Fred can put only to create a jump shot. Green is really the only one in a half court set against POA defenses that can do it at all three levels. I get the allure of Amen though. IF he can tighten his handles considerably and be a borderline competent shooter, someone of his length and explosion being a threat level scorer would be generational. Those are big ifs though.
Agreed.. Jalen just does things that nobody else can do on this team. I think he’s gonna explode this season. The talent is clear, we’ve all seen it. Consistency is the only factor here
Breaking down the defense leading to a low efficiency shot or being blocked at the rim isn't all that valuable. I just ask that people be realistic and not embrace cultist talking points.
The craziest thing about this argument though is it basically weights a couple of inches (at most, I have eyes and they're so similar in height you can - and announcers do - mistake them for each other on the court) as more significant than already possessing most of the skills Amen needs to be a superstar. Amen's an insane athlete, but Jalen's not exactly far behind him either, and I'd argue whilst he's not as explosive he's more agile, just as bouncey and actually faster, especially with the ball. Jalen's nowhere near as good a defender, but Jalen already has 80% of the skills that Amen needs and is a lot closer as a shooter considering he has several 30 and 40 pt games shooting over 40% from 3 (more than most players have in their entire careers, in fact.) The defense is why Jalen's ceiling isn't all-time caliber but he's still WAY closer to superstar than Amen at this stage and I genuinely don't think it's close. People don't remember MJ and Kobe for their defense (though it's part of why they ARE all-timers and Jalen won't be) and I think generally the offense part of that equation (that Jalen has, and once fully realised may have more than a sparse few people in the league) makes you a star in isolation more than the defense side (Amen) does - otherwise we'd probably take Pippen a lot more seriously than we do.
I would say the main difference in the type of athleticism Amen and Green have is Amen is more forceful with his athleticism while Green is more creative with his athleticism. Some of Amen's movements compared to Green seen more robotic while Green seems more "natural" to r fluid. Like I'd assume Green is the much better dancer than Amen because Green is more coordinated with us footwork. Amen is more forceful and Green has more wiggle.
They sold us this next Kobe type of mentality guy who is hungry. If that is somehow there, he can make the jump, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he never does and just stays a Cuttino Mobley type: can distribute, defend and shoot lights out every once in a while and wow you with some dunks. Starter on a contender where he’s part of a starting lineup and not asked to carry every night is then his ceiling. Think White on the Celtics.
The stats bear this out, it's very clear. There's two Jalen's - the very good one & the really bad one, not much in between. 26 games where he shot .40 or better ONE game he shot league average. (.375) 55 games he shot .333 or worse. That's ZERO games between .376 to .40 and ZERO games from .374 to .333
If he can shift 29 of those 55 bad games into the league average I'd say he deserves an extension. Otherwise I'd be onboard letting him walk.
Again though, I'm not sure why people think this gives Amen a higher ceiling. I'll take Kobe or MJ over Westbrook or Shawn Kemp every single day of the week.
I think people fall in love with guys who don't have great scoring talent but are seen as "high IQ" because they pass often. Amen is a quick decision maker but I wonder how much of a difference in "bball IQ" there is between Amen and Jalen is simply just Amen because by far less confident in his shot making where he just instinctively passes out more and Jalen being overconfident and forcing the issue more. I want to see how Amen's "bball IQ" looks like when the POA defense is squared in on him and he has to dribble the ball. It's hard to tell at this point. Amen has the ability to where if he isn't a primary offensive engine then he still can be an elite role player due to his defense. That probably is the main reason why. Because with Jalen he has to hit as a primary scorer or else he becomes a 6th man. Amen is simply more versatile in what he can become which is why I think a lot of people here are higher on Amen than Jalen. Jalen "makes it" only through one specific route and they route is the lead offensive player while Amen still has a place on this roster even if he doesn't become that type of player.
I guess for me I just don't see anywhere near the ceiling from Amen as I do Jalen. I think the floor is considerably higher, but for Amen to be a top-level star he's going to have to either become a lead guard or a primary scoring wing. He's obviously more likely to be a PG, but frankly, outside of the vision itself Jalen has more PG skills than Amen, and Jalen is definitely NOT a PG. Jalen's a consistent shot away from being a superstar level player, Amen's either: A better handle, pass, dunk/layup package OR a multiple level jumpshot, dunk/layup package away from being a superstar level player - there's a lot more evidence of one of those things being possible than the other. Amen has a lot more things to add to get to superstar, if he only added as much to his game as Jalen needs to add to his he'd probably be something like Andre Iguodala. I still think both of our best prospects came from our first tank draft if I'm honest, and I think Jabari has more chance to be a star than Amen also. If Amen stays a very limited offensive 3 then he isn't a "super" anything, he's just an excellent defender who's either a starter or roleplayer depending on how good the scorers he plays with are.
My wife when she heard the interview with Stone/Ime couldn't help but notice Stone's insistence on saying that they looked into Reed's personality and background a little more. To make sure he had a good head on his shoulders. Almost as if they've made that mistake before and won't do it again.
A lot of "old heads" don't like the culture and aura of player archetypes like Jalen. Doesn't speak in a college proper way. Into fashion. Scoring guard archetype. Amen has some of those old head desires. Talks more "proper". Doesn't paint nails and isn't a high usage scorer. He grinds. Plays defense etc.
Are you referring to KPJ? Because it would be a ass move to imply Jalen here. Dude has done nothing to draw that type of talk unless you really care about someone who speaks more closely to how you speak and doesn't pain their nails. Then it just becomes culture wars nonsense and quite frankly a hint of racism. Culturally what has Jalen done to make you say that Stone has to "look into character issues more". What has Jalen done to deserve that type of talk? Only guy who started all 82 games and every coach he's interacted with says he is one of those "first to enter last to leave the gym" types.
Yeah I'll never understand it tbh. It's like being one of the people who listened to country when Jimi Hendrix was alive and touring. Going to a cocktail bar and ordering Bourbon on the rocks. Choosing an American steakhouse over a Michelin Starred cutting edge restaurant. It's them type of people who get the same haircut everybody else has and listens to the same music everybody else does because "that's what everybody listens to." Template, cookie-cutter conservative living is really tedious, I'm certainly not going to apply it to sports any more than I would anywhere else in life haha.
A lot of it has to do with narcissism. The further away a player resembles your culture such as the way you talk or the way you dress the more likely they are to believe the individual has "character issues".
The whole Jalen painting his nails is such a ridiculous thing to bring up. Feels like those who do are likely to walk around chewing on some hay, wearing dungarees and thinks great food is steak with BBQ sauce. See how dumb this is? Painting nails has ZERO to do with how hard Jalen works, how skilled he is, how committed he is etc. Guess nail painting is still considered something a “real” / straight man wouldn’t do for some on here,
Poll results right now: Somewhat or very optimistic: 39% Somewhat or very pessimistic: 39% On the fence: 22% Fans seem pretty evenly split on this issue.
