I'm okay with Amen coming off the bench as long as JG is playing well

I'm okay with Brooks off the bench if Jabari plays well...

 

Amen is playing the Aaron Gordon role very well next to Sengun's baby Jokic and Green's Jamal Murray. The chemistry is there. IMO, Amen is better than Gordon already. Amen is also starting to bring the ball up the court and initiate our sets which takes a small load off FVV.

 

Why should Amen come off the bench and not Jabari?

Amen is clearly better and more impactful

 

And we get into the sets faster, which makes a big difference.

 

I don't think Amen should ever come off the bench again, he's just too good for that. Amen and Jalen play completely different positions and have completely different roles, so Jalen doing well has nothing to do with Amen's playing time.

Right now, Amen fits in at PF for Smith....and I think when Smith gets back, either Smith or Brooks need to come off the bench....but it's Udoka making that call so who knows what he'll do, his decisions have nothing to do with merit.

 

But "franchise player" and "starter" means nothing in the grand scheme of things just like it doesn't matter who was more important Duncan or Ginobili on a team that won multiple titles. The Warriors won multiple titles where Steph Curry wasn't even their series MVP despite being the "franchise player".

The only things that matters is that Amen is on the floor as long as he is able to be productive - if he gets winded, he sits for a bit and then you bring him back out....you hope he plays the most minutes, but that's not always going to be the case when health, fitness, and most frequently fouls come into play. Whether he starts or whether he is a "franchise player" literally means nothing in a team game. It's just fodder for hot take shows.

The only thing that matters is you have players who complement each other in a 5 man unit. It's why Sengun and Fred's time always overlaps since Fred can play the traditional pick and roll game that Jalen is less capable of and Sengun is effective in the short roll on those plays....its why weak defenders like Reed are normally chained to stronger defenders when they play so maybe Cam is on the bench while Tate is in even though Tate is lower on the pecking order than Cam. Starter, franchise player, lottery pick, end of bench guy - it ultimately doesn't matter because the coaches are in charge of keeping 5 man units that cover for each other's weaknesses or highlight each other's strengths or are designed to contain specific opponent matchups.

 

Y'all throw this "superstar" thing around too much... He's an elite defensive player and a really good transition driver/finisher... He's got star potential absolutely, but no way close to being a superstar because he still can't shoot... And his handle is too weak to be a primary lead guard.

 

What is the point of replacing Jabari for Amen? Are we going for titles this year? No. We're playing with house money and you risk messing with team morale by benching a kid that hasn't done anything wrong outside of getting hurt. The reality is that Dillon should be the one getting benched but Ime won't do that either. I'd be shocked if either were benched for Amen because of the precedent it would set leading into a window of playoff/title contention.

There's just no need for it right now.

 

He's not a guard at all, he's a forward.

He was always a high risk, high reward player, but his ceiling is superstar and a player with his level of defense is VERY likely to hit that ceiling if he develops ANY kind of a shot....which looks to be happening.

Right now he's the second best player on the Rockets behind only Sengun. Is he a "superstar" right now? No, but the path is visible for that to be the case.

 

Starting does matter, not just minutes. In Amen's case, it sets him up to be on the court with our best players more and also sets him up to guard the other team's best player, because every coach in the NBA currently, starts his best player. It also allows for Amen to get the team playing faster from the beginning, which is different from FVV dominating the ball for the first 8 minutes of every game and walking it up the floor.

 

Why would he even replace Green? If anything, he’s going to be replacing FVV, Brooks or Jabari. I see your point, even if Amen is highly overrated right now as evidenced by the responses.

I think Amen goes back to the bench too and for this year I’m fine with that. Maybe if Jabari doesn’t show his value by February then Amen should start, but Brooks nor Green are going to be the one he should replace. FVV is Ime’s #1 so not happening.

If we’re talking next year, I surely hope if FVV is still here, that he’s accepted a bench role as no way Amen should not start by then. Or that Jabari has balled out. Or we traded for a star but that shouldn’t be at PG nor SF, though that’s definitely an option.

 

He can play any position on the court. Insisting he is not a guard is silly. He really is the definition of positionless basketball. Now that Ime has wisened up, he is getting a great many opportunities to initiate the offense in both the half-court and of course on the break. I don't care if he is a traditional PG or not. Ime said long ago, he would like us to have a number of players that can run the offense. It looks like to me, he is finally getting around to taking his own advise. Just hope he never goes back to a steady diet of FVV/Sengun centric offense.

 

You're showing weakness Orem and unloyalty. The Amen clicka would like to know your location.

 

Ya with Fred it seems like our actual offensive set starts like at the 13 second mark

 

In the sense that you can just pencil in any player to play any position, sure.

FVV can play center, Jabari Smith can play PG if we go by that logic.

However if we stick to reality and only talk about what players can do well, Amen is a forward.

 

Whoa I noticed that too. He takes forever to start the play

 

Amen needs to start, there is more motion and synergy with him on the floor. I've been saying... Brooks needs to go, no matter how well he's playing this season. I'm fine with keeping the roster as is this season, and I do think Brooks will have a positive impact come playoffs time BUT the future at the 3 spot is Amen Thompson.

 

...but Houston has multiple wing defenders to throw at the other team's best player and the most important time to have Amen matched up on the other team's best player is not when the game is 0-0, but rather when you are down to the last 10 possessions in a tight game.

I agree that Amen is the best of the bunch, but when you have the luxury of throwing out Dillon, Jabari, Tari, always competitive Fred, a newly defensive focused Green and Cam, guys like Tate - you don't have to play your best hand to start but rather to close. Ime plays a war of attrition - exhaust opposing team's best player by constantly making them work for every inch on the court. Not every team has the luxury of multiple high level wing defenders to guards the Tatums, SGAs, and Giannis of the world so I certainly see your point, but I think Houston is uniquely positioned take advantage of teams by staggering our wing defender depth and if a guy likes SGA gets a few quick and ones, then it's just a quick sub to dial up the intensity to Amen.

 

I'm not saying he's a guard, but we're talking about him as a potential superstar... I do think Amen can definitely become a star and I've said multiple times I think his ceiling is like Igoudala 2.0... what's the visible path to him being a superstar? What players in NBA history became a superstar with his size or skill set? He definitely can push it in transition, but not so much in the halfcourt as he doesn't have the handle to be a primary ball handler so he's more of a connector offensively and a secondary playmaker at best... You've talked at length how Jalen can't shoot... compared with Amen... he's elite.. Even someone like prime Westbrook... Who wasn't a good shooter by any stretch is a sharpshooter compared to Amen. Amen's got a broken jumper and he's bad shooter.. there's no notable sample size of efficient shooting from anywhere outside the paint to make a reasonable case otherwise.