Got it, eventually he'll become a walking triple double with elite defense with time. With a developed three point shot, mid range and tighter handle he's a perennial all star threat talent.
Tbh I always felt like the Rox did a disservice to Amen by playing him less. If this was 2021 and the Rox were just starting their rebuild and featured Amen as much as they did JG back then I think Amen would be right up there with Wemby in stats accumulation. His PER 36 are already 15/10/6 on just 11 attempts. Dude is crazy efficient.
He really impressed me this season, honestly I have him as a top 3 rookie and Chet isn't even really a rookie. I hope he becomes at least somewhat a threat from the 3 point line or he will get exposed in a playoff series like Ben Simmons did.
I'll go a step further: with nothing but a barely functional 3PT shot he will be a perennial all star. I'm talking just 36% on 2 x open 3pters above the break (which usually equates to 33-34% overall). He would just destroy teams in the paint with explosive finishes and kick outs. Any improvement to handle and mid range are a bonus at that point. His net impact would explode. His handle looks weaker than it is because teams just sag off and we played a very slow pace most of the season. That is the absolute maximum pressure you can put on someone's handle. The team seemed to be in agreement that our identity will be on the faster side of things and attacks that generate more 3PT shots. Willing to be super patient with him. He can give starter level impact off the bench and Fred is a great mentor who is guaranteed one more year. One thing we absolutely cannot afford though is to actually reduce our 3pt shooting in the starting lineup. We're already one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA, any further reduction would be fatal to our growth with Sengun, Jalen, Brooks, Jabari all being less than average shooters. He can do everything right but nothing can change the fact that his defender is crowding the paint at the moment, which impacts our main scorers significantly. It's a Westbrook-like situation where you can't see it in the individual stats but it's screaming at you when you watch the game. That he can be guarded by a sagging C rim protector is a death sentence for our wings' ability to routinely attack the rim. Thank god he seems like a hardworking kid.
His handles look weaker than they are because of other teams sagging off? Come on now. His handles jsut aren’t on par for a pg. he loses the ball on his own, not because of anything the defense is doing. When they actually press him he just folds and passes the ball
I would bet that going from 13.8% to 33+% is unprecedented in NBA history. Plus, even if he was shooting 33+% on, say, 3 attempts per game, smart teams will still sag off on him and clog up our whole offense. They will happily let him shoot those 3+ shots from 3.
Agreed, it's obvious in the game and film he at least needs an outside threat to keep defenses honest for spacing. He also could possibly make an all star team with only a developed three, true. Beyond that I look at the game with the question of how a player will fare in a playoff series or help win a championship long term. Where weakness (and often strengths) are greatly magnified over a contending team game planning defensively for a player in a seven game series. Along with a three point shot, a floater or pull up midrange that even Westbrook had to develop helps, as teams will force you to uncomfortable spots, like long twos defensively until you counter. But historically, like Westbrook lack of three point shooting from a star guard is a fatal Achilles heel in the post season agreed. But thankfully even Jason Kidd or recently Suggs developed a three point shot, so it can be and has been done all the time. I think his handle will improve with reps and might be the easiest to fix for him with time. I'm patient as well, he's very intelligent, hard working and gifted, so work with him to add something new each off season.
His season took off when they realized he wasn't a point guard and basically had to play C on offense.
Oh yeah, that would be a massive jump. Doubt it's unprecedented at this tiny volume, but definitely more likely to take 2-3 years than 1. That would be totally fine, I'll take that next season. They certainly can't sag off him as much at that point and it will become practically impossible to guard him with a rim protector (which is what teams started doing to us). Something has to change if he goes from 13% to 33%, teams will not treat it the same. It's a huge win for us, those possessions are currently being flushed down the drain and he's being turned into a garbage points big man who can't even utilize his perimeter skills. I believe his explosiveness is Giannis-lite-like or even prime Westbrook-like. Anthony Edwards levels of explosiveness there. He can beat sagging defenders much more than a Ben Simmons type. Right now his defenders is flat out not giving a F so having that defender at least hedge between two options will open up opportunities for him and his teammates. Baby steps.
Yes, if you know basketball you understand that a slow half court game against set defenses when you can't shoot puts enormous pressure on your handles when you want to create. You're absorbing more contact, you're looking over your shoulder, you have narrower paths to make a move. Doesn't get any harder than that, especially for a rookie. Of course his handle is not perfect, but it's not as bad as you're painting it. Will be fine progressing at a natural rate.
I played basketball and the position up to college. He’s not a natural pg at the pro level yet. He loses the ball unforced
There's been guys that have gone from non-factors from 3 to at least decent enough to not compromise spacing. Jonas Valanchunas Brook Lopez Chris Bosh PJ Tucker LaMarcus Aldredge DeMar Derozan (Amen's best hope to replicate IMO) Of course, these are the exceptions that prove the rule, most guys that come in with nothing from beyond 20 feet stay that way. More damning is that all of these guys were much better free throw shooters than Amen. None of these guys have a career FT% below 75%, Amen sits at 68%, not hopeless, but not promising either.
What an interesting prospect. So many, varied possibilities for his development. If he grows a couple of inches and adds bulk, he could become our version of Draymond Green, Giannis or Kirilenko. I think we may need to recalibrate how we see him. He is less likely to turn into a conventional on-the-ball playmaking guard; his future may lie as an off-the bounce forward creator/finisher. Shawn Marion with better passing? He will be unstoppable on the short roll. Quite a challenge for roster construction but tremendous upside.
He was already playing well for awhile before Alpi went down IMO. I would pinpoint his breakout as starting when FVV missed a few games starting at game #50. From that point until the end of the season Amen averaged 12.1, 8.6, 3.0 and 2.2 stocks on 56.3% shooting. Before game #50, he averaged 6.8, 4.5, 2.2, and 1.5 stocks on 48.8% shooting. The main differences being that he started getting more minutes from that point onward and was able to get into more of a rhythm, and I think he also just got past his initial rookie jitters. Meaning, I don't think it was anything to do with his position. He was starting at point guard the last two games of the season and he played great.
