Amen should be up for MIP, DPOY and 6th man of the Year, but knowing the league, he might not even make All-NBA defensive team when he clearly should.
What? No, you interpreted that wrong. Not more than he's getting now. Only as he develops. The one I wanted to see get more minutes per game is Amen and possibly Eason, and cutting a few minutes from Brooks and Jalen and a couple from Fred, and maybe adding some for Holiday and Cam. I have no problem continuing to develop Reed and Cam, but they have to prove themselves consistently to earn than 11 or 12 min.
I think he has the skills to be a PG except 3 point shooting and at some point to play that position he has be somewhat competent with his outside shot.
The only thing that's surprised me in a negative way so far about Amen this season is his assist rate. His assist percentage and assists per 100 possessions/36 minutes are both down significantly compared to his rookie year. The only reason the per game stats are even close is that he's playing more minutes. I was pretty heavily in the "Amen is a point guard" camp, and I do think he's a better passer than he's shown so far; the way he's being used is largely off the ball, so he ends up finishing plays more than he initiates them. FVV, Alpi, and Jalen are all ahead of him in the pecking order (though Jalen shouldn't be) for operating as the initiator or playmaker. With all of that said--Tari and Dillon also largely operate off the ball in a similar role, and their assist rates are not dramatically lower than Amen's--just a little bit lower. And I don't consider either of them to be gifted passers. So I am second-guessing myself a little bit on thinking of him as a point guard now. I still see him as more of a guard than a forward, but perhaps he's more of a wing than he is a combo guard. If so, that's okay, it just means we still need to find a point guard at some point in the near-ish future (assuming Reed doesn't turn things around dramatically, which he very well may).
He hasn't gotten the minutes as the main facilitator to get big assists numbers. His bbiq is through the roof and he hasn't suddenly forgotten how to pass. It's just not his current role. I posted it another thread. Amen has only 6 games of 30 minutes or more. It is criminal.
Yeah, I haven't given up on him as a point guard entirely, I'm just starting to lean more toward seeing him as Jalen's replacement than FVV's. Agree entirely that he should be playing 30+ minutes every game and be given more opportunities to run the offense.
I know what you mean, but I also feel like that's just more of a function of where Amen is in development, the make up of the team, and we just aren't focusing on development with the main team. I'm certainly not disappointed with his trajectory but I did hope the playmaking would flash more as I thought he would continue to improve on defense and marginally improve on shooting.
I feel it's really hard to judge where Amen is going because he's more playing a role the Rockets needs him to rather than one where he can explore all his potential. I think if the Rockets move on from FVV in some sort of way this offseason, we'd really see how he and Reed will fare in a PG role next year. Right now, between FVV and Sengun, there's not much room for other players to have much playmaking duties.
Amen showed very nice glances of his midrange game against the Clippers. Three midrange shots, including a sweet stepback. He hit a three too. He's put a lot of work into his jumper and it's paying off. He's more than doubled his 3pt% from his rookie season so far. Do that again next year and we're in business! /s It's impressive how good Amen has been despite having a weak jumper and low usage. You'd think teams could just pack the paint, especially when he's playing next to Sengun, but they find ways to make it work. Our offense isn't perfect by any means, but Amen is far from unplayable even in his current state.
FVV averages 6 assists in 35 mins. If he disappeared and Amen started next to Jalen (or whoever), he would ramp up and average at least 6 assists. Amen's development is being held up by FVV, pure and simple. The Rockets are in "win now" mode and that means FVV getting 30+ mins at PG.
I also noticed him passing less and mostly looking to score when he drives. I think he has the court vision. But he is more of an instinctive passer rather than deliberate playmaker. I supposed that can be learned and I am pretty sure he is a learner. But him playing the wing as a secondary playmaker may not be a bad thing if we have a more natural PG organizing the offense.
I think this comes down to how defenses play him. They let him shoot making it difficult to dribble drive and they clog passing lanes. When he's able to drive, there just isn't much reason for him to pass often as typically him trying to score is a very high percentage play. If Amen had the shot to force guys not to leave him open, his assists would jump as it would not be his man stepping to stop him driving.
...yeah, Amen's lower assist rate is more a function of how he is being asked to operate within the Rocket's offense this year. I would like to see more development into what he can do as a primary playmaker. It might bring his efficiency numbers down a bit more, but I think that's the next place we need to try to unlock from him even if he struggles in the short term with it. He's such a smart guy, we just need to show him what to work on and he will work to improve there.
He knows his spots to shoot from - corner 3s and FT area middies - that will keep his % up , long as he doesn’t step outside of his comfort zone I can see steady improvement
