Amen Thompson is the only problem in our offense now

What is wrong with his development as a PG other than a lack of 3 pt shooting. He is getting into the lane at will and is now hitting his bunnies. His hesitancy comes with when to shoot and when to pass. He’s not going to improve on that standing in the corner waiting for an opportunity to cut. He doesn’t need to shoot outside the lane, although it would be an extreme upgrade to his effectiveness. This was his line the last 5 games before yesterday. Pts, Fg, 3pt , assists, to
26, 11-14, 0-1,4,4
16, 7-14,0-2,6,3
18, 7-10,1-1,8,2
19,7-19,0-0,5.3
26, 12-19,0-2,5,2

Just when he is getting comfortable scoring in the lane you want to yank him. His confidence in when to pass and when to score will get better with experience and the TO’s will come down. You also didn’t account for the lack of penetrating ability of anyone else. The shooters won’t have space to shoot if nobody is getting into the lane. What is your solution? KD ISO’s, PnR with Sengun and whoever, Reed running around with the ball on the perimeter like FVV and hoping someone will set a screen to get him open? We are only 30 games into this and we are going to scrap Amen as a PG for what alternative? If we keep living or dying on a steady diet of KD and Reed 2 pt pull-ups we are first round fodder once again. I wasn’t in favor of trading Jalen for Durant, not because of Jalen love, but because I wanted to see what an athletic backcourt of Amen and Jalen could produce with Durant’s added 3 pt shooting. I didn’t watch enough of Durant’s game to understand that he is terrible option for spacing the floor. Starting Amen and Reed sharing PG duties and spotting up Durant more would help our offense, but that is contingent on Durant cooperating and Reed learning how to play team defense. I don’t think Tari is a solution at SG long-run, but we should continue with this line-up to see if it will gel. Reed is perfect off the bench, especially when playing with Amen and without Durant.

 

Offensively, Amen is at his best when he is just roaming... being sneaky and getting behind the defense.... cutting and getting the pass....
He can also do a nice job backing down defenders to finish at the rim.... but his shooting from any kind of distance is just deplorable....
He needs to operate more like a small forward imo...
His defense is great and certainly worth the price of admission... but he just has to stay in his lane regarding his offensive limitations...

i think its great that everybody has had the green light to shoot - as we've been figuring out rotations and roles and seeing what we got... but its time to start dialing guys back to their strengths...

Amen shouldnt be shooting nothing outside of around 5 ft from the rim.... no 3s....
Bari can spot up or go up for a put back - but should not be dribbling...
Sengun should only be shooting around the paint... no 3s....
Okogie and Holiday should take open shots - but not drive...
Reed looks fine when his inertia is going forward or stationary - not as much when he is shifting sideways while shooting...
KD can shoot whatever he wants...

 

Need a report card thread and progress report.

 

Amen to me is both fine and not fine. He is fine in the sense that a lot of his issues both offense and defense can easily be rectified if the Rockets don't force him to be the starting PG. He is not fine in that I don't really see a major jump in any part of his game. His shooting has dipped at both the mid-range level and the 3pt level. He's generating more assists but just by looking at the games, it's less due to him being a better passer and more that his teammates this year simply shoots way better than those last year. And his defense is definitely not at the DPOY level of last year.

But in terms of when this experiment need to stop? Well if the Rockets don't bring in a PG at the deadline then he just needs to play better. If they do bring in a PG, then that's when they can put him back at forward.

 

Who said anything about being a “fan?” Amen is putting together one of his best offensive stretches. For the last 15 games or so, he’s averaged basically 19/8/5 on a .6 TS%. To claim that he’s the offensive “problem” just strikes me as strange given it seems to be coming together for him lately. And yes, he needs to improve his 3 point shot. Everyone knows that. That, alone, does not make him a “problem” when he adds so much else.

 

Everything is accurate about the issues we have, but the solutions you offer are short-sighted. All you are advocating is going back to a stagnant offense where the only difference from last year is KD dominating ISO style in replacement of FVV and Jalen dominating the ball last year. Returning to the same kind of stagnant offense as last year with worse defense. We will just see another 1st round exit with little to no development for Amen, Jabari, and Reed. In order for this team to be championship contenders we need Amen, Reed, and Jabari to take a step up, not just act like they are what they will always be. We are 30 games in and everyone just wants to settle back into let’s win a lot of regular season games, don’t develop anybody, and hope KD can lead us to the promised land. Amen is a superstar if he develops as a PG. Reed can be a star if he can develop into a decent defender. Jabari is also taking steps to being one of the best PF’s in the game, and yes, that requires that he dribbles. No thanks to putting all our eggs into the 37 year old superstar basket and waiting for our old, slow former bottom 5 pg to return next year.

 

Why do yall always come back to Jalen when talkin about other players on the roster? Hes gone, we moved on, let it go. Now answer the question about Amen without gettin in your feelings.

 

last year we were #2 in the West and just needed a closer, right?
I'm not saying that guys cant have their roles expanded... but lets see some proficiency before its added to the gameplan...
Obviously we are going to be forced into positions outside our comfort zone at various times... but we should have clearly defined roles that play to our strengths...

 

Yeh, i didnt realize how many guys on here are all triggered about JG.... lol! I was never a fan of him... had some potential - but i wasnt holding my breath... lol.

 

Don't give up on him as a player, just as a PG. He's amazing in a proper role.

 

This is his first yr playing PG and he's only 2 1/2 mos into the season......LEAVE HIM ALONE

 

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Pass.

 

If I'm the FO, the only reason I'm developing Amen at point guard is if I'm afraid he'll go somewhere else that will. I have no idea if that's the case, but it's something to think about. But if I'm trying to maximize the team's capabilities rather than worrying about Amen's feelings, I want both Amen and Reed on the floor for as many minutes as they can stand. That means Reed at PG and Amen at SF.

I know i'm not the first to think of this, but it's why I voted to end the Amen experiment right now to give Reed 35-40 minutes at PG for the rest of the season. Bro's learning curve is so steep he'll be in condition and a plus defender by playoff time. He's the Rockets PG of the future, so why not start now? It's not so much that the Rockets can't be good with Amen at PG, but that they would be great by maximizing both.

 

I like the idea of, Amen starts at PG and plays that role until Reed comes in, and when Reed is in the game he takes over PG duties while playing significant minutes (25+, more when he's playing well).

 

Amen and Reed will be our back court for a long time. Might as well let them develop together.

The only way Amen will play 3-4 is if we get a star guard. And no, Durant is not a guard. I'm talking about defense. We need two starters who can be the main perimeter defenders.