WEBVTT - ROOKIE REPORT: Amen Thompson

0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:12.880
<v Speaker 1>On this episode of the Heat Check. It's a Thursday

0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:16.080
<v Speaker 1>and not a Tuesday, so you know what time it is, actually,

0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:18.079
<v Speaker 1>probably don't know what time it is, but today it's

0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:20.880
<v Speaker 1>a rookie report. Damn John tay Porter bumped the rookie

0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.000
<v Speaker 1>report too full days. But do not fear we're gonna

0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:26.200
<v Speaker 1>break down another rookie and tell you us what. Let's

0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:29.640
<v Speaker 1>get right into it, Anthony, drop that motherfucker beat. That

0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:44.280
<v Speaker 1>should be real, all right, So we got three weeks

0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:46.640
<v Speaker 1>less than the season, we gotta fill them. The gaps

0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:50.280
<v Speaker 1>were pretty much covered a rookie this year, Someone somehow

0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.320
<v Speaker 1>slipped through the cracks, and that was our man, a

0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:56.480
<v Speaker 1>Men Thompson of the Houston Rockets. We covered his brother

0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.480
<v Speaker 1>Ausar Thompson of the Pistons, who unfortunately went down a

0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:01.840
<v Speaker 1>couple of weeks ago with the season ending injury, but

0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:04.240
<v Speaker 1>not Almen. We saw him tonight. So let's fix that

0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:08.480
<v Speaker 1>right now, all right. Aman Thompson averaging nine six and

0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.720
<v Speaker 1>two this year, pretty damn good rebounds for a rookie, honestly,

0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.600
<v Speaker 1>especially since he wasn't getting that many minutes for the Rockets.

0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.280
<v Speaker 1>But that does not begin to describe the impact that

0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.080
<v Speaker 1>he has had for his team. Number four pick in

0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:24.400
<v Speaker 1>the draft is a point guardard. We'll call him like

0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:27.919
<v Speaker 1>a pass first point guard, like a scoring less point guard.

0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:32.039
<v Speaker 1>And nothing is harder in the NBA than playing point

0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.480
<v Speaker 1>guard as a rookie. We've talked about that many times,

0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.000
<v Speaker 1>except for a point guard who has asked to play center,

0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.040
<v Speaker 1>which Iman Thompson is apparently doing right now. What makes

0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:45.160
<v Speaker 1>Almon and Auscer so impressive is their defense. He is

0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:48.760
<v Speaker 1>so versatile that since Alprin Shangoon went down, i'man has

0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:52.360
<v Speaker 1>spent more than a little time guarding the other team's

0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:55.920
<v Speaker 1>best centers and successfully. I might add, other teams are

0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.400
<v Speaker 1>increasingly asking centers to guard him as well. Coach he

0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:03.360
<v Speaker 1>Mayudok said, We've mentioned guys like Ben Simmons, like Giannis

0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.120
<v Speaker 1>who have done similar things at times in their career.

0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:10.519
<v Speaker 1>He can learn to implement those things as well. At

0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:13.959
<v Speaker 1>six seven, he spends time as the screen setter in

0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.919
<v Speaker 1>pick and roll situations and in the dunker spot as

0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:20.120
<v Speaker 1>a faster, more athletic version of Clint Capella from the

0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:24.880
<v Speaker 1>Hardened Days Whoo geezh Ahmans moved into the starting lineup

0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:28.000
<v Speaker 1>seven games ago, and he has blossomed as a result.

0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:31.480
<v Speaker 1>You probably don't even know. Fifteen nine and three nine

0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.919
<v Speaker 1>rebounds a game is fucking sick. With one point four

0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:38.640
<v Speaker 1>stocks per game on twenty eight minutes. Most impressive is

0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:41.480
<v Speaker 1>his plus ten point four net rating and the best

0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:46.440
<v Speaker 1>part the Rockets are seven and zero during that stretch.

0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:51.720
<v Speaker 1>Uh Oh, alprin shangoun uh oh. Of course, Almend feels

0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:53.680
<v Speaker 1>when all's said and done, that he's a point guard

0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:55.720
<v Speaker 1>and he has dutifully studied for a van Fleet in

0:02:55.760 --> 0:03:00.800
<v Speaker 1>this season to pick up some pointers from the point guard. Fortunately,

0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.880
<v Speaker 1>he's a quick study. According to Udoka, he's a sponge.

0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.280
<v Speaker 1>You've seen him improve just with the playing time alone,

0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:08.200
<v Speaker 1>let alone the role that we're asking him to do.

0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:10.519
<v Speaker 1>A guy that's had the ball in his hands his

0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:12.440
<v Speaker 1>whole career. You put him out there with Fred van

0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:15.200
<v Speaker 1>Fleet and Jalen in the starting lineup, Now you kind

0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:18.520
<v Speaker 1>of have to divide those opportunities, those ball handling duties.

0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.280
<v Speaker 1>He does it in other ways. He's great on the

0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.120
<v Speaker 1>offensive glass, he's great in transition. But when he has

0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:26.079
<v Speaker 1>a big on him, he can be used as a screener,

0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:29.240
<v Speaker 1>used as a facilitator as well. Just kind of attacking

0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.680
<v Speaker 1>the basket at all times, getting the shots that he

0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.400
<v Speaker 1>wants and the shots for our offense. Of course, we

0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:39.920
<v Speaker 1>can't talk about the Thompson twins without talking about how

0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:44.600
<v Speaker 1>badly they are as shooters. And as Aimon is bad,

0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:48.320
<v Speaker 1>he's bad. He's like the Auscer bad. Aimon is shooting

0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:51.280
<v Speaker 1>fourteen point eight percent from deep this season, which would

0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:53.080
<v Speaker 1>be the worst in the NBA if he didn't have

0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:59.520
<v Speaker 1>a twin brother named Auscer. Matt Isa from Forbes wrote

0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.040
<v Speaker 1>a piece about the four things that I'm gonnasked to

0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:05.840
<v Speaker 1>do to avoid getting played off the floor by better teams. One, well,

0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:07.720
<v Speaker 1>we already know what number one is, don't we Like,

0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.680
<v Speaker 1>become a better shooter. Just become a better one easier

0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:14.839
<v Speaker 1>said than done, Honestly, Just get into the fucking gym

0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:17.400
<v Speaker 1>and shoot a million shots with proper form per game,

0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:20.000
<v Speaker 1>per day. Just just do it. Play on a team

0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.320
<v Speaker 1>with tons of shooting and spacing like the Celtics. Three,

0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:26.800
<v Speaker 1>become a tough shot taker in the paint like himI

0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:30.280
<v Speaker 1>Howkas and be good at it. And four counter your

0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:34.200
<v Speaker 1>poor spacing by using your supreme physicality the body opponents

0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:39.760
<v Speaker 1>like ag Aaron Gordon. So one become a sniper from

0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:43.120
<v Speaker 1>the three point line play on a team that's not

0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:48.440
<v Speaker 1>the Rockets, become more like Himie Hawkas and become more

0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:52.440
<v Speaker 1>like Aaron Gordon. Thanks, matt Is said, that was incredibly helpful.

0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.760
<v Speaker 1>It's pretty clear that unless the shooting improves by leaps

0:04:55.760 --> 0:05:00.280
<v Speaker 1>and bounds, his ceiling is a defensive stopper. That does

0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:02.400
<v Speaker 1>not mean that he can't be a super valuable asset

0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:04.719
<v Speaker 1>on a team that has a bunch of bucket getters

0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:08.880
<v Speaker 1>to offset his negative impact on offense. I am not

0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:12.520
<v Speaker 1>sure that in a redraft amend Thompson still goes forth.

0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:16.360
<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty sure he actually doesn't. I'm sure he'll go

0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.600
<v Speaker 1>probably like still a lottery pick. But that's a lot

0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:23.159
<v Speaker 1>about how deep this draft is as opposed to how

0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.719
<v Speaker 1>good he is and how he's played. The Rockets are

0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:29.240
<v Speaker 1>very happy with Doman because defense was their number one

0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.400
<v Speaker 1>need and looks like he's gonna find a home there

0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.760
<v Speaker 1>for a really, really long time. That's all the time

0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:36.680
<v Speaker 1>that we have for this episode of The Heat. Check

0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:39.320
<v Speaker 1>come back tomorrow for an all new episode. Keith Smith's

0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:41.200
<v Speaker 1>gonna be on the show, and check out the feed

0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.320
<v Speaker 1>for past episodes and many episodes. Wild drop unexpectedly, like

0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:47.920
<v Speaker 1>the foxes that live in the bamboo grove, sauntering across

0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.680
<v Speaker 1>your lawn, freaking your fucking dog out. Do not forget

0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:52.159
<v Speaker 1>the fall of the heat check offs, Heason Long. That

0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.320
<v Speaker 1>means download, let me subscribe. That means tell your friends,

0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:56.400
<v Speaker 1>all of them, even your friend who calls you and

0:05:56.440 --> 0:06:00.600
<v Speaker 1>says that even Mendes is not an a less actress actress,

0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:06.040
<v Speaker 1>but Nick Cannon is, and that Ryan Gosling merry down.

0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:09.839
<v Speaker 1>Say hey, yo key, stop smoking on that good good

0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.120
<v Speaker 1>before you call me when you come down, and tell

0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:16.680
<v Speaker 1>everyone the heat Check yo the Dopest podcast. Hit him up, Download, subscribe,

0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:18.400
<v Speaker 1>follow us on the Heat Check and then trist to

0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:22.720
<v Speaker 1>Crick underscore on TikTok, Twitter, ig and YouTube and