So, when playing as the number #1 option this season, Castle put up similar splits to Amen's season average, half of which he was playing as a 3rd/4th option? Well, not really similar, because Castle put up a gross .44 FG% in those games. Conversely, after the All Star break this season, the Rockets started feeding Amen more, and he averaged 20/7/6 on .56 FG%. Yes, Amen needs to start hitting 3s. But y'all really think Castle's upside is higher than Amen's? Give me a break. Castle developed a 3 shot and he's still way behind Amen.
focusing on FG% in the year 2026 is amateur hour Castle had 60% TS Amen hardly takes jump shots and is assisted on 17% more of his twos than Castle…Amen has the shot chart of a C who occasionally takes a jump shot, he better be shooting over 50% from the field then the playoffs came and Amen gave us 54.5% TS last year and 55.3% TS this year while once again taking almost all of his shots in the paint because teams can easily bottle up total non-shooters
No, it's just your position that Amen plays like a "90s backup center" is so stupid I feel like I lost IQ points reading it. Amen scores a lot from the paint because he drives and cuts, not because he posts up a ton. Do you even watch the Rockets? Look his highlights from this Lakers game. All of his points came from drives to the backet, drive-and-pullup, fast breaks, cuts, or put backs. You know, like a POINT FORWARD.
Amen couldn’t score efficiently against a Lakers team that’s a bottom 10 defense, whose best perimeter defender was old ass Marcus Smart, and whose rim protector was freaking Deandre Ayton because he can’t shoot a lick…so if it’s not in transition, scoring off offensive boards, or assisted dunks and layups as he chills in the dunkers spot, he has to resort to driving wildly into the paint and throwing sh*t up because he has no way to score otherwise that’s how someone with the shot chart of a rim rolling C gives us 55% TS in the playoffs Amen is left wide open outside of 15 feet and still airballs
I think next season will be the true test for Reed. He's had plenty of run now, so no excuses. He's got to prove it to get the extension.
Pretty sure he’s making up those numbers. I’m seeing castle TS goes from 60.9 with wemby to 53.8 without wemby. That’s worse than every jalen rockets season for reference.
Or Rocket's fans coming to REALIZATION. As much as I HATE, LOATHE, DISLIKE, DISDAIN and any other word thats synonyms with hatred towards the Spurs but you got to give it to them....They retooled, with the help of Adam Silver, nicely. Wemby was GIVEN to them by Silver Castle was GIVEN to them by the Rockets Fox was GIVEN to them by Sac in a bad trade Harper was a great pick And ther you have it!
I kept all the receipts for those calling me dumb saying Reed is better than Castle. Those advanced metrics stats are skewed in my opinion. Eye ball test proves Castle > Reed The Rockets can do right by trading Reed/27FRP to the Clippers for the #5 pick to draft Acuff or Flemings...Wagler is good, but Acuff or Flemings will fit better with the Rockets.
Will point out again too... Amen plays with 0 floor spacing, the lane is so often crowded that he has to take these awkward shots right outside the restricted area to score because there's literally two to three dudes waiting for his drive. Amen is a FAR better finisher and slasher than Castle, that's not even arguable by anyone that watches ball. The problem is the offense and roster basically play defense against Amen before he even gets to the rim. Rockets priority this season, should they trade Sengun, should be to find a stretch Big, it would really unleash Amen and allow him to attack as much as he wants.
i dunno. Castle is the more complete player right now. If Amen could have a pullup jumper and 3 ball it’s over. Imagine a castle Amen backcourt. That might be one of the best backcourts ever. What a waste of a pick
Hoping Reed gets traded before Ime ruins his confidence and his career. He will perform better almost anywhere else. His physical limitations can be overcome with the right training and coaching.
This is simply untrue. There’s no evidence of what you say. One thing is a fact is he was inconsistent and missed a lot of wide open shots all year. That’s on the player not coaching.
Spurs got the better version of Amen (Castle) The better version of Jalen Green (half Filipino Dylan Harper) An upgraded version of Sengun (Wemby) Role players that can defend and can shoot like Johnson, Champagnie, Vassell. Looking at the Spurs and rockets roster and front office it's like the haves vs have nots. K shaped economy, rockets are on the bottom, spurs are thriving
damn spot on. Spurs rebuild is no coincidence. Big business and money. The NBA is vegas. I’m a believer in fans including myself are all duped by the professional sports machine. Year after year we see them control outcomes of games and manipulate drafts and trades but we still watch like fools and argue with each other on fan sites. Really comical lol
While I agree Amen isn’t as great scoring compared to the elite guards in both regular season and playoffs he still is effective and really good in some areas especially in the playoffs. He gets to the paint well off the dribble with elite burst and speed. He was 12th in the playoffs on drives per game (14). Brunson, fox, murray were only slightly better). Castle was 19th. But Castle scored slightly more on drives (8.7 to 7.2). Interesting too Amen was num 3 in fouls on him driving to the paint. Amen’s unassisted scoring is impressive in the paint. Although numbers dropped for 10-14 ft in playoffs. (Low from 5ft likely due to cuts and dunks). Reg Season: 5-9 ft 71% 10-14 ft 73% Playoffs: 5-9 ft 83% 10-14 ft 33% Castle: Reg Season: 5-9 ft 74% 10-14 ft 71% Playoffs: 5-9 ft 60% 10-14ft 100% (round1) Jaylen Brown Reg Season: 5-9 ft 74% 10-14 ft 74% Playoffs: 5-9 ft 70% 10-14ft 75% Amen also shot 45% mid range and 15-19 ft 42% in playoffs surprisingly compared to Castle’s 21% and 25-% (rd 1) Jumpshot 47% to Castle’s 36% (rd 1) Amen overall in both reg season and playoffs had a lower % unassisted FG near the basket and lower layup% and points off drives than Castle and the elite guards in this league but his playoff performance gives a glimmer of hope.
In other words, Rockets got the better version of Vassell (Jalen Green), better version of Johnson (Amen), better version of Kornet (Sengun), one Wemby level of player but is much better at shooting (KD), the future is bright and the sky is the limit
It’s interesting. Amen’s pass% on drives is really high in both reg season (num 10) and playoffs (num5). But lower assist%. His scoring on drives is lower as well compared to the elites and other guards with similar minutes. The packed defense, lack of lob threat, and poor Rockets shooting May explain these numbers. We don’t know but it’s possible. But the low fg% and points on drives could also mean he doesn’t finish well on drives/layups in the paint. Maybe a combination of both of these things.
