i love him to death, but i've come to realize he is overrated in this board. he is great at 99% of the things he does, but having a terrible shot for a wing player is a big problem. it hurts our spacing so much, its not easy to make it work. sometimes we play him alongside sengun and adams, how the hell is that supposed to work in the playoffs? i don't see how we can play more than 2 non-shooters at the same time, and even that is a disadvantage in today's nba, so amen kind of limits our lineup options in a way. i still think he is an amazing player, but nowhere near superstar ceiling unless he miraculously develops a respectable shot. amen thompson with a 35% 3pt shot is probably a top 10 player in the nba. i just hope we don't overpay when extension time comes.
I agree with everything you said. I’ll probably catch some heat for saying this, but the current version of Amen feels like a non shooting KMJ, the key difference being that Amen can defend at an elite level when he’s in his natural wing role. Still, if we want to be truly competitive come playoff time, he has to develop a credible jump shot; otherwise, this roster’s ceiling remains capped. I really admire Amen’s mentality and effort, he consistently gives everything on the court but his limitations are increasingly hard to overlook. I’m sorry, but I can’t just pretend that shooting doesn’t matter. As it stands, I don’t think this version of Amen warrants a rookie max contract.
Foolish comments. While Amen's role has been expanded thanks to FVV's injury, he so far hasn't excelled in his former role as a lockdown defender. We need to deal with the PG role. Naturally, Eason made this more difficult with his annual major injury, so he can't be included in a deal.
I'm more disappointed by his defense this season. He doesn't feel like the lockdown defender that he was last season.
Amen in general feels a little off this season. His numbers are fine but he doesnt seem himself. Like somethings bothering him.
Yeah I can live with his shooting not improved. That’s gonna take time. But he can’t lose what makes him great, which is his defense.
His defensive reaction time is not as sharp. One theory is that he's trying so hard to learn the PG role he lost some focus on defense. I think we should start Reed at PG and let Amen do his roaming things he so good at on offense. Also, I think playing zone takes away his biggest strength which is locking down one on one.
He showed a lot progress in his jumper last season, but seems to have completely lost faith in it this season. Can tell he's overthinking it. There's a lot of times that he'll drive in to a crowded paint only to get blocked or blow the layup. Should start taking more easy short jumpers.
I think it would help him a lot to take some of those open jumpers regularly instead of just 3-point shots, but with KD and Alpi on the court, it doesn't make sense an on individual possession basis. This thing of developing a 3-point shot exclusively is not conducive to developing Amen's offensive arsenal, but that's how it goes for now.
Have been saying it forever, for Amen a 3PT shot is the difference between being a superstar or a swiss army knife. I can already tell that whether it takes 10 more games or 200 more games, Amen is going to be able to play the PG position for most of the rest of his career. His man defense is elite. His help defense is elite provided that's his assigned role. Rebounding elite. Driving to the rim is excellent EXCEPT for the fact that defenders benefit from his still-shaky jumper. With Sengun developing a jumper, the team is 4-out around Amen and he's looked good when we've cleared space for him to go downhill. It's logical it would take him time to get used to shifting everything he does on both sides of the court. He has a different role on offense AND a different role on defense (he used to guard forwards a lot more). I'm pretty confident that jumper will come along and Amen ends up somewhere a Dwayne Wade type of player (with a below average jumper i.e. better than Wade).
I feel he must have something nagging, small injury. He’s lost a step and he isn’t jumping as high, he’s lost a bit of vertical explosiveness. Could it be due to the muscles he’s put on? But definitely something is off
I’d say it’s about 50% mental, but his shooting mechanics remain a real concern. The ball lacks proper arc when he releases it, and he should probably work with a new shooting coach next offseason to refine his form. Haliburton’s shot looks unconventional too, but that’s more of an outlier than a flaw. Amen’s, on the other hand, looks fundamentally broken.
there’ll be a few times where the shot looks natural than you’ll see those shots where it looks like he is heaving the ball with 2 hands from the waist, very inconsistent.
It is time for Amen to go back to doing what he does best, which is reeking havoc on both ends of the floor, and let Reed take over the PG duties for the next decade +.
I think there are a lot of different things going on all at once long with expending more energy on offense and the zone. Durant is slow on defense. He can make some highlight blocks, but he's not as active on closeouts or perimeter. He's fine as the low man. Last season, FVV and Green could both cover guards at the POA, while Brooks, Tari, and JSJ could switch to smaller players. The Rockets were really good about getting Brooks in the action with preswitching so he was the primary guy getting switched onto the ball. Even when there was a mismatch, it took a long time to develop to the point where the opponent couldn't take full advantage. It just seems like opponents have a much easier time getting guards on Durant, JSJ, and Sengun than last season. Amen's defense doesn't matter if it is easy to get a mismatch elsewhere. Last night, Bane was basically getting the ball against Adams, JSJ, and Holiday pretty easily early in the clock. When playing with Okogie, Okogie sometimes gets the POA. I think energy and not having forwards able to switch onto guards are the big reasons Amen's defense is not as impactful.
