Amen has been underwhelming so far. I was expecting a significant leap toward superstardom, though it might still be early to draw conclusions. Even so, he needs to show more composure and maturity, stop forcing plays and let the game flow naturally. Patience and control will elevate his impact.
Well he has been more on ball, instead of being allowed to cut off of Sengun which he is phenomenal at. And they've played a lot of zone and his on ball defense hasn't been seen as much.
I bet you love players scoring 30 points on 30 shots while his team win a 20 point blowout and end up being 0 BPM and Net Rating
I’m pleased with how Amen's been playing recently, but you still haven’t refuted the points I made earlier. What exactly is that flex supposed to prove? In what way did my words offend or upset you? My remarks about Amen were meant as constructive criticism, I hold him to a high standard, as many of us do. But if you’d rather turn a blind eye and assume he’s already reached superstar status, that’s your choice. I'm a Rockets fan above all. I don't mind who leads us to victory, as long as we keep winning.
You didn't say he hasn't reached superstar status. He hasn't. You said has has been "underwhelming" and hasn't taken a "leap." I just don't think that's true. What happened is the double big was terrible for his skill set - it destroyed spacing and put too much pressure on him to patrol in zone. Over the last three games, he's basically averaged a 16/8/7 on 51.4% from the field. That's line is a significant "leap" despite KD and Sengun taking a ton of shots.
When I said it, he was underwhelming at the time. His defense hasn’t been on the same level as last season. There could be many reasons for that, so I don’t necessarily blame Amen for not showing much improvement. Still, I don’t see a big difference between last season’s Amen and the one we’re seeing now. Statistically, he’s putting up almost the same numbers he did when he was a starter last year. I understand Amen is your favorite player on the team, but I believe I’m evaluating him more objectively than you are. I hold every player to the same standard, whether it’s KD, Sengun, or anyone else. We haven’t seen the shooting leap yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Until then, calling Amen’s development a “significant leap” feels like pure homerism. I want him to improve, of course, because we need him, especially in more competitive games. You don’t have to get defensive just because someone points out that he’s been disappointing relative to expectations.
Can you read? I said the last three games. The first two shouldn’t be counted because the two big lineup was awful for him. The biggest change has been assists - going from under 5 to 8 over the last three games is amazing considering he is playing as a PG. He is looking far more comfortable as a lead guard the last three games. Oh, and let’s revisit this in a few weeks - comparing stats from the first handful of games with essentially a new lineup to those when he played with the same guys he played with for a long time is ridiculous.
Your sample size is smaller than mine, so your conclusions are more affected by recency bias. To fit your narrative, you cherry picked the last three games, even though the competition was weaker compared to the first two. I can make excuses for any player who falls short of expectations, but I choose not to. I love Amen too, but I’m realistic. So you tell me Amen hasn't shown significant leap on the shooting yet because of double big lineup? Do Adams and Sengun somehow prevent him from hitting threes? That doesn’t make any sense. I hope he improves sooner or later, but his shooting struggles have nothing to do with the lineup.
I didn’t “cherry pick” the last three. I picked them because we are running a radically different offense than the first two. If you can’t understand that, then I can’t help you. Feel free to stick on the “Amen has been underwhelming” island. It’ll soon be a lonely and foolish island.
things are going exactly as planned. Amen and sengun are initiating the offense, okogie is playing the off ball FVV role. Nobody is dribbling away the shot clock or walking the ball up the court. Jabari is being included in the offense. Reed is spotting up and getting the ball where and when he needs it. All this while Amen is adjusting to his role and is missing shots in the lane he usually converts and a key cog in DFS that hasn't played a minute. There is nothing to be worried about, certainly not Amen's play
Running a different lineup has nothing to do with whether Amen hits his threes or not. That’s completely unrelated to his ability to make jumpers. I think you’re having trouble understanding that. You keep coming up with different excuses, but there’s no statistical evidence showing the kind of leap from Amen that you claim. You simply can’t support your argument with data. You try to make it seem like I don’t want him to succeed, but that’s not true at all. I’m a Rockets Only fan, if Amen makes the team better, I’m all for it. If he doesn’t, that’s fine too. It’s the same for every player. The problem is, you can’t evaluate him objectively because he’s your favorite. There’s no point continuing this discussion any further.
Anyone surprised by this? I'm not. From the opening tip, you could see Amen was totally locked in on JB.
