I didn't say longer, I said bigger. There's no way Amen is anywhere near as muscley as current Amen. I'd hazard that Amen could bully ball SGA.
Is it outrageous to expect 32.8% on 2 attempts from 3PT range from Amen? Those are Jimmy Butler’s career shooting numbers.
Maybe, but the question then becomes if a team can survive with a guy pretending to be a guard while shooting so poorly in the modern nba. There's a reason Jimmy Butler has been slotted at the 4 most of the time the past several years.
Amen and a consistent middy = top 10 player. If he starts hitting 3's, he's top 5 eventually based off the fact he'll continue to get better on the defensive end too, which is crazy.
Fun Amen Thompson year 2 splits: 0 days rest - .656 TS%, .348 3P%, .783 FT% 1 day rest - .594 TS%, .316 3P%, .677 FT% 2+ days rest - .581 TS%, .167 3P%, .635 FT% This man is a rhythm player and as his role grows he's going to get more and more into that rhythm.
It's the offseason, so I'll allow some insanely overly optimistic predictions.... just so long as we all realize that he's much more likely to be closer to 30% from 3.... and even 30% is optimistic and would represent stellar improvement. But for now, why not? Let's go nuts and predict an 82 win season.
That bold part makes me think of an interview with Charlie Kerfeld after the Astros first loss(i think the 87 season). The reporter asked if he was disappointed after the teams first loss of the season and he said yes, he really thought they were going to go 162-0.
Just fun offseason projections... Amen's minutes increase from season 1 to season 2 bore fruits of hard work, talent. His minutes increased, counting stats with it but his per 36 stayed steady on a lot of counts. In my opinion, he went from a fairly efficient, if flawed rookie who was granted more opportunity and turned in a fairly efficient, improved sophomore campaign. The production holding steady with increased opportunity was a terrific sign, multiplied by a markedly improved range, handle/trust, and defense. Personally, I believe in Amen being a low 30's 3-point shooter, which is just fine for a guy who brings the noise everywhere else. I believe more opportunity won't decrease his efficiency, just highlight it. Honestly the only thing I'm worried about is that making him a top 3 usage player on this team means that he won't have quite the same pop on defense. Just on the assumption that Amen again receives the increased usage, role, and coaching staff trust and returns a baseline level of production I think we're looking at averages that go something like this: 10/17, 22pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 2.5 t/o, 3 stocks Which puts him damn close to being an all-star. And again, this really is just extrapolating current numbers to higher usage... this isn't even suggesting he gets better at basketball when it's pretty stinkin' clear the guy is driven, wants to improve, puts in the work. So like... what if he does improve? What does that look like? What if he comes back with more range, handle? What if Amen truly goes supernova? Anything above 25pts or 7asts to match the rest of the line. Definitely an all-star. The next hump there is MVP and let's be honest a lot of that is just based on popularity or team success. Amen is real good.
Michael Shapiro about 10 minutes ago. "Amen is getting ready for full time point guard duties. They're viewing Reed more as a utility knife, some on ball but mostly move him from place to place, set screens for him to get his shot. " It sounds good on paper. Jesus Shuttlesworth, Reggie Miller, Jimmy Chitwood and Curry made a career from that. I like Amen at point forward We will see.
This is the proper way to proceed. To start the season, keep it simple for Reed on offense and let his #1 focus be excelling as an outside sniper and decoy that defenses must account for. In the course of action, he'll have opportunities to do other things. His other primary concern is defending starting-caliber players. Having 4 very long guys alongside him should be helpful. Assuming Reed progresses during the season, his minutes should increase as will his responsibilities on offense. But handing him the primary point role to start the season is literally a "non-starter".
If Reed shows hes capable then he'll get more reps as the primary. The pre-season will show if hes progressed enough or not. Right now Amen is the lead. If he's fumbling the ball too much for Ime's liking I think he'll go more "point by committee". Ideally Reed figures it out sooner rather than later.
