starting to get worried about amen, his handles are shaky and he doesnt seem to be a creative finisher around the rim. i was hoping he was just a bad shooter, but it seems like he has A LOT to work on. also, he seems to be way behind his brother on the defensive end.
i know, i know.. i'm just surprised he's not more polished in other areas other than shooting. still have faith, just a little worried.
Why would you get worried about a player who isn't even 10 games in his pro career? Injuries have derailed him since summer league, its going to take some time to get back in flow and also be confident in his ankle to hold up so he can showcase his high rise ability, his handle will get better over time (off-season workouts)
He made some. Incredible moves and passes last night. Ime said in his comments that even in those few minutes tonight, he could see the game slowing down for Amen. The last few games before he got hurt, he was finding his rhythm. Looks to me like he has the ability to hit floaters and stop and pops from the free thrown line in. His dribble can get a little high at times and I expect that he will work on that. This guy’s bbiq is through the roof. If healthy this kid is headed for superstardom.
I mean I’ve seen more “are you sure this guy can dribble?” moments in his 6 or so game nba career than I’ve ever seen before. Even when he looked good in SL he had a few of those moments there too. So yah, I expected him to have tighter handles and that isn’t necessarily something you “develop” in the nba. Refine, yes. But most elite handlers come into the league with handles. That’s something you can begin to master as a child sitting on a chair. I’ve seen the vision and athletics but was expecting more natural handles. And yah, he so far has been as good of a finisher as Tari last year. Tari this year has limited layup attempts and just layup-dunked most his rim shots this year.
Dude got better, especially when running the point. Amen can be a star pg, but needs a lot of seasoning.
I'm hoping Amen can gradually turn himself into something like a bigger, better-finishing J-Kidd or Rondo. Like a regular 20 points/10 assists guy who threatens for triple doubles and picks up a ton of steals and some blocks. I think as Sengun works on his "Flamingo" and his three point shooting, it's going to be okay if Amen can't space the floor super well, as long as both of them can keep opponents honest. You surround the two of them with three high-end shooters (I think one of them is probably Jabari, Tari might be another one if his improvement is for real) and the floor spacing is plenty.
I like your comparison to Kidd and Rondo except Amen's size and athleticism give him a higher upside on offense and in rebounding. He also has their flair for finding the open man. We'll see if he can also become a "floor general" type who completely understands the half-court sets Udoka wants run. After being extremely skeptical on Amen after the draft, I'm excited about what he can become. He badly needs minutes on the floor though.
Well of course since he can literally dribble a ball, lets just call it refining Regardless what you call it, others like Curry ''developed''(trained themselves) a better handle Not everybody comes from a NBA family so they wouldn't have a ball as a toddler Elite is a select company, if you want or think Amen should be that right now, shame on you But of course he has to tighten up on his handle and jumper, and hopefully he will as a Rocket
In the limited minutes he’s been on the court, he’s displayed a lot of what was advertised. Not sure what more to expect when the sample size is so tiny.
There were actually 2 silly moves by Amen... the first was the behind-the-back dribble to shake the first defender, then the ballfake/fake pass to sucker the 2nd defender into not being able to stop the layup. This and his crazy fastbreak speed have been a part Amen's game, and without a jumpshot, or until he gets one, it's what he needs to be able to do (that and hopefully hit some kind of mid-range shot). Better/quicker decision-making and ballhandling in traffic, I think. That was probably one of his best assets coming out of high school and OTE. A lot of his inside game is predicated on his ballhandling in traffic.
I didn’t come from an nba family… you know they sell balls at Walmart, right? And curry came into league with handles. He refined them. Amen doesn’t need to refine he needs to develop basic ball handling skills. Even Jalen’s handles are weak but he’s not a pg. And no, I didn’t say or expect Amen to have elite handles. I expected a point guard known for play making to have good handles though. And perhaps elite FOR A ROOKIE. But they’re not even good. In fact, they’re bad. Small sample size. We’ll see how he develops. But yah, definitely expected a lottery point guard to have good handles.
Are you stupid or what? The guy played for two years in a league that is literally named ELITE. How can he be anything but?
Looks like Amen is trying to fit in and get his legs under him in an NBA game. I was concerned that he might be unable to be a plus defender for some time since he has so little experience. Looks like I was wrong about that one. The coaches have got him in the right spots. For such a young player, he has a strong sense of what he is supposed to be doing on the defensive side of the court. There is a lot of bad intel circulating that Amen doesn't have handles and has a limited offensive game. I hope other teams will listen to all this banter and not watch their tape. Amen's game is pretty explosive. His first step isn't Jalen Green's. And once his teammates realize what he can add on the wing, they might concentrate on coming down with a board and getting an outlet pass out more quickly. Amen can collect bunches of cheap baskets before the defense is set. You get him out there on the break with Tari Eason and look out.
Honestly, has shown me more about what he could be in the future than Jalen Green has in three years.
He was always drafted more for his tools than his current skill level. He was always gonna be a fairly risky, albeit high upside project. Nothing has changed.
Remember Jabari was supposed to be giant-sized Klay but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last year. Amen gets a pass this year I think. Just need to see effort and a few sparks here & there.
