He’s definitely not ready to defend small quick guards. But when you’re defending the Brandon Williams’s of the league (who’s on a team SOLELY because he possesses the “blow by” skill), it’s silly to not play off him and concede the outside shot. As we talk about all the time, that’s on coaching and game planning. Reed’s actually good at closing out on shooters. Everyone on the Rockets including Amen were getting blown by on drives. Alpi is a horrible paint protector.
Oh man no, I think the jumper is special. Some lower body strength will give him more range even. I think he's going to be an excellent starter but you're right the muscle might take up to 2 years.
You'll have to take that with a grain of salt, guy wants Amen to be the starting PG and he's been worried since day one that Reed would take that spot from him....despite the fact that they work well together. It's why Lin fans hated Harden.
Point guard is probably the hardest position to learn in sports aside from the QB in the NFL. You gotta give the kid a couple years of on the job training before writing him off.
After a blazing hot start, Reed has fallen drastically back down to earth. I know Jabari is now the favorite whipping boy of CF now that Jalen is gone, but at least Jabari brings the D and reb even when he is bricking. When Reed is off or not accurate enough there seems to be little point in playing him, those stocks come at the cost of solid defense and he gets blown by on most plays. Reed right now shooting 39% from 3 and just 55% TS which is below average. No wonder he is falling behind the rotation, he needs to be a lot more efficient. He is still shooting 60% from corner 3s but only takes 15% of his 3s from there. He has fallen in love with the mid range, and while he isnt that bad he also isnt good enough to take it consistently. As a result his FTA has plummeted, just averaging 1 FTA a game and making just 77% of them which is inexcusable for a supposed elite shooter. Amen now a much better ft shooter than Reed lol. Hopefully this is just a sophomore slump and Reed takes it back up after the ASB. However I am not seeing any material improvement and even seeing regression his second year. I think thats worrisome if we expect Reed to be a star eventually.
You’re wrong about me. I even proposed starting the two together, because of their synergy. I do believe Amen is the future PG, but I would be fine with him sharing the backcourt with Reed. I just think Reed’s physical limitations are going to limit him and don’t want a PG that doesn’t have the ability to get to the rim with any frequency. I predicted he was going to get man-handled when teams started to take notice of him and that is exactly what is happening. Amen has progressed nicely as the initiator on offense and Reed has not. I’m not saying Reed can’t become a pg, but think he is much further away than Amen, primarily because of his physical limitations.
Right, because you don't seem to understand what a PG is. So many have started to believe that undersized SG's like Westbrook and combo guards like Harden are actual PG's. Getting to the rim isn't the job of the PG....so maybe this is why you think Amen is a PG. It seems you have confused the role of a wing and the role of a PG.
Amen can’t shoot and his court vision isn’t as good as reeds he’s the only player on this team that I think is untouchable but saying the Amen PG experiment is going well is fantasy tbh it’s also not good for him. He needs to be pushed to the 4 and put on muscle .
Reed getting manhandled isn't the problem. The Rockets defense is still usually functioning with him. He's missing shots. Shooting is important. I'd guess about 75% of the offensive problems with Reed in the game are on Reed missing shots. The Rockets offense was great when he was shooting great, His ability to run an offense has looked just as fine lately as it was earlier in the season with the big exception that he's missing shots. The shot difficulty has gotten more difficult, but not to the extent of him missing this much. Reed is small. Amen can't shoot. If Reed can get back to shooting, they will have synergy again. Right now, pairing an ice-cold Reed with Amen or Okogie is death to an offense. Reed not being good at defense makes it difficult not to play one of those 2. Reed has been a little worse at his mid range shot, but the 3s is where he makes his money. Without the three, the efficiency just isn't there. He's not much of a free throw magnet. I've not noticed a change in FT rate. Like Jalen Green, Sheppard's value is tied to scoring. As such, he has to be efficient. His last 15 games have been horrible efficiency.
Yeah, the not being able to shoot thing is a potentially fatal flaw for anyone trying to be a guard of any kind. You just need those guys to be able to shoot or competent defenses can shut your team down by exploiting that weakness. Amen makes a very good wing/small ball big, but he makes a terrible PG despite the fact that he can pass a bit.
Amen almost always makes the right read. So I’m not sure where this court vision thing is coming from. Last 10 games averaging 6.7 assists to 1.6 TO, I’d call that progressing nicely for a first year pg. FVV last year, 5.6 assists 1.5 turnovers. Amen creates for his teammates. His expected assists numbers for the year, even after a very poor start, is 10.5 to FVV’s 10.2. Amen needs an outside shot to become an elite PG, but he is already a good one. HIs overall line is 18.5, 7.7 reb, 5.5 assists, 2.4 TO after a predicted rocky start learning the position. If Ime would let the Rockets play the same way in the 4th quarter as he does for the first 3 quarters, his numbers and our wins would be better. Last night was a perfect example. Amen had 7 assists in the first half even after hitting Reed for 3 wide-open 3 pointers that he bricked. Amen’s ability to get in the lane and create wide open looks for his teammates is exactly what a PG is supposed to do. Come 4th quarter, Ime predictably went back to his strategy of Durant and Sengun ISO’s despite the ball moving extremely well in the first 3 quarters. Our problem is the lack of a reliable shooting guard and Sengun being hobbled, as well as a terrible offensive coach. Amen would be absolutely ideal in a 4 out offense. If you have to trade one or the other, Sengun is the better candidate.
I’d wait for some year over year comparisons before I started throwing “regression” around. It’s evident that he’s trying to incorporate things on the fly.
The main thing Reed needs to do is when he is on the floor, he is the PRIMARY scoring option, he needs to hunt his shot first....once he makes that adjustment he will be fine. DD
Completely agree with 1st sentence. Granted, I have not put my head in the sand like ostriches (of lore) about multiple non-shooters allowing defenses to pack the paint, double KD/Sengun. Second sentence, options are more than just trade....1) deal with it by being better at what Rockets do, 2) remove one of them, or 3) add shooting elsewhere. Not sure the correct path, but it is easier to find a guard or forward that can shoot then a center that can. I'd likely deal Sengun before Amen if I gave up on other options, but it is more 60-40 than clear cut like I think you think. I would probably only deal one of them for a better player. Unfortunately, Rockets having trouble just have 3 shooters on the court much less have 4.
I’m not in favor of trading Sengun. I would rather make a trade for a legitimate starting SG and a backup Center. Let Sengun rest and bring Reed off the bench if he is not in the trade for instant offense (if he gets his shot back). Give Sengun and/or Amen another year to develop an outside shot. I want to be able to surround Amen with 4 shooters and let him cook, but not so bad that I would give Sengun away. That being said, if we got a likely top 4 pick in this draft and a starting guard, I would pull the trigger on Sengun. My trade of Sengun and DFS to Atlanta for Porzingus (rim protector good 3 point) NAW, and the rights to NOP 26 frp would be very tantalizing to me. Question: Do you believe Sengun is worth more than a top 3 pick in this draft?
I don't know. I definitely would not trade Sengun for a chance of one of those. I have not paid much attention to college ball this year as the Rockets don't have a pick, and my team is boring. Answer me this, would you do Amen for a Top 3 pick in this draft? I don't hold much of a difference in value in Sengun and Amen over the long term. I don't put myself as infallible.
Going to take a bit for Reed to really find himself in this league. Being smaller surrounded by taller, longer, athletic defenders is certainly an adjustment that has proven to take time for smaller guards. Very young, great stroke. Lets hope at worst he can be a 39-42% high volume 3 point shooter. He has all the talent to be an elite player in this league. How long will it take to get there is the question.... The Rockets are kind of playing in multiple windows pending how they feel about Reed and Amen.
Reed's off the dribble 3 needs to be worked on A LOT. his off the dribble mid-range is at an all-star level already.
