Youre gonna be so shocked how bad this team would be. Not enough scoring or shooting. 7 - 10 th seed at best.
Not saying that we should do this, but the idea that theres no way we can trade into this draft isnt right. I actually think its imperative that we do somehow. Going into next season with Durant, FVV and Adams will set this team back multiple years. There is zero point in doing this. None. Zero. Won't even sell tickets because the Durant Circus newness lasts one year.
Neither of them are "Build Around" guys. We just need to figure out which one is the better peripheral player and that's ****ing complicated.
Gun to the head .....still undecided, probably shot dead. Both are 2nd Options that cannot shoot. Amen just has that uber athletic defensive potential other teams are probably licking their chops at. And Alpe has some good games against Wemby.
Title should be “Which player do you think is/will be better?”, as most have said that neither is worth building around. So the poll is meaningless
Neither. Either you jump in the window or jump out. Either they use assets to get the vets or they play out the scope of mediocrity. I would use Thompson and Sengun for Giannis
41.6 39.4 38.5 36.3 35.8 That's the shooting percentages of KD, Reed, Okogie, Jabari & Tari. That's plenty of shooting. All league average or better. The problem is defenses don't defend Amen until he gets into the lane. Aside from that, they are playing off of him - inviting him to shoot from anywhere and hedging on other offensive threats - particularly KD and Sengun.
No, that’s not enough shooting. This is exactly why raw percentages are not the whole story. Okogie had a good shooting percentage, but he barely averaged 2 shots a game, and only when wide open. Tari's average was bolstered by a hot start - teams were begging him to shoot 3s later in the season. Jabari was decent, but I'd say only KD and Reed truly create spacing with the threat of their 3 shots. The clunky fit with Sengun doesn't help matters. Sengun often sits on the elbow and isn’t a deep threat, which constricts lanes. If he developed a more consistent 3 ball, it would help a lot. It's hard to have 2 non-shooters in a lineup, especially when when you have a third option like Okogie (who only shoots open 3s) or Tari (who was awful towards the end of the season). Also, the idea that defenders only defend Amen in the paint is nonsense. It's the type of hyperbole that this board loves. When he has the ball, defenders are usually up on him around the perimeter, because they know sagging will give him space and a chance to get a head of steam. Offball, sure, defenders will often sag at the beginning of games - until Amen burns them by finding open pockets on cuts.
Tari's average gravity was still above average. There were some games that he sucked really hard, but for most of the time, he was slightly above average at spacing. Okogie does make sense as his shoot is just so slow that any halfway decent closeout is usually good enough. He is not guarded tight. Saying Amen is only guarded in the paint is hyperbole. Amen is one of the least guarded players who is not a center. His man routinely leaves him if he's off the ball. If he's on ball, defenders typically go under screens or retreat on isolations, conceding jump shoots. The defender is loosely guarding around the three point line, but rarely is the defender even attempting to pressure Amen or contest a shot. Gravity stats show that Amen is guarded treated more like a center than Sengun. On Sengun, the clunky fit with Amen doesn't help matters. Amen often sits at the dunker's spot and isn’t a deep threat if he's on the perimeter, which constricts lanes. If Amen developed a more consistent 3 ball, it would help a lot. It's hard to have 2 non-shooters in a lineup, especially when when you have a third option like Okogie (who only shoots open 3s). Considering most centers are not stretch 5's. it is typically up to the other 4 guys not to be non-shooters. Amen was still better than everyone but KD last season, but that doesn't change the fact that he is the biggest problem with spacing as he's a non-shooter who isn't a center.
The problem is the center that can't shoot 3's when it's normal for centers to camp in the paint / at the elbows and not shoot 3's while the supposed point guard, who's supposed to shoot 3's can't.
Look, I’m not saying Amen is a perfect player. And he is an awkward fit next to Sengun, who wants to be the hub of the offense. The issue, however, is Amen is clearly our best prospect at the moment. To put things in perspective, we lost to the Lakers because they dominated the non-Amen minutes. With Amen on the floor, the Rockets were +6 against the Lakers - without Amen, the Rockets were negative 66. https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/onsi/rockets-relied-on-amen-thompson-too-much-during-series-vs-lakers Because of this, I think Sengun should work on fitting his game to Amen’s, not vice versa. This sounds bad, but I’m not entirely sure the Rockets wouldn’t be better if they replaced Sengun with a traditional 10/10 rim protector. Below were the Rockets’ best two man lineups by NetRtg that played at least 500 minutes together - anything stand out to you? Clearly, pairing Amen and KD with a 3-and-D wing along with a rim protector is a good approach.
Adams and Reed not playing 500 minutes together sticks out to me. Adams and Thompson numbers are good, but the minutes of those 2 with Reed really were amazing. Sengun had a really bad year. For the Amen and Sengun problems, the Sengun and Reed fit was so much worse. Also, the Rockets were -22 with Amen when Tari wasn't on the floor versus the Lakers. The Rockets were essentially 5 players at the end of the season and got roasted in bench minutes. Being the best prospect does not equal build around to me.
