I've been slotting him in at SG this whole time and it only makes sense. The starting unit is 100% going to be: PG - Fred VanVleet SG - Kevin Durant SF - Amen Thompson PF - Jabari Smith Jr. ..C - Alperen Sengun But I think we are going to see some starting units as the following based on the opponent. PG - Fred VanVleet SG - Kevin Durant SF - Amen Thompson PF - Alperen Sengun ..C - Steven Adams
Hollinger's takes on Zach Lowe's podcast were really weird. He was basically saying Tari DFS and Amen were all 4's? Made me wonder if he even watches basketball
Yes, I watched the Rockets play last year. Did last year’s team have the ultimate zone buster in Kevin Durant? No. I think your concern about a guard getting in Durant’s handle is overblown. If Amen doesn’t improve against soft zones, Udoka will sub him out for somebody who can handle them better.
i envisioned him playing the point so he can be a point forward. but i guess shooting forward isn't bad
Offensively, PF is ideal for Jabari, Tari and DFS and arguably Amen who played his best basketball at PF for us (but he is really a unique player and it will depends on how he develops). Defensively PF is ideal for Jabari, Durant, DFS, arguably Tari I can see the concern with positional overlap,. Rockets will be betting on KD’s offensive versatility, and Tari/Amen/DFS defensive versatility making things work
Just to clarify, when talking about last season's data, they're referring to Fred OR Jalen plus three wings and a center. Or, late in the year, I guess Fred/Jalen, two wings, and two centers. The general summation is they want to play bigger, and they think they will be just fine with only one full-blown guard on the court. Obviously there's nuance to it in that Amen has some creation/handling abilities, and they do view KD as a "shooting guard" archetype on offense. But I think the general plan is to have one of Fred/Reed out there as the floor general, and then prioritize size, physicality, and shooting at the other spots.
I guess I should be used to it after 25+ years of the Internet, but it's absolutely wild to see how quickly people will accuse any info they don't like as something you can totally dismiss. Sometimes different people can simply have different opinions, and neither side is "idiotic." If you think I'm sourcing randos, let me know and I'm happy to get a beer/coffee some time and tell/show you some things. Then you can report back as to my veracity.
We don't see the need for a "shooting guard" especially since none are available and we struck out on Booker
You could've sold me on that a week ago, but they then went out and used real resources on DFS/Capela and didn't pursue guards at all. They also had trade options using Cam/Landale and seem fairly uninterested in experimenting with Cam, period. With that said, it's entirely possible that maybe they aren't valuing the "traditional" rim-attacking SG role enough. I'm not trying to say I think or know they're right. But I don't think it's just PR spin based on the roster they have, I think the belief is genuine. As for whether it's the right one, we'll find out
Tari has some potential in that area, too. I thought he showed a lot of promise in that during the early parts of 2023-24 (including stretches where he closed in place of Jalen), but so much of the time since has been the leg injury and then trying to find his way back. I do think there's optimism that being two years removed from the surgery, he'll be at full health next year.
It's probably both. I think the concept of 1 lead guard & the Rockets huge assortment of 3/4/5 is fine, but that look seems much better when you have a complete lead guard who is a multilevel scorer/passer. Like Harden or SGA or Haliburton Seems much harder to do with FVV and Reed and I guess Thompson as your theoretical lead guards.b Each of them has a weakness you can sit on. That's why I think Green for all his faults was undervalued - he wasn't good enough at shooting finishing or passing as we'd hoped but he was at least credible in all those areas and not glaringly deficient
Fair. FWIW, I do think the internal belief is that FVV is much closer to 2023-24 than 2024-25, and that most of last season was a combination of a random shooting outlier in the first couple months and then that G2 ankle injury in late January. His playoff resurgence sorta reinforced that view. Granted, there are examples of small guards in their 30s aging poorly, and it's not like 2023-24 Fred was a perfect player to begin with. But I think they generally view his regular-season metrics from last year as unsustainable. We'll see
I agree. But I guess their thinking is that with enough self-creating scorers like Durant, Sengun, and maybe Amen, they don't really need an offensive engine type PG. Just someone who can handle the ball and can shoot the open shot. Banking on a 37-year-old Durant, and two non-outside shooting guys like Sengun, and Amen as offensive creators is too flimsy IMO. Well physicality trumps everything, right?
I think saying all those guys are 4's doesn't really account for all of their offensive and defensive versatility. The overlap is kind of the point.
I think they want this to work and have convinced themselves it will - but to be fair, they're pretty well positioned to make a move for a guy after December if it doesn't. Having 2 quality centers on the roster in addition to Sengun...hmmmmmm. I wonder what that could allow to happen. I also think they HAVE to get rid of one of the 2 non shooters (Sengun or Thompson), if it doesn't. It should be Sengun, but if the prize is big enough (giannis) - it can be Thompson.
Amen can definitely be the "bring the ball up the court" guy. Full court is kinda what he's best at right now, it's just whether he takes a step forward on initiating offense and keeping defenders honest with a jump shot that's holding him back as a point guard in the halfcourt game. Don't be surprised if Amen is like 34% from three this season. I think it can work if that's the case.
