Amen has more than Athleticism, he has size, length, health and supposedly a great work ethic. "Thus far" doesn't really mean anything since the season ain't even halfway done. I'm all in on Amen it may take some time but by the time he is 25 I think he will be one of the best players in his draft class.
Scoot got the Green Light tonight. It wasn't all bad. Will be interesting to see how much freedom he has the rest of the season.
After the draft lottery I was frustrated, the Rockets had a good chance of getting a top generational talent in Victor Wemby, and all the pundits said it was a 3 superstars deep draft. And the Rockets were on the outside of the top 3 picks. There the Rockets sat with the 4th pick in the draft, after another tank-a-thon season. Such a bummer situation I thought. But today I am so glad the Rockets got Amen over Scoot. And that the Trailblazers didn’t pull a Paolo surprise on us like the Magic did the previous year. Portland traded away their franchise star in Lillard because they’d gotten Scoot whom they viewed as a Franchise level superstar. Yet Scoot is another athletic freak with, low NBA IQ, just like Jalen Green. His win share is the lowest of any player drafted. The dude is on the verge of being a total draft bust! If the Rockets really had Amen over Scoot pre draft, it shows great ability in the Rockets player evaluation.
It’s funny that you compare Scoot to Jalen because that is exactly who I think of when I watch Scoot play. Shocking just how good Amen is right now. Just my opinion but he is the best defender on the team (including Dillon) and he is the best offensive wing player I’ve seen in two decades that didn’t have a jump shot. My one observation about Amen is that I don’t think he is a point guard, his handle is not quite at that level. I really see him as more of a point forward, don’t shoot me but a better version of Scottie Pippen but without the 3 point shot.
Yes Amen is more like a point forward but he should still play the pg spot because he is athletic enough to shadow and cover opponent point guards. That just gives him an advantage on both sides of the ball whereas if he played sf then his height is actually on the lower end.
Amens appears to have elite Basketball IQ. He is a tall dude at either SG or PG. Plus he has great size for a SF, so he’d be in proximity to other SF size wise; but with his dribbling ability he’s head and shoulders above almost any SF. Hence why most people think Point Forward is where he is eventually going to thrive. The greatest advantage is matchups, in that Amen could play in a big line up, in small line up, he can excel in a defensive lineup, because he can play a variety of lineups depending on the situation. Not many Basketball players are that versatile.
Scoot just seems small on the court. All you heard leading up to the draft was “NBA ready body.” And his jump shot sucks. His form isn’t awful, but the results are all time bad. Amen plays within himself and plays bigger than his size. Scoot is awful at defense. Amen is future all-defensive first team.
