The Rockets claim they won’t break up their young core for former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Greek Freak. That’s the kind of statement you make when you assume you can’t get him anyway. Giannis is one of the most scheme-defining stars in the league, on and off the court. But Houston has schemes of their own regarding their young core. Those schemes will certainly involve one of the league’s most physically freakish players besides Giannis (freakish meant endearingly). One that funnily enough happens to have an exact physical duplicate playing in Detroit.
Giannis? The Rockets Have a Freak of Their Own
Amen Thompson (twin brother of the Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson) is one of the highest-flying athletes in a league full of altitude chasers. Add in his 6-foot-7 frame and pseudo-guard skills, and it’s easy to see how, as a prospect, he may be Houston’s best bet for a bonafide, superstar. It happens that the superstar version of Thompson would probably look a lot like Giannis.
To be clear, comparing Thompson and Giannis straight up would be preposterous. The Greek Freak is a top 20 all-time great. Meanwhile, Thompson is a second-year prospect who might never make an All-Star team. An All-Star team snub list even, and those are getting longer every year. Nevertheless, there are some encouraging signs of growth for Thompson in his second season, you just have to dig around for them.
Should the Rockets Freak out About Thompson’s Stats?
Thompson’s statistical improvements over his rookie year are admittedly understated. In year one, he averaged 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks. In year two, those numbers are 10.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks. Not a lot of changes there that really jump out at you, which is odd though, because watching Thompson play, he jumps out at you a lot.
Thompson is playing with new levels of confidence and aggression this season. His shooting splits have all improved, albeit only by token amounts. 53.6% from the field is now 55.8%. 68.4% from the free throw line is now 72.6%. 13.8% from three has jumped the most to a still terrible 25.0%.
He is getting to the line more, going from 2.5 free throw attempts per game to 3.9, which primarily accounts for his slight uptick in scoring. The biggest improvement in conventional box score statistics has been his plus/minus. He’s box plus/minus has gone from +1.8 to +2.8. Part of that can be attributed to the effectiveness of his pairing off the bench with returning disruptor-in-chief Tari Eason.
What Thompson Has Added to His Game
But there is something that shows up in Thompson’s shot distribution that is encouraging to Rockets fans. From 10-14 feet, Thompson is attempting twice as many shots at a serviceable 41.7% conversion rate.
The volume is still very low at 0.8 attempts per game, but so it ought to be, this is floater range. Floaters are a shot type that’s easy to get carried away with, primarily because they’re always available. They’re always available because defenders are taught that if you have to give something up, that’s what it should be.
But for Thompson in particular, they’re always extra available because defenders sag off of him all the way to the rim. Despite his unique athletic gifts, Thompson doesn’t hunt for posters on people like fellow Rockets Jalen Green or Cam Whitmore. Instead, he shows off his elite under-the-basket finishing, probably the best on the team besides under-the-basket happy-camper Alperen Sengun.
It’s not that Thompson is shying away from body-to-body contact either. He can’t when under-the-basket is the only place his defenders ever worry about him. He’s got a natural instinct for finding the gaps between the arms around the rim.
Building up the floater is an extension of that. It’s exactly the shot he needed to add to his arsenal. Sure, threes at over a 25% conversion rate would certainly be nice, but Thompson needs to work his way up to that. The floater game is the perfect place to start.
Thompson’s Real Superpower
Still, Thompson’s offense isn’t what makes him exciting as a prospect. It’s his defense. Eason makes more of the flashy plays on defense between the two of them, ranking 12th in the league in deflections per 36 minutes as he does (minimum 100 minutes played).
Nonetheless, it’s the Rockets’ two freak-athlete bench stoppers combined that create nightmares for opposing scorers, like a Pennywise and Freddy Krueger tag team. Houston is allowing the fewest opponent fastbreak points per game in the league. With his playmaking and urgency in transition-defense scenarios, Thompson is a huge part of that.
The Last Word
The reality is that if Giannis pulled the trigger on requesting a trade, there’s no single Rocket who would be immune to the firing line of trade speculation. In fact, because of the overlaps between them, Thompson would be the most obvious choice to give up. But the other reality is that Giannis probably won’t be moving out to H-Town any time soon. In the meantime, Rockets fans should enjoy the closest thing they’ve got.
