00:00Have you gotten to a point, it's year three, year three, he's 23 years old, last year he
00:06really kind of stepped into his own, especially defensively, top five finisher for defensive
00:10player of the year, first team all defense.
00:16This year, different role with the injury to Fred Van Fleet, have you at this point
00:22gotten concerned that a men Thompson potentially may not reach the type of player you thought
00:30he would be?
00:30I think I know that you at least have concern, Clint.
00:35If I mind first, before you dive into that, when you looked at a men Thompson coming into
00:42this year, what were you expecting from him?
00:45Because I think that might be a big thing that answers a lot of questions or forms a lot of
00:52people's answers.
00:53Yeah, look, I think, the reason it's interesting to me, by the way, is I just asked the question
00:58or made the statement on social media that it's hard to watch for me at times, and I think
01:06the banter of the conversation was really good, but it was coming from all different angles,
01:09so I thought, hey, Ron, this has got to be a conversation piece, right?
01:12But to me, the biggest thing, coming into this season, with the move from being such a young
01:18team to Kevin Durant coming in, all the talk was about certain guys needed to develop.
01:22If this team was going to be competitive, certain guys needed to develop, and I would
01:27say the top of that list was I'm in Thompson being able to shoot the rock to some degree
01:34that showed some level of progression.
01:37And when I watch I'm in Thompson, because I understand, I mean, there's a lot of people
01:41that get defensive, and I understand that, you know, the Fred Van Vliet deal and, you know,
01:46M.A.
01:47Doka's and his schematically may not be playing guys where everybody feels like they need to
01:51be played.
01:52I'm just talking about basketball things.
01:55I'm just talking about the areas where everybody viewed the Rockets needed to get better through
02:02I'm in Thompson, those areas, clearly he's great on defense, clearly he can get to the
02:06rim and he's athletic.
02:07We all knew that.
02:08Everybody knew that.
02:09Nobody's debating that.
02:10But the developmental piece was handling the ball, handling the offense, initiating the offense,
02:18and shooting the basketball.
02:20And when I watch the Rockets play, to me, it looks like he's gone backwards.
02:25I have zero confidence when he is initiating offense at the, you know, when a ball comes
02:33across half court.
02:34I have zero confidence when there's a made basket by the opponent or a turnover, the ball
02:42immediately gets to Amin Thompson for some reason, as if he is this great ball handler
02:48or this great shooter or this great initiator of the offense.
02:53And to me, it's a hard watch.
02:56It's a hard watch.
02:57And clearly, I'm not the only one.
02:59It's kind of one of those deals where it's the banter back and forth on social media has
03:03been really good over the last two or three days when I brought this thing up.
03:06And it's just like, it's not even about M.A.
03:12Doka.
03:12And it's just about pure, easy, what should be easy for these guys if you're going to be
03:17a ball handler in this league, the basketball 101 stuff seems to be really hard for him.
03:23I mean, the body control of handling the Rock when he does attack, the body control is, I
03:31mean, a 50-50.
03:32I mean, dribbling the ball off his shin or being out of control and throwing the ball away
03:38or an errant pass or something.
03:40Like, it's a 50-50 shot.
03:41And I just, they keep going back to that well.
03:44And like I said, for me, it's a hard watch.
03:47I don't know how, I don't know how the biggest topic right now with the Rockets, beyond injury,
03:52obviously, and you can talk about M.A. if you want to, but on the floor isn't, golly,
03:56man, I mean, Thompson, the offensive end of the floor just has not developed the way that
04:00I think everybody hoped that he would.
04:03Hmm.
04:06First of all, listen, I want to say this.
04:08I see a lot of people texting in about having some issues hearing us on the air.
04:15I mean, when I say a lot, a lot, I think people are working on it at this point.
04:23So, hey, switch on over, catch us on YouTube, you can catch us live, and you can see us in
04:30all our sexiness.
04:31Again, best hair on the station, even if Tyler doesn't show it.
04:35Uh, the best hair show in all of Houston sports.
04:39It's there, though.
04:41It's there.
04:41Speaking of, I need to shave my neck.
04:44Yeah.
04:44Embarrassed.
04:45Go ahead and want to knock it all out.
04:47Shave your balls, your neck.
04:49You're not going to see that.
04:50Some of that you're not going to see on Twitch and YouTube.
04:52All with the same clippers.
04:54No question.
04:55Knock it all down.
04:56Efficient.
04:57Um, so listen, again, we're working on that.
04:59I see some people texting in.
05:00If a man Thompson does not reach his potential, it's, it is on the current coaching staff.
05:04I wouldn't throw it all on them.
05:06Listen, I'll just throw out some numbers just to kind of put it out there.
05:10Um, last year, 14 a game, just under four assists a game, eight plus rebounds a game,
05:17had a steal, 1.4 steals, 1.3 blocks on 55% shooting, 27% from three.
05:24You wanted to see improvement on that.
05:25This year, he's at 17 and a half a game.
05:28And I will say that, that has kind of changed and dropped a bit over the last month.
05:34Uh, five, 5.3 assists a game, seven, uh, and a half rebounds a game, a steal and a half
05:41a game blocks are down.
05:42Field goal percentage is down, but still over 50%.
05:45And then the big one for you, he's shooting going from 27% from three down to 19% from
05:52three and, and, and struggling there.
05:53So those, those are just numbers from last year.
05:55So I think in most categories, he is up.
05:59I think one big part is the expectation that I think you had for him.
06:04And when I, when I say you, I'm talking about anybody.
06:06Yeah.
06:06The expectation that was had for a man Thompson coming in, I think may form a lot of what
06:14you're thinking.
06:14And, and, and if your expectation was this dude is going to take the next step and maybe
06:20be all NBA, then I can see how you get to a point where you're a bit concerned.
06:25I still think with his age and you're seeing some improvements there.
06:31I think he is getting more confident in his spots and get to his spots this year, all the
06:36while we're kind of understanding a new role that maybe isn't perfect for him.
06:40Um, I think, I think the Reed Shepard thing could help him as much as anybody else were
06:46to make him a wing and more of an attacking thought there.
06:50I, my expectations, or at least not an expectation.
06:53I'll say this.
06:54My ceiling or thought was he has a chance to be maybe the second best player on the championship
07:01team.
07:01He has a chance to be kind of further back in the nineties as Scotty Pippen.
07:06He has a chance to be in that Draymond role.
07:09I think there's an argument without KD that Draymond was the most, was the second most
07:14important player on their team behind Steph.
07:16I think, I think that potential for me is still there.
07:19I'm not concerned that that is, that is out, but I, I can hear, I don't think it's bat-ass
07:26crazy.
07:27Those that think he's not progressed this year.
07:32I think there are some spaces that he had, but I don't think it's bat-ass crazy.
07:35Well, I, I think the opportunity has presented itself, whether, whether it's, it's, you know,
07:39he excels in it or he doesn't, the opportunity has presented itself for him to take control
07:43of the offense more than maybe, obviously, if Fred Van Vliet was there.
07:47And, and I, to me, it's less about, it's less about, I didn't even look at the stats to
07:51know what, what legitimately, because I mean, again, we talk about empty calories with certain
07:56players.
07:57Like, I think there is, you can get fascinated with his stat line and still, I mean, like
08:03look at what, if you watch the game, it just doesn't, it doesn't compute.
08:07It doesn't translate.
08:08Like my, my biggest, my biggest complaint or my biggest concern, if you will, about I'm
08:13in is when I watch him, he looks like, like unsure and, and lacking confidence when he's
08:19dribbling the ball, when he's attacking the rim.
08:21He, he, he, he is, he is walking around, he is running around out there sometimes inside
08:28a three point line.
08:30And it is not even, I mean, there's not even the confidence to look for a jumper.
08:35It is how quick can I find somebody to pass this thing to with, with defenders sagging
08:39off of him by five feet like that.
08:42That's, that's the part that it's more of, I mean, you're not even, they're not, not only
08:48are they sagging off and aren't afraid of your shot.
08:50Hell, you're, you're not even presenting that as a possibility.
08:54The three point shooting to me is the most disappointing.
08:59I don't know.
09:00I don't think I ever expect him to be a good three point shooter.
09:02Like I, I, I, hell I even said, I think, I think, I think it's more likely that Bari
09:06and Reed Shepard develop in that category.
09:08I'm just shocked that we're still, that I'm still seeing a guy that appears to lack confidence
09:13with the ball in his hand.
09:14That that's, that's what is most shocking to me.
09:16Yeah, I, yeah, I don't, yeah, I guess I don't, I don't see him lack confidence as much there.
09:22I think he lacks confidence in shooting the ball and I, and I think people are sagging
09:26off of him and I think that is affecting the offense at some sports too, because nobody
09:31is, has fear to guard him out there and he doesn't have confidence.
09:35I didn't think he would be a great one, but I didn't think we would tank from 27 to 19
09:39to
09:39under 20% from three as a guard.
09:42I thought he would maybe gradually get better and maybe, you know, year five, six, he is
09:47somebody that's in the, in the low thirties or somewhere, you know, respectable that you,
09:52you can, you know, he can have some confidence that part is shot, which I think, and he's
09:57shooting it more because he's trying, that part is the most disappointing.
10:01I just think when you take so many possessions and, and, and it's clear that, that a good chunk
10:06of the time it is, he, he is the one that's initiating.
10:10Like, I just, I, it's hard.
10:12It's a hard watch.
10:13Like, I don't understand as a team, how that's, that is your, that's your go-to so often with
10:19given, given what I'm, what I'm watching.
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