not be fixed in one position. We have two very good initiators in Sengun and Durant. Amen would usually be the third initiator on the floor if he's playing with the starting lineup. I agree with @dobro1229 that it's a waste of energy and time to have Amen bring the ball up and then pass it to Durant or Sengun to start the play. There is one thing Amen can't do on offense. That's spotting up beyond the 3pt line. So he has to get to his dunker spot when Sengun or Durant is starting the play. We do need someone to bring the ball up. TBH, the only one on our roster I have faith in bringing the ball up court is FVV. All the other guys (Amen, Reed, Sengun, KD, Holiday) are all shaky when pressed. Without Fred, we are doing it by committee, which is fine. But we need more ball handlers on the floor as the same time.
KD is a finsher he's not a good initiator because of his 1 assist to 1 turnover ratio if we are talking about good high assist low turnover initiators its Sengun, Reed, Amen, then maybe Aaron
Well, if my eye test is right, they keep looking for KD after crossing the mid court. KD is an ISO king. He is not an elite playmaker. But he creates for himself and constantly draws double team and can pass to open man. That's how he initiates. Watch how many times when Amen starts a half court offense. Not that many. Reed might have done more. But it's all eye test memory. I could remember wrong.
Amen is not the best screener, but he should be used as a screener a lot instead of hanging out solely at the dunker spot. When players misplay a screen, Amen can dart to the dunker's spot. For instance, if Amen screens Reed's man, Amen's man can't be hanging out in the paint because bad things happen to teams that let Reed get open threes. Amen's man having to switch allows Amen a chance to cut. If Amen's man has to play up to be wary about screens set for Reed and Durant, Amen can get dribble hand-offs to allow him to attack the basket without the paint being clogged. Granted, this involves Amen screening more and getting better at it. His rookie year, Amen was great as the roll man. I assume the Rockets went away from it as Amen wasn't setting screens well enough and Sengun was back.
One interesting thing to note is that Amen is still #2 in the NBA (behind Hartenstein) in points per game off cuts despite his current role. So I'm not sure if I believe his current role is robbing him of his ability to score in that way. A season ago he was #15 in that category.
That's a good idea. I think Reed should do more PnR with either Sengun or Amen. Both of them are dangerous rolling inside the paint (in different ways). And both of them can pass well if the defense crowds the interior. Reed's shooting forces them to switch trap on him creating mismatches inside.
