Amen's size advantage over Russ makes a lot of difference. Amen has much longer strides compared to Russ's. He can start gathering the ball before passing the FT line and still dunking with ease. Russ's height forces him to get very close to the basket before jumping. That gives the defensive player more opportunities to challenge. And Amen knows how to use his body control to change direction (aka Euro steps) and speed going downhill, something Russ never mastered. Their rim finishing abilities are like day and night.
...the ability to switch speeds is SUCH a game changer. Harden made a career out of that without overwhelming speed and athleticism - but a guy like Amen adding it to his bag is unstoppable. That is the skill that allows guys like Harden to still pour in numbers late into his career because the name of the game is not to beat your man to the spot, but to lose your man somewhere along the way and the guys who overly rely on speed largely see declines in their scoring as they age - everyone needs a counter. It's also been encouraging to see Jalen start to utilize this more as he attacks the rim - he's not quite the athlete Amen is(nor is he as long), but that first step he has is real and allows him to dictate a pace of defenders that most aren't able to keep up with - let alone are prepared to suddenly shift from. ...I think Amen has much better touch at the rim than Russ too - there is a comfort he has within 10ft that seems very controlled and natural. Russ had to initiate and finish through contact as a matter of necessity because he didn't have a counter to pull up 5 ft from the hoop and arc something over rim defenders like Amen(or Jalen for that matter)
It's interesting to think about the 10 foot and in area. Russ is 35.3% from 3-10' and 60.3% from 0-3' Amen is 45.9% from 3-10 and 73.7% from 0-3. Those Amen numbers seem fairly extraordinary right off the bat. By no means have I checked every player, but for comparison here are 2 guys LeBron is 43.2% 3-10 and 74.2% from 0-3. Durant 47.3% from 3-10 and 74.4% 0-3 You're looking at really nice numbers there from Amen in that 10 foot and in range. Those guys are a heckuva comparison! For fullness sake I did look up the following: Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Brandon Ingram, Andrew Wiggins Just thinking about big wings who can score None of them were above 70% from 0-3 feet - which is interesting in and of itself. Comparing the Rockets, if we consider Jeff Green's minutes somewhat insignificant, Amen leads the Rockets in the 0-3 area (with Smith and Holiday the only other Rockets over 70%), and in the 3-10 range it is Adams, Holiday then Thompson. All interesting numbers, but for me they indicate there is more to be unlocked for Thompson from a scoring perspective, especially if he can add something beyond 10 feet (which is his main current limitation!)
Nice - thanks for the metrics assist! I imagine they aren't as good by comparison but I feel like anecdotally, Jalen has improved there quite a bit this year from his previous year's numbers - can you pull those numbers by chance? I've largely been speaking from the "eye test" - always nice to see how the metrics challenge/support that. A little scared Jalen's numbers are way worse than I am thinking and he just makes it look pretty but I DO feel like he has improved significantly over his own numbers from the previous 3 years.
You can digest it all here: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greenja05.html I would say the stats don't really show improvement 23/24 69.2% 0-3 and 33.4% 3-10 24/25 67.4% 0-3 and 40.7% 3-10 The 3-10 is better this year, but in line with 22/23 - so not necessarily an indicator of a big progression as a player. His 3 point shooting is a career best, but not hugely so, and his 10-16' shooting is a career worst. For me, I don't see a lot of efficiency improvements in Jalen Green that we might expect from a player who is growing into their scoring potential. To date his TS% hasn't exceeded league average. What he can do that doesn't jump off the statistical chart is get his own shot, and that is a commodity that is valued - but he'll soon need to start making that shot, or finding a way of bailing out of it to get the ball to someone else.
We need him back ASAP for this upcoming road trip. Rockets are starting to struggle against bottom feeders at home where they usually play well.
Amen is a top 20 player in the NBA after barely over 1 season as a rotation player. Name 20 players you would trade Amen for straight up. This is meant for everybody not you BTG. I’m thinking you are close to on the same page with Amen.
I totally agree. I think Amen is a great blend of Scottie Pippen & Andri Kirelenko - these are the two players that Amen is tracking career wise. Amen is a great all around player who can defend, rebound, score, and create. I think he will be a perennial all-start starting next year. If he can be a league average 3 point shooter, he will be an MVP candidate.
