What’s the ceiling for Amen Thompson, Jalen Green & Houston Rockets? | Nerd Sesh

What’s the ceiling for Amen Thompson, Jalen Green & Houston Rockets? | Nerd Sesh

Let’s talk now about a team out west that isn’t in those same conversations when we’re talking about contending this season but who have been playing some really good basketball as of late they’ve won five straight and that is the Houston Rockets who still have a chance to make the playin game they’re

Three and a half games behind the Warriors and the Lakers but they’re not out of that picture entirely with this win streak that they’ve been on but for them it is obviously more of a long-term proposition because this is such a young team how optimistic are you about their

Core and their future Logan I’m very optimistic about about Houston’s core and their future and for one primary reason and that’s their defensive identity uh I just see such a high ceiling that I think this team could attain in the future and I don’t know if it’s possible with senon at the Five

Spot they’re eighth in defensive rating but I wonder if a gamechanging rim protector would would make a meaningful difference and what I mean by that is I just think they’re a team that is going to be able to turn defense into offense really quick and you see it in

Transition a lot during their games where there’s just so many athletes on the floor getting down the floor at such a fast rate if it’s Jaylen green if it’s Jabari Smith Jr if it’s cam Whitmore if it’s Amen Thompson like the Rockets are just spoiled with insane athletes that

If you can get these guys on the floor together and they get defensive stops they’re just Unstoppable on the break they just get down there before you can set up it’s it’s really fun to watch and the one question mark for them is going to be their halfcourt offense uh come

Playoff time you know once they break through um and finally are you know a consistent playoff team because I think that’s a the West is so talented man it’s crazy it’s like who’s going to drop off for the Spurs and the rockets uh you know to be perennial contenders and then you got

A lot of Talent with Utah and Memphis the West is just so unbelievably stacked uh but once the Rockets consistently get there like I just see a team with a really good defensive identity again they’re going to turn defense into offense and then it’s about consistently creating Halford offense and that’s my

Only real question mark with this team like I think they’re going to be great defensively I think they’re going to be a great rebounding team because of their athletic and physical advantages and their identity it’s going to be about finding that guy and I don’t I like Jaylen green he’s a

Highlight reel he’s been on a tear recently uh he just got player of the week his last five games he’s 256 and four on 54 4174 splits like man dude if Jaylen can hit his three ball at this kind of clip where he is you know dribbling and just stepping back into

Shots and draining threes like if he can reach that consistently I don’t have a question about them having a Creator it’s going to be Jaylen green but is his shot going to fall that consistently like I don’t know and then sometimes he can be a bit of a I don’t

Want to call him a black hole but you know some of his decision making it’s like oh I want to take a pull-up jumper here here oh I want to take a fader here some of that comes into play but I the role players are really good and that’s

Kind of the thing I’d Hammer home is if you think senon is a Bonafide number one if you think he’s number two whatever he’s great he’s a great offensive Hub uh whatever you think about Jabari Smith Jr if he’s a two or if he’s a three long

Term he’s a great three and D Wing that is shooting the hell out of the ball right now with a surplus of athletes Off the Bench with a wide range of outcomes and the guy I want to give the most credit to here is em Oka um the Celtics

Lose I mean Oka is a culture Setter man and I think he’s exactly what the Rockets needed again I don’t know what the rocket ceiling is that’s kind of the question right is this a team that can eventually be a title Contender or is this team going to be a consistent team

That just makes the playoffs and breaks through I think a lot of that comes down to what we’re going to get out of Jaylen green Carson you know the ceiling that he can reach is a genuine Creator half court scorer um and how efficient he can

Be and how good of a decision maker he can be and what level he can reach as a playmaker I’m going to be honest with you I’m not too optimistic about Jaylen green becoming a great playmaker until later in his career or or you know a great decision maker or a great leader

Of half court offenses I think that probably comes in year six or year seven with a guy of his mold I just think it’s going to take that much time for him to understand the game but the tools are all there the physical tools are all there and the talent and the players

Ability you can’t teach athleticism man and they got a bunch of freaks here and so if a men pops if Whitmore pops if Jaylen green does figure it out I mean the sky is the limit for this team uh and the fact that they have done this so

Soon is really really remarkable from from such a young team uh I’m optimistic as them being perennial playoff contenders right now but there’s a lot of other things that I think have to go right for me to elevate them into other conversations but uh bottom line it is

Really impressive that this team is already here at such a young age yeah I agree with a lot of what you said I think this is a team that is going to be in these playoff conversations for a while if they can keep this group together and that’s an issue that’s

Going to present itself is right now they have all these guys on rookie deals and these are a lot of very high draft picks and a lot of them are showing promise and so they may not be able to pay them all but I do love the defensive

Identity I do think that this is a team with rare athleticism as you laid out and that’s been a priority for them in the draft I mean especially this year getting both and cam Whitmore who were top five athletes in the draft a men is

A top five athlete in the league if not the best athlete in the league but I do agree that as of now they don’t have that like clearcut Crown Jewel this is our number one building block for the future I really like shenon he is a

Star-level big he is not a guy who projects to me as a number one on like a really really good basketball team I think that obviously he’s a uniquely gifted did passing Center I think that he is one of the most skilled post scorers in the league and he does bring

A dimension of physicality there as well but I still think his overall scoring efficiency at this point is pretty average because of some of his limitations as a jump shooter and because he doesn’t have overwhelming athleticism there’s not a lot of super easy stuff for him offensively and then

Defensively he’s fine but he’s not going to bring real plus impact there I mean he has good hands but just in terms of his size there’s some limitations so I really really like him but when you’re talking about some of these other young cores I mean OKC is obviously in a

Different tier but when I look at what Indiana has with hie what Orlando has with Pao banero I think all those guys are in different tiers in terms of my confidence in those guys translating as number ones to really good basketball teams but Houston has five very legit young talents what they’re doing

Defensively right now obviously you have to give props to the vets there you have to give props to the Dylan Brooks and the Fred Van vet but still I mean they are connected they are athletic on the perimeter and it’s really impressive and uh I think that a men Thompson Logan

Really might be the prize of this whole crew and it’s tough because when I talk about the ceiling that you see from a Tyrese halberton from a Paulo bonero those are kind of guys who it’s like all right they are going to be your lead offensive option in a conventional sense

Creating on ball very very effectively aend I think is different in that he could be the best in the league at several things but they’re kind of like complimentary things it’s not just on ball shot creation he is playing absurdly well right now over these last five games he’s averaging 15 points and

Seven boards a night on 73% from the field and I really do think makes a good case for best athlete in the league I’ve never seen a 67 dude move like him the combination of quickness and bendiness and balance and explosive UPS like we already see it you put him in the dunker

Spot you throw the ball up anywhere and he can go up there and get it in transition he is already one of the biggest problems in the league we are seeing him be a very effective roller use him as a screener in going downhill he’s just such a special athlete and we

Shouldn’t forget that this is like a really special passer he’s just not getting to flash it all that much because of his role but you do see it in some spots where within the flow of the game he gets an opportunity and he’s a really really gifted passer and then

Think he’s going to be an allor Defender he just has such a rare combination of tools I mean he’s already a disruptor there but the hands the length the screen navigation the vertical pop the effort the rebounding I mean he’s an absurd rebounder for his size because of

What a great vertical athlete he is that’s where I look at him and I think he can be the best in the world at several things I think he could be like the best transition scorer in the world maybe it has to be a post Yannis world

But he is just so absurd in the open floor I think he could be along with his brother the best perimeter defender on the planet I mean just the lateral quickness combined with him being a bigger Wing at 6′ s with that absurd length and then what he can also do as a

Health Defender it’s ridiculous in terms of rebounding as a wing like all of those things I look at him and I think this guy absolutely has star potential but it’s unconventional star value I would say again it’s different than what you get from a Tyrese halberton and it’s

Even a little bit different than what I think I expected from a men because although we saw all of these special traits from him last year with overtime Elite I did project him more into that sort of lead ball handler role even with his obvious limitations as a pull-up

Shooter I mean his jump shot just being basically broken and the fact that he doesn’t have very good touch from the intermediate range anyways because he was such a great playmaker because he was such a great athlete he was just so quick downhill with the ball in his hand

Such a great ball handler for his size as well but now I do think he fits more into that primarily off ball just weapon like because of his explosiveness as a cutter because of what he can do in transition and then a guy who can create

In spots on ball with that sort of unique downhill pressure in playmaking and so I think if he can just be a decent shooter and I’m not even worried so much about pull-up shooting I mean if you want him to be the best player in the world then yeah it’d be great for

Him to be a pull-up shooter but if he can just be like an Aaron Gordon level off ball shooter where Aaron Gordon’s not a good shooter but if you just completely abandon him over the course of a game he’s make he’s capable of making you pay right maybe in some

Matchups you say okay we’ll just live with Aaron Gordon shooting a bunch of wide open Corner threes but he’s okay he’s capable if a men Thompson can get to that level then I think he is going to do so many things at an absurd 99th percentile level defensively rebounding

Transition with the really impressive playmaking that like he’s just going to be unreal but that’s still not a great mold for a guy to be the best player on your team so I do think they need somebody to step up in that mold and I’m not super optimistic that it’s Jaylen

Green I think you hit it exactly on the head when he is nailing his pullup jumpers like he has been as of late I mean he just looks unbelievable he is like such a stereotypically great scoring guard when he’s doing that because of the blend of quickness and

Ball handling his space creation his balance his ability to step back and create I mean 5et of space and then nail those looks it’s incredible and he has been reading the game a little bit better as a playmaker and his defense has been improved really throughout this

Year he has stretches I would say where he’s particularly engaged but he has the tools he’s a good athlete he has a comfortably plus wingspan and I do think that being in this culture has helped him on that side of the ball so there is a star in Jaylen green still I do

Believe that just as a shot maker and shot Creator and athlete he’s too gifted to deny that but we talk about when his pull-up jumper is falling that just hasn’t consistently been the Case 39 guys in the NBA take six or more pull-up jumpers per game and uh Jaylen green is

37th in effective field goal percentage an effective field goal percentage of 43 on those shots he also has below average efficiency is a finisher around the rim he is really lacking in that intermediate game from floater range he shoots 30% from mid-range he shoots 38%

And I do think he’s a good shooter I think that’s pretty clear the problem is his shot selection is generally very poor and that has been the case throughout all three years of his career so far and even though he has these moments with live dribble playmaking where you’re like hey that’s impressive

I think more often than not you’re like damn Jaylen you shouldn’t have taken that shot there and uh he’s definitely not bringing enough value in the playmaking and defense categories to make up for that inefficiency as a volume scorer right now so it’s tough It’s like he could mature he could

Figure those things out on the periphery of his game he could improve his shot selection and become a Bonafide star that Talent is in there I’m just not super confident in it and so that is the one spot where I’m like okay Houston has a lot to love again shenon is an

Offensive star I think he’s going to be a top 25 player in this this league amen I think could be a top 20 player but he’s not going to be a lead offensive initiator Jabari Smith I think has the lowest ceiling but has a very high floor

Has a higher floor than a men or a Jaylen green because of that just concrete 3 and D impact but when you’re talking about contending you got to have that one clear-cut Superstar offensive number one and that’s the box where I’m still waiting for Houston to check it

And that’s the dilemma with with with Jaylen green you know it’s so interesting because you watch his tape and you go he’s so tough you know what I mean like he’s so he is he’s so skilled but that’s a dilemma with guys like that and guys that and I don’t want

To take anything away from Jaylen but that’s what I mean with like a a good role player right in the situation where Jaylen catches the ball on the wing another guy might swing it to the corner and that opens something up or a guy swings it to the top of the key if

Jaylen catches it on the wing he’s going to pound the ball and it just may not always be the best decision and it’s like we know jaylen’s tough and he’s super skilled but it’s like sometimes making the unselfish play is the best one and I don’t always trust Jaylen

Green to make those decisions you know um yeah it just doesn’t lead to seamless easy offense and I completely agree with what you said there’s a star in Jaylen green and you can see it I don’t know how you can watch Jaylen green play basketball and not go holy man that guy’s special

But it’s about really weaponizing it and making it lead to winning good offensive basketball and that’s it’s not the easiest thing and the beauty of it there is a long time for Jaylen green to figure that out he has got a lot of career in front of him and I am really

Hopeful that he figures it out because if he does you are looking a guy at a guy that could be that lead guard for Houston and I’m so glad they brought in Fred Van v this offseason man because you know a lot of that was going to fall

On the shoulders of Jaylen um yeah if they didn’t and I don’t think he’s just cut out enough for that and I hope he figures it out man because he is super skilled I was going to ask you you I ially you do that so many times Carson

On the Pod where I’m going to ask you a question and right at the end of your Spiel you put a bow on it and you answer I talk for 12 minutes at a time oh you’re also him so thanks BR I was going to ask if you thought a men Thompson had

Like a top 10 ceiling or or something like that but you kind of made it concrete that you think top 20 is attainable so let me ask you two variations of the question okay if a man does not figure out his jump shot what is his ceiling and if a man does figure

Out his jump shot what is his ceiling I honestly think it’s depends on to what extent we are saying figures out okay he is a he’s a good shooter off the catch spotty pullup if he’s a good shooter off the catch spotty pullup then I think he

Could be like a top 15 sort of player I mean I guess it really is going to depend on the nuances it’s like okay is he John level pullup but I think again if he is a capable spot up shooter then he is going to excel in so many different areas that

You will get Star level value if he becomes a decent pull-up shooter then I think you were looking at a guy who could be a top 10 player because then it’s like okay well now maybe we really can run offense through this guy and he is both a totally unique Rim pressur one

Of the best passers in the league one of the best defenders in the league one of the best rebounding Wings in the league like that guy would just be an unbelievable basketball player I’m just not confident in that projection but I don’t think he needs to do that to be a

Star he’s that special at so many things what if he reaches like the earon fox level of of sh oh my God I mean could be a top five player 100% it’s absurd what he is as an athlete it’s absurd what he can be as a Defender it’s absurd what he

Can be as a playmaker with the ball in his hands consistently I don’t know what do you think like is he the most valuable asset when you look at these five young rocket standouts who to you is number one in terms of value man that’s a good

Question they have so many that’s what’s crazy dude is I mean you can really pick yeah almost anybody I I hate picking against senon because I again I think I think senon and Jabari Smith uh their floors are so high at this point that they’re just going to be good players

Wherever they go but and shun’s more than that shun’s a star I mean he’s going to be at least a lowlevel star like a fringe Allstar kind of guy for sure I think it probably would be a it probably would be a men for me but

It’s like it’s so tough cuz I also don’t want to pick against jigglin Green because there is a route you know what I mean there is a path yeah the one thing against Jaylen is just I feel like I’ve watched enough of him at this point to know what he is and his

Deficiencies make you mad it’s like that guy at the wman who’s just really talented he’s 6’5 he’s like 200 lb he’s a great um could be like the most imposing guy on the court because everybody looks like me out there they’re uh skinny and like six foot tall

And if he just went to the hoop he could probably drop all 21 points in a pickup game but then he says no I’m going to go Carmelo Anthony mode and just take a bunch of Pull-Up jumpers it’s just frustrating sometimes watching him play and knowing that he could be more

Effective as a winning basketball player and because of that I probably would say Amen but let me ask you this do you think green uh my final Rockets question here do you think green could be a winning number two like straight up in that scoring if you put a real point guard

Alongside him or if a men figured it out do you think Jaylen could play that number two fill it up bucket getter role potentially I think it really is going to depend on how consistently he applies himself defensively where again he has progressed this year and the level that

He can reach as a playmaker the Rockets are still seven points for possessions with Jaylen he’s not a good Defender but he definitely has his moments and I think particularly in isolation you’ve seen him be like pretty prideful about not wanting to get beat one-on-one and

He has the tools but overall I think that you’re wreck analogy I mean listen it’s not perfect for me and here’s why if you’re talking about a guy who’s 65 200 in a wreck setting I mean that guy should just be able to bully everybody Jaylen doesn’t have that sort of

Strength Advantage but I see what you’re saying I would analogize it more to what we see from like a cam Thomas where we become enamored with these guys who are super skilled shot creators they have the balance they have the shiftiness they have the depth of the bag but if

You don’t consistently create easy shots for yourself and if you aren’t playmaking and defending at a high enough level you can get your 23 a night inefficiently you’re not a guy that teams are going to want to bank on and Jaylen green clear to me can be better than than cam Thomas

He could be in a different league and I think that he’s better at those peripheral aspects of the game but he’s not good enough and I mean he’s still so inefficient over the course of this year dude like 53% true shooting that’s 5% below League average if I were ranking these

Guys there’s just no case for jayen over amen because of the ceiling that I see with a men and because shenon is just like a clear Star right now so I think he is at least three and then what’s tough is yeah I do think he has a higher

Ceiling than Jabari but I just know that Jabari is going to be a guy who I want on my team and if Jaylen green stayed at this level then you know he just ends up presenting some real issues as inefficient volume shot chucker who’s not that great at the complimentary

Things and I don’t want to just Destin him to be that because he’s in his third year and he’s so talented but I’m not the most optimistic about Jaylen green and I think that there are guys who uh I’m more confident in in Houston but it

Is tough because it’s like if a men were a like conventional lead playmaker then maybe they would be a super inuitive fit there but I just don’t really see a men excelling in that archetype right now but also it’s like obviously Fred Van vet isn’t a star but he is like an

Selfish lead playmaking guard who’s good and all of jaylen’s issues have kind of just been the same this year but Logan when we talk about the Rockets we talk about their special athletes and by the way I do just want to shout out cam Whitmore because we all had a feeling he

Was going to be the steal of the draft just because he was like a consensus top 10 kind of talent and then he fell all the way to 20th he is just a bowling ball I mean he’s just such an absurdly powerful downhill athlete 230 lb of

Solid steel and he shot the ball well this year so he to me is still like a bull in a china shop like there are a lot of out of control possessions as a playmaker he’s not giving you much but I mean just with his athletic tools and

With being a capable shooter like he is very very intriguing as well and he has been ahead of schedule this rookie year

The nerds discuss how good the Houston Rockets young core of Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith can end up being, as they currently boast a five-game win streak.

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