Sidelined for over a month due to sprained ankle, Amen Thompson does his best to make up for lost time. With his complete, aggressive and intense profile (like his twin brother Ausar at the Pistons), the Rockets winger resumed his rise and managed to string together three good weeks in January, at 7.8 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 interceptions per game in “only” 18 minutes on average.
Ime Udoka chose to reward him on Sunday evening by placing him in his major five for the first time against Boston. And here again, the rookie did not disappoint, standing out with 15 points, 14 rebounds (new career records) and 5 assists in 32 minutes.
“My first start in the NBA is what I dreamed of my whole life. The coach trusted me to start, and I really appreciate that,” did he declare after the meeting. “As time goes on, I feel like I have more and more opportunities and my self-confidence will continue to increase.”
His best performance since the start of the season for his first starting match and more than 30 minutes of playing time thus confirms a new step forward for the 4th choice of the last Draft. The objective now is to continue over time, and to further refine his game, such as outdoor skill for example.
“He continued to progress by finding his spots. He has to continue to analyze the moments when he has to be aggressive, when he has to look for the other players, this balance between attacking all the time and also the way the opponents defend on him.”underlined his coach. “We use him in different ways, sometimes as a screen setter, as the player who initiates the hand-to-hand when the opposing pivot is behind. At the same time, he can't settle for the shots opponents want him to take. It's up to him to take the shots he wants, go to his favorite spots, from mid-distance or on the fast play. When he does that, he's good. It's a learning process. Until he improves in shooting, teams are going to defend him in certain ways. He still needs to improve, but we have put him in the best conditions for him to succeed too.”
A real chameleon
What especially makes the strength of the twins Amen and Ausar Thompson is this ability to blend into a collective, and find their place there to be productive without needing the ball in hand. Saturday evening, Amen Thompson, for example, stood out for his agreement with Alperen Sengun on several sequences.
He notably served it twice at the end of the first quarter then in the second, and it was then the Turkish pivot who returned the favor in the third quarter.
“He’s a great passer”added Amen Thompson. “We have a connection. we talk to each other all the time on the bench. I like to pass the ball to him, and I also like when I receive passes from him. We combined a lot in the last matches.”
For his coach, the prospects for development are very promising for his rookie. We will now have to continue to support him to try to make him as complete a player as possible.
“He is very good at cutting away from the ball and working behind Alperen Sengun in the post. Teams that do this have given others a lot of trouble in the past. Milwaukee comes to mind, especially with Jrue Holiday grabbing a lot of offensive rebounds. This is his niche for now, until he improves his shooting. There are ways to impact the game, and he finds those ways to do it. We put him in different situations, and he does pretty well.”concluded Ime Udoka.
The next two matches will allow him to compete against two other players from the Top 5 of the last Draft, with the reception of the Blazers by Scoot Henderson tomorrow evening, and a trip to the Charlotte floor of Brandon Miller on Friday. Two more great opportunities presenting themselves to confirm its rise in power.
| Amen Thompson | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2023-24 | HOU | 23 | 16 | 45.5 | 13.3 | 68.2 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 6.3 |
| Total | 23 | 16 | 45.5 | 13.3 | 68.2 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 6.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
