With Kevin Durant in town and a well-rounded cast of scorers, Amen Thompson needs to play like a highly-touted prospect who never panned out.
On paper, the Houston Rockets should have the best chance to dethrone the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.
With an All-Star center in Alperen Sengun, an athletic freak of nature in Amen Thompson, an underrated power forward in Jabari Smith Jr., and a former champion running point in Fred VanVleet, they have an excellent core.
That’s not to mention their addition of Kevin Durant, perhaps the greatest scorer ever, as well as a bench unit featuring Reed Sheppard, Steven Adams, and Tari Eason.
That’s a lot of scoring and spacing, although Thompson, who isn’t exactly a spacing threat, needs to play like one of the more recent draft busts.
Rockets fans might not like the comparison, but for Thompson to play a winning role on the team, he needs to channel a three-time All-Star with a tarnished reputation.
Amen Thompson Needs to Play Like Ben Simmons
Fans like to remember Ben Simmons for his holdout in 2022, his injury history, or his playoff blunder in 2022 that single-handedly took him from All-Star to unsigned free agent in a matter of seasons.
However, from 2018-21, he averaged 16 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.6 assists while making two All-Defensive First Teams.
Simmons, like Thompson, is an athletic marvel who can do nearly everything on the court.
Thompson doesn’t quite have the handle that Simmons boasts, and his 3-point shot has improved over time, although he is far from the floor-spacing shooting threat that most modern wings are.
For the Rockets, that could actually be a blessing.
Durant, VanVleet, Sheppard, and even Smith Jr. are all at their best behind the arc, so having a secondary facilitator who is able to slash without the ball and lock down opponents’ best player is the ideal role for Thompson.
The best part? He doesn’t need to shoot to find success.
VanVleet is a proven winner, but according to The Athletic (subscription required), he is the 20th-best floor general in the NBA.
That’s not good enough for a team with title hopes, although if he can be supplemented with Thompson, the Rockets should find success, building on their already-improving ball movement.
“Houston’s spent most of the last four years getting the ball to move better. Is isoing KD at the elbow the best way for this team to take the next step?” asked David Aldridge.
Isolating KD as a scorer only works if Thompson can cut to the hoop without the ball and create for scorers with the ball. Add in his defensive dominance, and it’s easy to compare him to Simmons, even if that’s unflattering.
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