“Human trampoline” for some, immense contribution for others… Amen Thompson is in any case unanimous among the Rockets. Promoted into the starting five at the end of December, then perpetuated as a replacement for Jabari Smith Jr, injured in a second interior role, the sophomore continues to progress and gain confidence. Against Memphis on Monday, the Rockets held the shock in the racket thanks to his presence on both sides of the floor, where his added value does Houston a lot of good.
Starting to replace Dillon Brooks during the last days of December, he finds his full potential even more as “false position 4”. Despite his modest size and a profile originally quite far from that of a strong winger, the 21-year-old does his job perfectly thanks to his crazy relaxation and his instinct.
Over the last four games without Jabari Smith Jr, the Rockets have systematically won the rebound battle (+10 against the Lakers, +6 against the Wizards, +1 then +9 against the Grizzlies) despite opponents on paper frequently being better endowed in this register. And despite his lack of centimeters, he acts as a final curtain with his defensive reading and his agility of movement to cover a large area under the circle.
11 rebounds and 1.9 blocks over the last eight games
On Monday, he disgusted the Grizzlies by deploying his full range: against from behind on Desmond Bane while he was originally defending in the corner on Ja Morant, the ball tapped into the hands of Zach Edey before the giant went up towards the circle and is no longer reachable, or even a monstrous leap to get a lay-up from Ja Morant at the top of his trajectory. The last of his five “blocks” of the evening is perhaps the most impressive, certainly the most decisive: assigned to Santi Aldama on the opposite side of the ball, he flew in defensive help to slam a penetration from Jaylen Wells against the board before grabbing his own rebound, going on the counter and serving Jalen Green at 3-points to bring Houston back to one point six minutes from time.
Since his integration into the starting five on December 23, Amen Thompson, 2m01, averages 11 rebounds, just outside the Top 10 in the entire league over the period and only ahead of Knick Josh Hart among non-interiors. . On the other hand, it's even stronger, with 1.9 “blocks”, 9th in the NBA over the period (6th if we remove players with only one or two games played) and best non-interior.
Seventh best Defensive Rating in the league according to Basketball ReferenceAmen Thompson is paired with Alperen Sengun, just ahead of him in the hierarchy. And he's not content with just the dirty work, as his athleticism is also put to good use in the Rockets' moving attack. The winger notably took full advantage of the two-man catches made on Monday by the Grizzlies to be served at the end of the line by his interiors, Alperen Sengun or Steven Adams, at the “dunker spot”, at the intersection of the racket and the bottom line.
Thompson – Sengun, the new Gordon – Jokic?
“ Defenses send two players on Jalen, so that frees up Alpi or Steve and I can cut from the dunker spot, have easy baskets » summarized Amen Thompson, 12 points in the last quarter including the last six in this type of situation. “ It’s because of Jalen’s center of gravity. And when Alperen is at the head of the racket, he is one of the best players on the planet, he can score and pass. »
Enough to be compared to the Nuggets tandem Nikola Jokic – Aaron Gordon by Ja Morant. “ You have to defend on both because Amen is super athletic » considered the Memphis star. They throw him these laser passes or alley-oops, so you have to take care of both. »
These new responsibilities are in any case bearing fruit, with six successes for only two defeats since December 23 with the usual replacement on the field. It's up to Ime Udoka to start racking his brains on how to put his team together when Jabari Smith Jr. returns to keep all of Amen Thompson's contribution.
