I said he was a project at point, often drove and picked up his dribble when extra defender stepped forward and met Amen at the free throw line area. Well there were some MoFo's here that argued with me that he is a true point guard, sees the entire court, doesn't pick up his dribble when he drives. He will be our answer at PG for the next 10 years. _____________ Now we need to give Amen time to develop.....at PG. TyTy would be great, then we drafted him first round....and he was not. Now Amen is amazing, so we drafted him in the first round and he is not (at point guard). Some people around here need to stop telling us what a good point guard is, and will be.
Both entered the league with significantly better handles. I wonder if people actually watch games. Amen has a severe issue keeping a live dribble. He's great at attacking open spaces and defenders backpedaling in transition but in set stand still half court set, the moment a defender presses up on him off a pnr or any type of action he stops his dribble. That isn't the handle of a shooting guard let alone a PG. But he doesn't have to be a lead ball handler to reach a star ceiling. He can very well be a much more athletic version of Draymond Green which is still a high level player on a contender.
Ime needs to push Amen and his development at PG this year and have FVV play more off ball shooter. Needs someone ready other than FVV who can take position Amen looks a year or two away from being SGA
Do you think that’s correctable though? Jalen has dramatically improved his handle since joining the Rockets. I feel like Amen has that kind of motor.
Jalen improved his handle but he entered the league at age 19 already doing things like splitting traps in set half court defenses with a dribble. I think Amen can develop a level of handle to be effective in developing a iso bag but I'm not sure he can improve it at a level where he can be a prolific ball handler navigating screens and pnr offenses at a really high usage. But I'm not going to say it's impossible. If I was wanting to not set myself up for disappointment I'd assume he's on track to be a great point forward type player who play makes from the wing/forward position like Draymond Green but more naturally gifted. I think that is more likely at this point than him being the primary lead ball handler
Two points on this topic: Point #1: We have a number of posters who display traditionalist, inflexible thinking on this topic. They think things like: Your backcourt has to be able to shoot (ideally off the dribble) and handle the ball. Your wings need to be able to hit open shots, cut, and play defense. Your frontcourt needs to be tall and athletic and great at rebounding and shotblocking. But the league has moved away from this mindset. Positions are much more flexible these days. They're more about, what size players can you effectively defend, and how do you fit within the overall roster construction. Some centers these days do a lot of ballhandling, playmaking, and shooting. Some guards are defensive specialists who rarely touch the ball. I'm not as concerned about this idea that Amen needs to shoot and expertly handle the ball to play point guard; we have a ballhandling, playmaking center who projects to add a jump shot in the near future, and we have a shooting guard who has developed a pretty good handle and we hope will also have a solid jump shot soon. Amen can play point guard on this roster because he can guard 1-4 and we have guys who can take a share of the traditional "point guard" duties at other positions. His court vision and passing ability are also up to spec for a rookie even from a traditional mindset. Point #2: Amen was a rookie coming straight into the NBA from OTE. Of course he is raw and unpolished in a number of areas. That was to be expected from the beginning--he was always going to be a bit of a project. He also missed a good portion of the year due to ankle injuries. He is a kid with high motor and high work ethic and a lot of love for basketball. Let's give him a chance to develop under NBA coaching before we start writing off some of his skills as a lost cause. If anybody is going to improve more than most rookies, it's this guy. I still think it's very possible he could play point guard in two or three years even in a traditionalist mold. It all depends on how he develops.
Serious question (becuase I don't watch enough games to be sure): Does the NBA still have these clear cut positions and do the teams still need those clear cut roles? To me it seems like most players are kinda interchangeable and you basically have to make sure, that you can guard effectively create shots for your team and effectively guard the opposing players. A PG used to be the floor general, he had the ball for the longest time on offense, directing other players on where to go, initiating plays etc. In todays NBA the PG brings the ball up - and often times hands it off to the star player. The star player then creates the offense. If no star player exists, basically the role players take turn to create the offense - usually starting with either ISO oder a pick & roll. The other players are usually positioned somewhere around the 3pt line, or the dunkers spot or slashing. I know we had the same discussion around KPJ and the hope of a more structured offense with FVV - and I would say getting FVV really helped in that department. But a big reason for that was also, that our whole core are young players without any established stars. Going forward I don't know, if that is really needed - or better: if it is needed, we have bigger problems. That being said: I always imagines partnering up Amen in the backcourt with a smaller guard that can really shoot the basketball, and both of them sharing the responsiblity of bringing up the ball and/or initiating the offense.
Okay so he'll be a point forward. He isn't going to be the guy you just dump the ball to in a full court press to beat it and create something off the dribble off that. I just don't see why people are inside with him being a primary ball handler when he can't keep a live dribble the moment a defender presses up on him.
It seems pretty clear that on a post-FVV Rockets the primary ball handlers should be Amen, Sengun, and if they are smart enough to draft him, Sheppard. I see some wanting to give up on Amen's ball handling after his first season.... but those same people are saying we need to wait for Jalen Green's 5th or 6th season before we can expect him to be a starting caliber player.... so it comes off as odd.
The most arcane trait of a good PG is being able to control the pace of the game. It's really difficult to do with a 24-second shot clock and there are very few who do it at all or without the coach yelling at them to adjust pace. The ones that know without being told, that feel it before anyone else, are golden. It's not only understanding the court geometry of the current play but being aware of time and game situation--both offensively and defensively--and adjusting individual and team actions. Is that Amen from PG or some other position? I think we'll learn a lot this season and I'm saying that optimistically.
Amen Thompson has better handles and passing ability than Scottie Pippen at this stage of their careers. He is a point forward.
I like the comp some have said about a version of Draymond And I always said a 6’7 Rajon Rondo or Westbrook with BBIQ Back to the mention about Draymond Amen = Draymond Jabari = 6’10 Klay Reed = Curry?? Sengun = Jokic??
If that's how you want to describe him I'm fine with that. My point is, I do believe we'll be able to sometimes play lineups like this: Amen/Jalen/Dillon/Jabari/Alperen or depending on his development as a ballhandler, maybe even Amen/Jalen/Cam/Tari/Steven Adams I don't care that much what label you give his position, but on this roster, in many lineups, he can slot into that "1" spot and sometimes defend point guards depending on the matchup.
A lot of players who aren't considered good ball handlers today would be better than rookie Pippen at ball handling. Handles have gone a long way in terms of training and development. Today you got g league scrubs who have tim hardaway handles.
I agree that Amen's talents are very versatile especially on the defensive end. What makes Amen special is he's 6'7" with a long wing span but has the agility of a small guard which makes him be able to be a 1-4 switchable defender. He also is a quick and accurate decision maker which why he's so effective even without a handle in situations like when he is used as a short roller. This team actually has a abundance of high level playmaking from the short role from Sengun and Amen to even Landale who is pretty good at quik decisions from a short roll.
I don't actually agree with this. I think there is a strong possibility that we extend him, just at a price that is not anywhere near his current contract.
