Defenses don't leave Brooks wide open. He isn't Curry, but a defender has to stay attached. You can shoot 30% as long as defenses respect you enough to not leave wide open while they clog the interior. Good defenses will have 3 men near the paint at all times with 2 non shooters.
I've watched Rockets basketball for over 30 years and I have yet to see two non-shooters work since the first Rockets championship. The second championship they switched in Horry as stretch 4 so it was Hakeem and 4-shooters. Yao suffered from Hayes/JHo/Cato not being able to shoot. Dwight/Harden years suffered from DMo/Terence Jones/Josh Smith not being able to shoot. And then post-Dwight Rockets worked because we played Ryan Anderson and multiple SF shooters at the 4. And Westbrook only started to work when they subbed out Capella for Covington. As for Amen's shooting, 0-3 feet 73% 3-10 feet 47% 10-16 feet 24% 16-22 feet 38% 3 point range 15% So umm... not sure what you're trying to imply here. Edit: read the wrong column on BRef for Amen's shooting numbers and updated them. It's not as bad as what was before, but the point still stands that he's a terrible shooter right now and do not need to be guarded outside the paint.
Agree. Right now he is being used as a Wing, but his upside is a PG. He has the floor vision. To me it is all about the HANDLE to be able to maneuver around the court and into tight spaces. That gets you to the early all-star Ben Simmons level. Shooting is the next step that levels him up even more. But the HANDLE will be the #1 element that allows him to be a full time PG or just a swiss army knife Wing. This offseason HANDLE has to be the #1 development point.
I hear what you’re saying, but I do expect Sengun to step out and develop better long range shooting over time. If we are building around Sengun and Amen, the rest of our starters need to be good 3 point shooters though. And that’s why as good as Jalen is playing right now, I still think he’s probably our best candidate to be moved this offseason as we try to build a balanced, winning roster.
I used to think the end goal for him was PG as well, I argued it in other threads. I love the idea of being oversized at that position w elite athleticism. I'm cooling down on that now. Amen has to be one of best guard rebounders I have ever seen. He belongs lurking near the basket getting offensive rebounds, putbacks and cutting dunks. I hope for Green to continue to develop and him and Amen can be the future of the guard spot.
A lot of the issue with the handle I believe is that he over thinks it.... because he will make exceptional crossovers and finish or kick out when he gets the ball on the run. It is when he is standing there dribbling that he seems to have an issue. His move to the basket, with 4 defenders coming to the basket, where he crossed over someone, then went around another and dunked on two guys took a really good handle. Maybe the Rockets need to take Thompson and Green and have them run on a treadmill before letting them handle the ball. A backcourt of Thompson and Green can be the best in the league if they shoot better and Thompson tightens his handle.... athletically no one is touching those two.
Me too. I'm kind of flipflopping on this. Amen is so great playing off ball, cutting, crashing the offensive board, etc., it seems kind of a waste of these skills to have him being the primary ball handler. On the other hand, his size and vision would be great as a PG.
It is very hard to work. The only one off the top of my head that may have had that issue recently would be the Lakers last title. As for Amen's shooting - he shoot's better than that from 16-22 feet... he shoots 38% from 16-22 feet and 25% from 10-16 feet. He definitely needs to improve, but not all of his mid range numbers are horrendous.
It's the same reason his defense at the very beginning of the year had flashes of brilliance but also multiple moments of him totally losing his guy off ball and getting burned. I think his mind races during games, and he hasn't had exposure to the bright lights, big sounds, fans, etc. that college and G-League kids have. Next year, regardless of any work he puts in, his handle will be much much improves because the game will slow down. Year 3, even more so. And then we are off to the races. He will be a superstar.
Moving Amen away from the basket would be a huge mistake. Go look at some of the offensive rebounds yesterday, the speed/reaction time on his jump is so insane. Right now the 5-out has unlocked him and his fit with Green is impeccable since Green is able to blow by the first defender and the rim-protector is drawn out to stop the drive. You cannot leave Amen alone in the dunker spot or you will pay.
Fvv needs to stop being selfish and let Amen get his pg reps. Tired of the walk it slowly when Amen is there ready to push it.
The Warriors won 4 championships off of Steph/Klay and two non shooters (Dray and whatever Center was there at the time). Smart players make it work.
Yeah if you believe Sengun can reach floor-spacing level of 3pt shooting then indeed, this combo can work. I'm just more hesitant on projecting something until I see it happen. After all, I tried to project Jalen's improvement for 3 years now and he's remained in place since his rookie year (even after this huge run he's still somehow less efficient than his rookie season). So yeah, if Sengun can shoot even like 35% on medium volume from 3, we're good. But I'll wait for that to happen first.
You do know that the Hampton 5, which is the lineup they pull out when things get tough, had Iguodala as the final piece instead of their starting center, right? And those Warriors teams didn't win because they were smarter than everyone else, but rather Curry/Klay/Durant were 3 of the top shooters in NBA history. When the Rockets even get 1 player in that stratosphere, then you can start making those comparisons.
I think you can make an exception when you’re also featuring the best shooter of all time next to a top 10 shooter all time.
I read the wrong column. I'll need to edit that. You're right it's not that bad. But it's still VERY bad.
...the reason why it worked is when you are launching shots from well beyond the 3pt line, you don't need a traditional big to rebound - the taller/slower guys aren't particularly useful. You need a scrappier guard who can cover ground to fight for loose balls because the rebounds aren't happening inside of 5ft of the hoop anymore and the ball is coming off the rim quicker too. Iggy and Draymond were perfect for that role.
Of course. There are indeed many reasons why the Warriors were so successful despite having Looney and Draymond not being great shooters. But none of them simply involve "smart player make things work." That makes it sound like all the NBA players who aren't superstars like Curry/Klay are due to being dumb. Which is obviously not the case.
