nowayguy wrote:OakleyDokely wrote:Teams will defend Amen like they did McCaw or Simmons. You don't need to bother with them on the perimeter.
Amen is going to be a borderline top 3 athlete in the NBA, which even Simmons couldn't claim. Giving him open space to operate along the perimeter shouldn't be that effective in theory, you're just inviting him to attack the rim which is his best skill at this point. The problem for the Raptors is that the lack of shooting is going to clog the paint and limit his effectiveness.
I think the discussion is "Is he athletic enough that his deficiencies won't stop him being a positive player and how confident are we can make him an average shooter?". There are always a couple guys in the league at a given time who are so athletically gifted that it doesn't matter if the other team knows exactly what's coming. Anyone who believes in Amen becoming a star is probably putting him into that group.
I spent more time yesterday going over advanced stats and looking at more footage of the Thompsons, I don't even know how the hell to grade them anymore. Maybe my Michael Vick comparison is accurate and not in a good way since Vick ultimately was a huge bust.
I'm worried about Amen even more than Ausar right now as I have started to question everything with them. They both rarely jack up shots when they're guarded by another player. Their shooting is bad enough when they're open, the fact they don't even try to shoot or just flat out struggle to score while being defended on the perimeter actually screams bust. If they have the ball in their hands late in the shot clock and are nowhere near the rim it's game over.
If the game of basketball were played exclusively in transition they should both be top 10 picks. Everything with Amen is at the rim, at the rim, at the rim, at the rim. Once NBA teams sag off what the hell is he going to do?
I watched high school games and it was the same story, everything at the rim and if they can't get there they overdribble or pick up the dribble pass and then reset to try to get to the rim again. That **** won't work in the NBA and they're already 20.5 years old and have been playing like that for years and years. If you draft them you need to rewire how they approach the game and given how long they have been playing this way with zero improvement in the shooting department the risk far outweighs the reward of magically getting them to be anything more than guys who try to pressure the rim in the halfcourt.
At the end of the day these kids are sick athletes, have great handles and are willing passers and defenders. I thought that alone should validate them as NBA prospects. But I'm trying to think to myself about how street ball players can also have sick skills and would never survive in the NBA. It's possible that because of his projected draft position we will see early flashes and highlight reel plays from Amen because of the compulsion a franchise will likely have to give him burn but that ultimately when we look at his stat line he'll be shooting 41/25/68 with ok contributions in other areas but a **** AST-TO ratio since he is turnover prone and ultimately he just fades away into the night sky. I don't even know if Udoka could save Amen's ass.
Ultimately the Thompson haters are beyond justified in their concerns and after watching their high school tape and considering the circumstances I might have to join you. I'll still root for them because a guy like Amen panning out would be great for the league but yeah.
