Amen Thompson is not a point guard but he has to be that guy now for the Houston Rockets after their starting PG Fred VanVleet suffered an ACL injury during training camp. The team decided against trading for a playmaker and instead took a risk by accelerating the development of their 2023 fourth overall pick.
How is he doing so far? It is safe to say that he is doing good job based on Rockets’ standings and his improved numbers compared to last season.
Some analysts even think that there’s no more need for head coach Ime Udoka to look somewhere else. According to former New York Knicks coach David Fizdale, there’s no need to trade for a point guard as Thompson is owning that spot already.
“They’ve got a beast of one (a point guard). What are we talking about? Look at what the guy is doing. He is running the team like he’s been doing it for a while. Which he has, by the way,” he said during an appearance on NBA TV where they talked about Houston’s recent success.
“I keep telling everybody that he did in high school, and he came from OTE (Overtime Elite). He did it there.”
Thompson averages three more points and and two more assists this season compared to the last one which many said was a breakout year for him.
Amen Thompson is like Rajon Rondo
It is hard to look for someone that is of the same specimen as Thompson because of his unique skillset. One thing he needs to work on though is his outside shooting.
For now, he can use that to his advantage. For Fizdale, he is being treated like all-time point guard great Rajon Rondo in terms of defense he’s receiving.
“People gap him, so he has no (ball) pressure on him. It’s like how people used to guard (Rajon) Rondo. It’s basically guarding Tom Brady and not putting pressure on him,” Fizdale continued.
“The beauty of what they do in the halfcourt is they give the ball to KD to handle, or (Alperen) Sengun to handle, and they put him (Thompson) on the baseline. And every time you trap one of those guys, they hit that short roll, and he’s at the rim.”
Rondo is not known for his outside shooting but he was an effective point guard despite it. He became a four-time All-Star even if he rarely shoots the ball.
Just like Thompson, the former Boston Celtics star is a beast on defense. He was named to the All Defensive Team five times and was a steals leader thrice.
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