Amen Thompson is the Rockets' REAL franchise player

Lebron averages 7.4 assists per game over a 23 year career compared to Jokic’s 7.5 per game over his career so I would say the stats match the eye test for LeBron as well.

 

Imagine being 5 inches taller, supposedly higher hops and having less bodies though? "Most athletic ever" sure, and Jalen Green was the next Kobe, Alpi was the next Jokic and Reed is Cocaine Curry.

 

You're deliberately ignoring what I actually said and putting words in my mouth. I said relative to NBA forwards he's been one of the best in the league.



I never said he was as good as LeBron, by the way, I just said it's not delusional or ridiculous to have him in the conversation just as a comparison. To be clear, Amen is not as good as LeBron (although he might get close at his peak if he continues to improve over the years).

Anyway, there's no point in arguing with somebody who is just putting words in your mouth and arguing with positions you never stated, so Imma bow out of this one.

 

These guys are significantly shorter, and apparently less athletic than Amen "the most athletic ever" Thompson...







Y'all can keep trying to gaslight, but some of us actually watch other players actually play games.

 

"Relative to NBA forwards" so nonsense semantics that prove nothing? LeBron is one of the greatest of all time, but apparently Amen's close when you can only even big him up with super narrow, spun to **** criteria that only proves he's NOT one of the best passers in the league in truth? At least you admitted you're wrong I guess.

 

@OremLK
Just to reiterate, he's not close to LeBron as a passer or with vision or with IQ. Like not remotely in the same ballpark. It's not even a conversation, just pure delusion.



Feel free to post the tape in your argument favour? I'll wait patiently. Hilariously you claim he's not like Magic, the announcers in this vid disagree and compare him directly (like has happened since his first stint in Cleveland, as anybody who actually watches basketball is completely aware of.)

 

No he won't, not ever. Not remotely close. At all. You must be smoking something to have actually written that sentence. LeBron might have been better in his second season than Amen will be in his entire career. WOW.

 

I meant at passing specifically given the context, of course. Not as an overall player. The odds he ever comes close to LeBron in totality are obviously extremely slim given the jump shooting issues and LeBron's size advantage.

Jesus Christ dude, reading comprehension.

Anyway, @ me in five years or so and we'll see where Amen's passing ends up. Don't be surprised it you end up having to eat crow.

 

I noticed over the last 15 games or so, when the team was struggling offensively, Amen took it upon himself to be more aggressive, creating his own shot off the dribble, playing bully ball driving to the rim.

I want to see more of that. He’s already averaging 18 ppg as the third option. If he can score 18 ppg as the third option, then he’s capable of averaging 23 ppg with more touches.

 

Giannis didn't crack .600 TS% until his 6th season. Amen was at .602 last season and has dropped down to .587 this season playing PG. I'm pretty sure if we put him back to the dunker's spot, his TS% would be back up to .600+ area and around 17 ppg.

I agree that without a jump shot, he is at best the 3rd or 4th option on offense. What I don't agree is that he is a mere dunker on the offensive side.

 

What else does he do above average? Genuine question. I'm not even convinced he's above average as a dunker, yes he can dunk and rarely misses his easy looks, but he's hardly Westbrook or Ja taking defenses off the dribble and dunking over giants either. It is hilarious how y'all keep pulling out random metrics as if they prove anything when it's not remotely a like for like situation. Giannis was the #1 option on his team before season 3, Amen's not even the 4rd option on ours in truth. When exactly was Giannis playing with a player like Alpi or KD drawing all of the attention? Shitt, Amen had JALEN ****ING GREEN drawing more attention his first 2 seasons, but sure, he's like Giannis who was actually more in the Jalen Green/Sengun position himself and had to come up when nobody else was taking that attention. You guys need to just stop comparing Amen to all-time great level MVP players, he's not that guy, he's not even close.

 

You obviously have ADS. Why are you so upset that fans see him differently than you? Guys are comparing Reed to Steve Nash. So what, we all want him to be.

 

I was not really trying to argue Amen is Giannis. You asked me what did "decent efficiency" look like. I gave you the efficiency of a guy who was supposed to be great at attacking the basket without a jumper.

He's not even an above average dunker? Did you see the highlight clips just a few posts above you? Are those driving dunks not above average? Amen can do those kinds of things. What he needs to improve is more aggression and a deeper bag of rim moves. Pretty sure he will get there with more experience. Amen is not like Capela whose only offense is catching lob passes at the rim.

 

Amen is already the third option on this team. He's the third leading scorer, second in assists, third in usage among the guys who have consistently started, and second in true shooting percentage. He has the ball in his hands regularly and creates offense for himself and others. I don't know what method you're using to decide how you rank our offensive options, but I can't imagine one that makes sense where Jabari or Tari are ahead of Amen. Reed, maybe, when he starts and the minutes are comparable, but he can't even consistently crack the starting lineup and has clearly been a 6th man this season.

 

My point still stands 100% he won't ever be close to LeBron as a passer, he's not that guy, he doesn't have even a 10th of the same natural talent there. I'll happily admit if I'm wrong (like I did with Jalen Green, and Reed Sheppard) will you? (I doubt it with this level of complete, unadulterated delusion.)

 

Yeah my bad the typo should've said 3rd, not 4rd which isn't a word. Like I said and you just cosigned, he's arguably the 3rd option, not definitively otherwise where did all that spin you've just wrote come from?

 

Yes, if I'm wrong I will happily admit it. (Well, I guess unhappily in this case since it would be bad for the Rockets if Amen doesn't turn out to a great offensive player.) I was wrong about Jalen, I initially was high on him and I ended up changing my views. I still don't even know WTF I think about Sengun.

Well, where he ends up will depend on how him, Sengun, and Reed continue to develop, and obviously whether we trade any of them. I can see him becoming anywhere from the first option (unlikely because his jump shot would need to become league average or better) to the second or third option (it depends), after KD retires. I obviously think he can be good enough to be a #2 option on a contender because I'm bullish on him improving on offense. I also think having a guy who's a #2 option on offense while being an all-defensive level player on the other end is easily worthy of max money. I know you disagree about his offensive potential. We'll just have to see who's right in the end.

 

On the latest Dunc'd On podcast they speculate about which players will make All-NBA (1st, 2nd, or 3rd team) in 2028. They discuss:

(top candidates)
Wemby
SGA
Joker
Luka
Cade
Ant
Jalen Williams
Tatum
Haliburton
Mobley
Chet
Flagg

(centers)
Zubac
Sarr
Zach Edey
Duren
Sengun
Kessler
Lively

(forwards)
Giannis
Jalen Johnson
Deni Avdija
Jaren Jackson, Jr.
Markkanen
Paulo
Scotty Barnes
Franz Wagner
Brandon Miller
Jaylen Brown
Cam Boozer
AJ Dybantsa
Matas Buzelis
Ace Bailey
Cedric Coward

(guards)
Kon
Darius Garland
Keyonte George
Donovan Mitchell
Devin Booker
Jalen Brunson
LaMelo
Dylan Harper
De'Aaron Fox
Reed Sheppard
Scoot
Ryan Rollins
Stephon Castle
VJ Edgecombe
Jeremiah Fears

I should say that they weren't trying to rank any of them in order, only mention them as possible All-NBA candidates. Some received serious consideration, while others were considered long-shots at best (ex: Reed, Scoot). Regardless, that's 49 names and Amen never came up.

We watch the Rockets play on national TV and we listen to the broadcasters and studio hosts lavish Amen with praise. But these are people who, at best, watch a couple of clips and review a few notes prepared by their producers before providing their opinions. Media people who actually do analysis do not view Amen as a top 50 player. If he truly was our best player then we'd be battling for ping pong balls right now.

 

This looks pretty fair tbh. Of course Amen didn't come up, 1 sided defenders aren't generally considered top tier players, no matter how much their fans like to glaze them as the second coming of LeBron or a slightly smaller Giannis.