Haha he's so good. The game last season where KAT went ballistic from down town and couldn't miss, was great watching with them as the commentary team.
would love Amen and FVV switch places -- but am sure FVV's agent rich paul won't allow it, not even lessened minutes.. Ime and Stone are scared to trade Fvv -- might even extend him to a max, like all those untradable klutch sports players, lol
I don't see them giving FVV a max extension. I think they probably still like him a lot despite his shooting struggles this season which they likely (probably correctly) see as a temporary blip. But the initial contract they gave him, 2 + team option, indicated they didn't see him as a long-term max player then but were overpaying him on an annual basis to get him over here. I can see them extending him long-term at a lower annual value though, like $25M or so. I'm really starting to see Amen as a shooting guard, not a point guard. So I don't know if it's really about giving FVV too many minutes and too much time on the ball so much as it is Jalen. Of course, FVV is not the forever answer at point guard even if they do extend him and he turns his shooting around. It might make sense to go after a Trae Young/LaMelo Ball/Tyrese Haliburton type of dude eventually to play next to Amen and compliment his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses.
Mikal Bridges might be the target later on -- Hawks may have solved how to build around Trae, putting Daniels and long/tall wings around him -- Ball seems LA bound if requests a trade -- Hali is too expensive Amen with Cam and Mikal looks good in the long run -- but for now, liked what I saw last March with Jalen/Amen/Cam together
Don't know if you've watched the Knicks much this season, but Bridges just can't seem to defend the pick and roll anymore. It's been kinda sad to see a former all-defensive guy decline like this so badly when he's only 28. I don't know if it's a permanent decline or some kind of nagging injury, but he's gone from a two-way player to honestly kind of a liability on defense.
been watching and would want to see a NYK vs Boston east finals.. could be the fit with Tib's coaching/defensive schemes or with his teammates -- Mikal is awkward and out of place at times Mikal seems an Ime guy, and I would prefer his veteran presence over FVV -- Bridges could play from the bench with no issues I presume -- he could just be the veteran voice for the young Rockets, and it's worth it
38% from 10ft to the line vs 31% last season 30% from 3 vs 14% last season His FT shooting has regressed in December, that's disappointing, but still slightly improved. None of these numbers are good enough, but trending in the right direction. The eye test certainly looks a lot better. It's going to do so much for his (and the teams) offensive game if defenders have to come get him. The fact that he's still a net positive on offense with such a packed interior is impressive.
I think Ime would struggle with Young given his defensive vulnerabilities. However, if either LaMelo or Haliburton were avaliable we have to go for it. The size and talent of that backcourt pairing would be immense.
His level of play has fallen off significantly this season, but a few months ago he was coming off of 20, 11, and 4 with 48% / 36% shooting. His ability to create offense for himself and others at the perimeter is pretty ideal for our current needs if you think he can bounce back to where he was. However, his defense is fairly atrocious (similar to Trae Young and LaMelo Ball, honestly). We can probably cover for that, though?
Dude makes a great point about how even-keeled Amen can be. That's one of his traits that smells like a star. Like whether he misses or refs don't call something or the opponent is trying to trigger him he keeps it between a poker face and a smile. Sometimes a little frustration of course but never out of hand. With his teammates he's much closer to them this season and such a positive influence. Really want to see him with better shooting around. I wonder if he can average 20+ ppg with just average spacing. What about with elite spacing? If like Morant he were more routinely attacking an unprotected paint and all he had to do was beat his own man to get 2 pts or 1 assist, he might go nuclear. Basically anyone who tries to go small with their second unit, throw Amen at their C with 4 shooters and it's game over. This why I've been saying forever, Sengun's 3PT shooting is the fulcrum for his career and for the team. From that point onwards, we are a top 10 offense under any coach. Others need to improve their shooting and Sengun has already improved so many things I know, I'm just saying if I could make one surgical change only to the roster, for sure that would be the one. I have no doubt our slashers (Amen/Green/Whitmore/Tari) would explode in production with a C you can't leave wide open at the 3PT line.
