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Amen Thompson tank thread

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by OremLK, Apr 19, 2023.

  1. apollo33

    apollo33 Member

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    I fear he will have the same issue s Jabari. There's going to be a lot of b****ing about jumpshots not falling and he can't do anything else
     
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  2. OremLK

    OremLK Member

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    Certainly possible. He's always struck me as one of those guys who puts up big numbers in college but doesn't necessarily have the level of athleticism to be a star in the NBA. We'll see though, if we end up taking him I'll have to hope I'm wrong.
     
  3. ApacheWarrior

    ApacheWarrior Member

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    I haven't seen them win a championship

    I saw the 3rd seed get beat by the Warriors which played Sabonis
    for the drive a lagged off him daring him to shoot.

    Sabonis is a better shooter and it's a copycat league.

    Kuminga shot well in his pre draft workouts as well.
     
  4. ApacheWarrior

    ApacheWarrior Member

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    I haven't seen them win a championship

    I saw the 3rd seed get beat by the Warriors which played Sabonis
    for the drive and lagged off him daring him to shoot.

    Sabonis is a better shooter and it's a copycat league.

    Kuminga shot well in his pre draft workouts as well.
     
  5. ApacheWarrior

    ApacheWarrior Member

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    Amen was 20.0% (3P%) and 53.1% (FT%)....I said he might get 10 points/game as rook

    SGA was 36.7% (3P%) and 80.0% (FT%) rookie. 10 pts per game.
    Fox was 30.7% (3P%) and 72.3% (FT%) rookie. 11.6 pts per game

    I remember when Dwight Howard was in the 50% FT%....we didn't want
    him touching the ball.
     
  6. OremLK

    OremLK Member

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    This is incorrect. A lot of misinformation being thrown around about his wingspan, stats, etc, in this thread.

    In the regular season he was 25% from 3 and 65.6% from the free throw line. In the playoffs he was 30% from 3 and 77.4% from the free throw line. (I can't find the combined numbers and am too lazy to crunch them myself, so somewhere in between those overall.)

    Source:
    https://overtimeelite.com/players/e763b02b-3045-4a91-a078-7140899327d0/career
     
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  7. Amel

    Amel Contributing Member

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    Agree, would love to see him replace KPJ, but we'll probably get stuck with Miller
     
  8. Astrodome

    Astrodome Member
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    • Name on his birth certificate is actually Ameiz
     
  9. j@amc

    j@amc Member

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    Very curious about whose prayers are getting answered at #2 and #3 in this scenario ...
     
  10. j@amc

    j@amc Member

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    Very curious about whose prayers are getting answered at #2 and #3 in this scenario ...
     
  11. ApacheWarrior

    ApacheWarrior Member

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    Oh no. I apologize. I googled Amen Thompson stats and clicked
    on a reputable site.....didn't look to see games. That was careless on my part.

    https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Amen-Thompson/Summary/176051

    I feel bad. On top of that it was highschool stats after I typed in Overtime Elite stats.
    Geez, too early in the morning.

    I still feel teams will force Amen into a lot of turnovers and make
    him a jump shooter every bit as they tried to do with the ultra
    quick high jumping Jalen Green. No team wanted to get posterized
    by Jalen Green. Amen we be guarded for the drive....expecting the pass.

    Difference is Green is a 3-tier scorer.
     
    #631 ApacheWarrior, May 26, 2023
    Last edited: May 26, 2023
    OremLK likes this.
  12. Imanimal

    Imanimal Member

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    My friend who’s a pro athlete and been to the combine said the scouts knew more about him than he knew about himself. Trust me….you’ll be watching Rockets games this season as Amen will not be a top five pick.
     
  13. aelliott

    aelliott Contributing Member

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    That wasn't the question. It has nothing to do with the statement that they would see zone or couldn't get to the basket.

    In the same series that you referred to, the Warriors got torched by Fox going to the rim. I'd say he's a closer example to Thompson than Sabonis.

    John Stockton is a prototypical pg who had a really long career but never won a title. Rajon Rondo was a weak shooter who won a title.
    There's not one single formula to win a title and it's certainly not due to just a single player.

    Back to the statement about zone. Did the guys that I mentioned ever see a steady diet of zone? We both know that the answer is "no".

    Likewise, it's obvious that there's plenty of exampes of guys who were poor shooters who were always able to get to the rim easily.
     
    #633 aelliott, May 26, 2023
    Last edited: May 26, 2023
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  14. aelliott

    aelliott Contributing Member

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    Deleted - Double post
     
    #634 aelliott, May 26, 2023
    Last edited: May 26, 2023
  15. OremLK

    OremLK Member

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    Truth be told, Amen Thompson is a tough guy to comp for, both because of his strengths and weaknesses.

    We almost never see athletes of this caliber who are this tall and long and have this kind of feel for the game. To find good comps in those categories you have to venture into "don't you dare" territory and start talking about all-time greats. On an eye test level, he is truly in special territory. That's why Nook is now telling us he might not make it past #3 in a draft class with Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller (who would be in the conversation for #1 in a "normal" class).

    But at the same time, Amen's shot is much more broken than the HoF talents you might be tempted to comp him to, and it is absolutely true that he played against bad competition. And it's fair to be concerned about those things.

    It pushes you into making these weird comps. "Taller, more athletic Rondo", "smaller Ben Simmons with his head screwed on straight", or going back to a different era and talking about guys like Rod Strickland.

    He just has such extremes that he's very unique, and then throw in the uncertainty of the league he played in, and I can understand why he's such a polarizing guy.
     
    #635 OremLK, May 26, 2023
    Last edited: May 26, 2023
    RC Cola likes this.
  16. aelliott

    aelliott Contributing Member

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    If everyone started school at the same age you'd be correct. But they don't.

    Your post was questioning why they didn't enter last year's draft. I gave you the answer - they were not eligible. Simple as that. Hard to see why it would be a red flag that they didn't enter a draft that they were not eligible for.
     
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  17. aelliott

    aelliott Contributing Member

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    With his size and explosive leaping ability, he'll have his moments at the rim. More importantly, if he goes by his man and draws a shot blocker, then I think that he passes well in traffic and will dump the ball to the shotblocker's man for an easy hoop. That's the correct play, right?
     
  18. ApacheWarrior

    ApacheWarrior Member

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    Dude the NBA is changing right before our eyes.

    Guys like Daniel Theis were serviceable three years ago..... unserviceable
    last season. Players like Rondo, Westbrook are gonna go by the wayside
    as teams get smarter defensively.....all they need are the personnel
    to catch up.

    You will see more and more mobile big men patrolling the paint that
    are able to contest the 3. The taking advantage of the big lug center
    won't be there for the Westbrooks and Rondo non shooting PG's
    to manipulate. Ja has shot over 30% from 3 every season.

    I don't compare Amen to Ja Morant.....I would go Andrew Wiggins.
    But Andrew Wiggins shot over 30% from 3 and 76% from the FT line
    to get 17 points a game.

    As much as I hate the idea of Harden coming back at max money...
    I think Tilman wants it to happen too much.

    I'm starting Amen over Harden at PG
    and
    I'm not playing Amen over KPj at SF.
    KPj has played SF with Cavs.....and guarded SF's on a regular
    basis while with Houston. KPj was over 40% in Catch-n-Shoot 3's.

    I have no doubt that if you put 3-point shooters around KPj, he will
    do just fine passing the ball. Udoka will have everyone passing the
    ball more.

    Adding Cam Johnson and Harden with their 3-point shooting helps
    the Rockets 3-point shooting immensely.

    I've said all I'm going to say on the matter.
    1) draft Whitmore/Jarace/Hendricks at #4 or move back.
    2) trade #4 Scoot/Amen/Ausar rather than pick one.
    3) go with Brandon Miller if at #4


    I predict: Rockets moves:
    1) drafting one of Whitmore/Jarace/Hendricks then Lively or Edey
    2) Harden signed to max or discounted amount (max to other teams)
    3) Cam Johnson Sign-n-Trade getting the Rockets over the 1st apron.
    4) Patrick Beverley on vet minimum

    KPj CnS 3's.....43.5%
    Harden CnS 3's...41.5%
    Cam Johnson CnS 3's.....41.4%

    Udoka will utilize and maximize these skills to open up lanes
     
  19. Nook

    Nook Member

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    What stands out about Amen would stand out regardless of the league he played in.

    Athletically he will be one of the 3-5 best athletes in the entire NBA, and that translates at any competition level. He is relentless, he is explosive and has excellent body control - and his second best attribute is his passing, which is innate and translates as well.

    Even if he doesn't shoot well, teams are going to have to body him because he gathers momentum so fast.

    There is a small group of guys that are so good that shooting doesn't matter as much.
     
    i3artow i3aller, PatBev and OremLK like this.
  20. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    i mean this describes westbrick and we know what a severe liability he is and what strain he puts on his own team bc westbrick's man doesn't even guard him within 5 feet and that's being pretty generous. truth be told, if you really can't shoot worth a lick there's no such thing as hiding you in the modern era. you will be exposed sooner rather than later. And lets assume the rockets are forced to settle for him as expected with the top 3 gone, boy will he stick out like a sore thumb on a 20 win team
     

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