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Houston Rockets Post-ASB Questions: Start Amen Thompson Or Jabari Smith Jr? Top-3 Defense? Record?



Houston Rockets Post-ASB Questions: Start Amen Thompson Or Jabari Smith Jr? Top-3 Defense? Record?

Houston Rockets Post-ASB Questions: Start Amen Thompson Or Jabari Smith Jr? Top-3 Defense? Record?

Can the Houston Rockets reclaim their defensive dominance post-All-Star break? With key players like Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun at the forefront, the Rockets are poised for a thrilling close to the NBA season.

Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) explores potential starting lineups and analyzes the impact of injuries on Fred VanVleet and the return of Jabari Smith Jr. Discover how Jalen Green’s post-All-Star performance could be a game-changer, and delve into Alperen Sengun’s efficiency challenges. The episode also breaks down win-loss predictions, projecting the Rockets to secure home court advantage and a first round reunion with an old friend.

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#HoustonRockets #Rockets #NBA #JalenGreen #AlperenSengun #JabariSmithJr #TariEason #AmenThompson #CamWhitmore #ReedSheppard #FredVanVleet #DillonBrooks #JeffGreen #StevenAdams #JaeSeanTate #JockLandale #AaronHoliday #NateWilliams #NFalyDante #JackMcVeigh

35 Comments

  3. @MMapp94

    Just start Jabari. Why fix something that's not broken. Our original starting lineup is like in the 80 to 90 percentile.

  4. @bboyizzy

    Jabari brings spacing and size that Amen doesn't do. I do think Amen should replace DB in the starting lineup eventually!

  11. @mirmak2470

    Has Amen Thompson enough IQ to manage offense as PG. Vision, balancing the tempo, safe ball usage… He also needs to improve PG abilities. Breaker Amen, Reed should start getting used to pay and contribute on a constant basis. But i do trust in Holiday as pg more compared to those Reed and Amen in PG position. Amen is very important element for the team but we have seen that he sometimes failed as a starter, or I should say when he has more responsibilities.

  18. @luckychukwuma3822

    Let’s not throw spanner in the work for now, let’s see the original starting line up to finish this season. Next season, Amen should be starting along with jabari & alpi. I don’t know if Fred or Dillon would be starting next season and also if Jalen would still be a Rocket next season

  20. @djmill8000

    Love Amen, and the issue of him starting has nothing to do with him directly, it is more indiretcly.. You have to start Jabari, purley and soley becuase of the type of Center Sengun is… IF you are going to start Sengun and play him upwards of 30 minutes, then you have to have a Player at the 4 that can cover all of Sengun deficiencies on both offense and defense. You need Jabarii at the 4 because of his spacing becacuse Sengun is not a stretch big, and you need Jabari rim precense and switching on defense as well. When its time for Amen to take reign of the offense and become the superstar of this team, then we will have to have honest questions about Sengun and his role on the team

  21. @coskuni

    We have to insert the double big line up into the rotation. It was the most effective version of Alpi, Adams and even Sheppard this season. Coupling Alpi with Adams and with Landale (who can even shoot 3s) should be our new weapon in the arsenal.

    Also, I think that alpi and jalen green do not mix in well (hope im wrong by the end of the season). Jalen HAS to be the dominant player and the sole decision maker on the court if we want to get the maximum from him; otherwise he is just an average player, and as such he is replacable.

    Couple jalen with our otherworldly defenders (and on 5 with either Adams or Jabari—but not sengun) and at other times couple sengun with either with a big or with Amen or Jabari—but not mix him with jalen.

    Of course there should be times jalen and alpi play together, perhaps when they are both hot, but I believe that the formula for success (at least for this season) is to maximize the minutes Alpi and Jalen are NOT on the court together so that we get the best of two worlds.

  23. @DWonYT

    My argument against the way we play defense wears our guys out is our schedule this year. One of the worsts, specifically around back to backs and travel. I could be wrong but I even remember it was particularly bad around December-February

  24. @Fetemart

    Amen should start. Jabari should start. Dillon should come off the bench, but I don't think Ime will start Dillon on the bench, so Jabari has to come off the bench for Dillon this year. There is no way that I can see Amen going back to the bench for the same reason Reed was given every opportunity to play before finally sending him down to the G- league. For the Rockets to ultimately compete for a championship, they will need a top 5 caliber player, and I believe the Rockets and Ime believe that's what they have in Amen. Sending him back to the bench delays and slows down his progress to ever getting to that level. He can't ever go back to the bench if he will ever be that superstar. And if the Rockets really believed he was not, they probably would have already made a trade for Durant or Fox or whoever by now.

  27. @dustinharrison2411

    That’s a bad Lakers take. They’ve looked pretty good since AD went down. Lebron and Reaves have been excellent. Luka will only continue to improve. We all know how elite he is. And JJ seems like an excellent coach. And LeBron would never let a season go to waste at this stage of his career. They’re all in and I wouldn’t want to face them in the playoffs

  28. @garybankston9319

    I don't see Brooks going to the bench. Start Jabari and see how he plays and make adjustments from there. Amen off the bench but give him 40 minutes. Who starts is not as important as who finishes. The Lakers have no rim protection. They are going rock bottom.

  30. @qubeck77

    And Wemby is out for the season. When Wemby was drafted, I told Houston fans who wished they had Wemby instead of Alpi, be happy you have Alpi. I told you Wemby would get injured sooner or later. There aren't many athletes in history over 7'3.5” 2.26 m who are healthy. Usually tall people have to deal with ridiculous diseases caused by genetic disorders. I hope he comes back healthy, but I don't think so…

  31. @kevinli3643

    Jalen played well (statistically) in the second half of season in the past was because those games were meaningless. Hope that he proves me wrong though.

  32. @Jaywrites23

    Record 52-30, 3rd seed. My burning question is can Sengun rediscover his decisiveness?
    Sometimes Jalen, amen, or Fred will find him in the short roll and the mid range shot is there, but he will survey waiting for something to happen. Maybe he’s not comfortable with that shot but defenses are giving him space to take away passing angles knowing he’s going to drive.

    My question in the off-season is what do we do with Jalen? I wouldn’t mind keeping him, but he has to put on like 15 pounds of muscle. His inability to take contact is the biggest deterrent in his game.

  33. @muddawg13

    Full disclosure: I'm an Amen fan, not a Rockets fan so take this with a grain of salt. Jabari in theory fits the starting lineup better because of the spacing he provides and that's fine but the synergy and chemistry that Alpi and Amen have can't be ignored. They play so well off each other that I think you have to stay with Amen in the starting lineup. Every lineup is gonna need spacing so why can't Jabari just help the bench with that?

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