I wouldn’t because I think Amen’s ceiling is absolutely through the roof on both sides of the ball. Sengun can be an amazing offensive player, but not so much on the defensive side of the ball. I’m not overly concerned, but Sengun has had ankle problems every year, which is not a good sign for a man his size, but it could also be a factor. I know I’m a bit over the top with Amen, but I haven’t seen a guy with his work ethic and bbiq since Larry Bird. I don’t think there is anything he won’’t work his way out of.
I love amen, I told you he's the only untouchable guy on the team. But not a wild chance unless he develops a consistent shot. I think he needs to abandon the 3 and improve the midrange which he's already decent at. He can be an igoudala shawn livingston hybrid Reed should stay as a spark off the bench and really focus on scoring as opposed to everything else. Trying to get him to do too many things and he will likely not be a star in this league. I think people saying that are reaching. In all honesty, neighter of these 2 guys will be but they are key players on a championship roster
Report from the Mavs game: I’m seeing a lot of debate here about Reed getting abused as a defender. I’ll leave the adjudication to the rest of you, but I have some game notes that can put his failures in context. He definitely has bad moments, but they’re mixed in with some good ones. For this game I’ll just list the possessions where I took notes about him being directly involved in the play. Q1: 1) meets Flagg, beaten badly, bucket 2) meets Christie, keeps his balance, spins, stays in front, prevents bucket 3) meets Williams, good footwork and positioning, pokes the ball away. Williams gets lucky with the bounce, recovers the ball and scores 4) meets Klay coming off a screen, good contest, misses the 3 5) meets Williams, reaches in, beaten badly 6) doubles with Amen on Williams, Amen gets the ball and a clear-path call Q2: 1) moves in as a help defender and wrestles Gafford for the ball (fails, but good try, slowed him down, we just didn’t get the block) 2) meets Gafford and strips the ball 3) Martin screens for Williams on the wing, Reed steps over to cut off the play, ball goes out of bounds 4) meets Klay, gets right up on him, strips the ball. Klay recovers it and tries to get around him, but Reed stays with him, strips it again and this time comes away with it 5) Steps up to contest a Klay 3, Klay uses the closeout to go by him baseline (but no bucket) 6) Reed flies in to contest an offensive rebound, working hard, but no dice 7) meets Flagg, reaches for the ball, again can’t get it, Flagg blows by him and dunks Q4: 1) meets Marshall, pokes the ball away, forces a reset 2) Nembhard goes at him, Reed stands him up, forces him to unload it Obviously the notes are incomplete. Sometimes Reed is in the baseline corner on a guy who does nothing, so I have no notes for those possessions. But the ones shown here can give you a sense of how he’s doing. My overall take on this game was that defensively, Reed played at around a B+ level (for him) in terms of energy, aggression, and decision making. I’ve seen a few A-level games from him, not many, and a few more A- games. He’s also had some D games and a couple of F games. I’m grading on a curve specific to him, because I’m interested in what he can do with what he has. I dock him for hanging back, moving slowly, bad footwork, swiping or fouling clumsily, and other things he can improve on. I don’t dock him for being short or having short arms. On some plays where Reed got blown by in this game, if Tari or Josh or Amen had been there instead, they would have reached the ball and poked it away. You can see Reed reaching for it and just not getting it. I feel bad for him about that, but he has to adjust to it. He has to keep working on reading the attacker and getting his body in position to take away the drive. Because although his hands are very good, he can’t count on his arms to make the play.
I agree with most of this. I had issues with some of the early ones where he was on Williams. Reed has got to get much better at navigating screens. He’s “contact adverse” so he’s currently taking the widest possible angle around screens. Also, why on earth would Reed face guard Williams on the 3 point line? Williams is a 21% 3pt shooter. I’ll take my chances with him taking 3’s.
I've been wondering about this. Early on, the wide angle worked for Reed. He was cutting off the ball handler and forcing a reset. It's only recently, in the last few games, that he's been split several times. My best guess is that he's been scouted. Opponents are expecting the wide angle and exploiting it. He'll have to learn to mix it up. Also, very true about him being contact averse. This bothers me more in his offense than his defense. He keeps looking for safe spaces. He needs to make contact the defender's problem.
Efficiency is already excellent on pull up 3's (38.4%) despite early season struggles. That's equivalent to 57.6% on 2pt shots. He's 37.3% on midrange jumpers. That's not good. That's where he needs some work.
I’m not sure that you can just “work” on looking for contact, especially at this late stage. He might get better at finishing through contact, but loving to run into people is something different. Wasn’t he a QB in high school? Maybe it would have been different if he was a RB or linebacker?
I would have Reed meeting the ball-handler much much higher, almost at mid-court, and giving him more freedom for his pokes. If he gets beat, he gets beat. Closer to the basket he’s quite useless as a defender, we’re pretty much playing 5-on-4 anyway. Why not take some chances upfront, where his limitations are not as impactful?
The variability in draft pick outcomes is likely much bigger than expected outcomes in Amen and Sengun for most people. I'd guess Amen and Sengun both make an All-NBA team. I'm very sketptical one can have confidence that the Top 3 picks would all fall in value between Sengun and Amen. I don't give benefit of the doubt that Amen becomes a Top 5 NBA player. My hope is that they both settle in the 2nd or 3rd team all NBA, but I don't see that as a guarantee for either Amen or Sengun. I'd give Amen the edge because of the defense, but Sengun being a center makes it easier to build around if neither develops a 26% 3pt shoot.
Fair enough. I was asked a question and answered it truthfully. I am, maybe, too gung-ho on Amen and less so on Sengun, mainly because of his defense. If they could guarantee me Boozer, I would trade Sengun for him, just like I would have for Cooper Flagg. The other team would not make the trade after the draft. The risk is the only incentive for the other team is to take the sure thing in Sengun. Knowing what we know now, would Sengun be a top 3 pick in this draft?
I don't know much on this draft except it is supposed to be good. My guess, with just basing on other good drafts, is that Sengun likely would go Top 3 at probably the same spot Amen would go as I think odds are not good that teams know 3 guys that will likely be better than either of those. I would not want to draft a Scoot Henderson over Amen or Sengun.
I’m not sure either, but this is supposed to be an incredible draft: https://nbadraftroom.com/2026-nba-mock-draft/
The year Amen was drafted was incredible as well. I would take Amen and Sengun over the No.2 and No.3 picks that year.
the 3 he made was the hardest, least space he's thinking way too much on these A lot of people here have pointed it out. Player development (if we have any) needs to note
