Exclusive All things Amen Thompson

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JDC said:
Even with all the open gym qualifiers aside, the shot looks better. Especially on the move / fading away. Still some alignment and release point issues to work through on the spot up though.

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look at that...he never misses!
 
wizenheimer said:
"high-level passing"....ok, maybe, probably. But again, there have been several wings before who could pass really well but had busted shots, and because of that flaw never came close to all-star level

"contort his body in the air to make even more-high-level passes"....you've just described an NBA turnover

"tight handle"...I'll take your word for it

"Incredible quickness/speed"....along with beastly athleticism those seem to be common praises for him. A lot of players have had those traits and been out of the league in their 20's

Maybe Amen will be the exception to a not-so-basic rule. Maybe he has enough skills to offset his broken shot. Maybe he'll fix his shot (kind of rare). Like I said, it sure seems like Amen advocates are kind of banking on him being a SG/SF version of Draymond. And maybe that's a valid hope. I really don't know. I do know I don't have enough aptitude to really gauge a player's NBA potential before I see him on an NBA floor against NBA competition. I can point to apparent flaws and apparent strengths, but putting it all together in full analysis & projection is above my pay grade

my sense, at this point, is that if Amen is truly worthy of the 3rd pick I'm either way way off in my opinion of him or this draft class is bad
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He’s a point guard.

If you’re looking for a SG/SF draft his brother.

Playing him at any other position than point negates some of his value.

He has elite passing AND athleticism.

It’s hard to come up with comps for him because he has such a rare combination.

6’7 PG, elite defense, elite passing, elite athleticism/finishing but can’t shoot.

It’s like Cade Cunningham meets Ben Simmons meets Russell Westbrook.

But, as I’ve said, drafting him at 3 is tough because of his shooting.

But Scoot is arguably gonna go ahead of him and he’s miniature sized and can’t shoot.
 
wizenheimer said:
I haven't followed this debate closely, but it seems that even Amen advocates are admitting his shot is broken. While they hold out a little hope he can repair it, there main arguments is that his freakish athleticism will offset his broken shot and give him the value worth investing a 3rd pick on. Is that a fair observation?

if it is, can anybody point to other examples of wings with broken shots becoming all-star level players? Will Amen be like Justice Winslow or Evan Turner? Or are people hoping he'll be a SF version of Draymond Green? It just seems that there is a really low ceiling on wings who can't shoot
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Scottie pippen
 
MrDraftGuy said:
I've stated this before but if the Magic were open to Simons for #6. That could mean Walker. Maybe Blazers trade #3 for #4 and #20, as well, for Amen, so Rockets could get Scoot.
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I've started honing in on my draft opinions and for the most part we are aligned in our views. I am not a big Miller guy... I hope he goes #2 and would select others over him at #3. I really like Ausar and Walker who are currently projected 5 and lower, so I see value in trading back though you don't get to a team in the lotto needing a PG until the Wizards at #8... what do you think of Hendricks?

I'm curious why you think the Rockets would want Scoot when Porter was really nice running the show for them last year being arguably their best player? If I'm them, one of the Thompsons is a better option today and tomorrow.

STOMP
 
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JDC said:
Even with all the open gym qualifiers aside, the shot looks better. Especially on the move / fading away. Still some alignment and release point issues to work through on the spot up though.

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Looks good in the video. But I've seen Nurk never miss 3's. 17 in a row stuff. And while Nurk has improved bigtime, i wouldn't consider him consistent just yet. That being said, there's time for the young man to improve his shot going forward. Practice makes perfect.
 
One thing in the NBA that could help Amen is the newly instituted Take Foul. No longer could a quick steal be stopped without a play on the ball. He’s got such quickness that it may even be hard to commit a take foul.
 
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STOMP said:
I've started honing in on my draft opinions and for the most part we are aligned in our views. I am not a big Miller guy... I hope he goes #2 and would select others over him at #3. I really like Ausar and Walker who are currently projected 5 and lower, so I see value in trading back though you don't get to a team in the lotto needing a PG until the Wizards at #8... what do you think of Hendricks?

I'm curious why you think the Rockets would want Scoot when Porter was really nice running the show for them last year being arguably their best player? If I'm them, one of the Thompsons is a better option today and tomorrow.

STOMP
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wizenheimer said:
I just happen to think C's have become the least impactful position on an NBA floor. Yes, if you have a Jokic or Embiid, there massive impact. But there are only two guys like that...them

there are only 2 other C's I find worth much money: Sabonis who led the Kings to a 1st round exit; and Adebayo who may be helping leading the Heat to playoff infamy.

I'd vote center by committee out of the bargain bin
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If I'm the Rockets, I would be targeting Ausar with whatever it takes. I see him being Scottie Pippen lite with his length, ability to run an offense, defensive versatility and an outside shoot that isn't great, but has to be respected. I like Ausar's attitude a lot better, too.
 
Via Reddit’s nba draft sub:
  • “Amen is an open court player. Shooting 85% in transition is insane. Comparing that stat with other prospects may be unfair but extreme numbers almost always tell something special about a player for better or worse. FWIW, John Wall in college shot 77% in transition and 40% in halfcourt (via DX) but his halfcourt struggles pre-draft didn't stop him from becoming a great player in the league. Ja shot 71% at the rim in transition and only shot 52% at the rim in halfcourt but still turn out to be a great player because of his elite playmaking and ability to get to the rim every time on the court. I believe in Amen's upside
 
Fez Forthright said:
Via Reddit’s nba draft sub:
  • “Amen is an open court player. Shooting 85% in transition is insane. Comparing that stat with other prospects may be unfair but extreme numbers almost always tell something special about a player for better or worse. FWIW, John Wall in college shot 77% in transition and 40% in halfcourt (via DX) but his halfcourt struggles pre-draft didn't stop him from becoming a great player in the league. Ja shot 71% at the rim in transition and only shot 52% at the rim in halfcourt but still turn out to be a great player because of his elite playmaking and ability to get to the rim every time on the court. I believe in Amen's upside
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Problem is that 85% is against a bunch of 16 year old high school sophomores he was 4 years older than. I'd probably score 100% against middle schoolers. So Amen stats can't be compared to other prospects way higher level college stats such as Wall.

Amen has upside for sure, it's just difficult to analyze his performance.
 
WesleyMatthews said:
Problem is that 85% is against a bunch of 16 year old high school sophomores he was 4 years older than. I'd probably score 100% against middle schoolers. So Amen stats can't be compared to other prospects way higher level college stats such as Wall.

Amen has upside for sure, it's just difficult to analyze his performance.
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Amen played against pro teams in Europe and did just as well against them
 
WesleyMatthews said:
Problem is that 85% is against a bunch of 16 year old high school sophomores he was 4 years older than. I'd probably score 100% against middle schoolers. So Amen stats can't be compared to other prospects way higher level college stats such as Wall.

Amen has upside for sure, it's just difficult to analyze his performance.
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This keeps getting repeated, but it is not really true.

The vast majority of the players in OTE are 18. Some are 17, some are 19. Thompson twins are on the older side at being 20. You can look at the ages of each of the players here: https://overtimeelite.com/players

Portland drafted Simons directly out of the IMG Academy. I would argue that the OTE has a better overall talent level than what Simons was playing against...

Point being, you have to take the league they are playing into account - but you have to judge a player on their skill level.
 
CJ_is_Gone said:
This keeps getting repeated, but it is not really true.

The vast majority of the players in OTE are 18. Some are 17, some are 19. Thompson twins are on the older side at being 20. You can look at the ages of each of the players here: https://overtimeelite.com/players

Portland drafted Simons directly out of the IMG Academy. I would argue that the OTE has a better overall talent level than what Simons was playing against...

Point being, you have to take the league they are playing into account - but you have to judge a player on their skill level.
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Good points.

However, the Blazers drafted Simons with pick #24, its very different with both twins projected as a top7 pick or even some saying to take Amen at #3.

The other prospects are stellar options in that range. At pick #24 the alternatives choices had a fraction of this potential.
 
WesleyMatthews said:
Good point. Do we have stats for that?
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Against Mega MIS, amen had 18 point, 9 assist, 9 rebound, 5 steal, 4 block, and 3 turnover. He did go 5-14 with 0-4 on 3 point shot. He made up for it by going 8 for 8 on free throws. If you watch the tape, he easily could’ve scored more if he didn’t try to be fancy with his layups. But otherwise a stellar all around performance.
 
The Blazers guys were smiling ear to ear after working out the Thompson twins. Move some stuff around and the Blazers have a chance to draft them both?
 
Whyachi said:
The Blazers guys were smiling ear to ear after working out the Thompson twins. Move some stuff around and the Blazers have a chance to draft them both?
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Blazers would have to get at least Orlandos #6 pick. Not sure how they do that; Ant 23 and probably like 2 future unprotected picks? Maybe more?

Dame
Ausar Amen
Sharpe
Grant
Nurk

If the twins hit their potential the Blazers are probably a dynasty. If they are busts than the franchise is screwed.
 
This part is very interesting to me where they talk about Amen Thompson playing with the Trail Blazers, specifically Dame and Shaedon Sharpe.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5vjqZjFPf2nrpHRU2D6d7N

52:20 - Thompson Twins and their potential with Dame and Sharpe
"I think they're going to force some of those (defensive) choices.
Even if they're not perfect on ball, the *possibility* that you have to put your best wing on them is just so juicy.
If you play small on him, the world is just so open for him, in terms of his vision. He can see over that primary defender. You really do have to guard them a little bit bigger.
The possibility of playing him alongside another dominant player as the screener. Because if you can get Amen in a 4-on-3, it's game over.
And that's the reason why, if he's available, if you can play him with Lillard. And you do, let's call it 1-3 (PG/SF) , or 3-1, there isn't really a counter. There isn't something that you can necessarily do there. And, the Thompson Twins both have the frame to set credible screens. And if you do that, and they double Dame, and he can get the ball to Amen, which he can, then you can put a lot of different kinds of talent around that and it's going to work. *Including* Shaedon Sharpe. Play finisher, breaking in from the wings. Jerami Grant would look great in that kind of a system.
OK, All of those things you said about Damian Lillard, long term, 1-3 ball screens with Thompson, you could say all of that with 2-3 screens with Lillard on the weak side. All that works the same. YUP! It does.
Can imagine 2-3 ball screens with Sharpe and Amen? Or 3-2 ball screens?
Unless you have two elite athlete perimeter defenders, good luck."
 
Whyachi said:
The Blazers guys were smiling ear to ear after working out the Thompson twins. Move some stuff around and the Blazers have a chance to draft them both?
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Didnt they do the same with the Duren workout? Even Casey and Brooke made such a fuss on their podcast about how awesome he was.
 
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