Fred VanVleet raves about Amen Thompson’s versatility: ‘He’s a Swiss Army Knife’

Fred VanVleet raves about Amen Thompson’s versatility: ‘He’s a Swiss Army Knife’

Don’t look now, but the Houston Rockets are currently the No. 2 seed in a very deep Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

It hasn’t always been pretty, sure. They are No. 14 in adjusted offensive rating, according to Dunks & Threes. Houston also sports the NBA’s fifth-worst offensive rating in the halfcourt, generating just 92.0 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning The Glass.

Though one of the reasons for their 21-9 start has been the breakout of second-year wing Amen Thompson, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Thompson’s impact goes beyond the box score, and he’s caught the eye of both veteran guard Fred VanVleet and head coach Ime Udoka.

“He can play every position on the court,” VanVleet said recently, according to Jonathan Feigan of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s a Swiss Army knife. He can play one through five. He can screen-and-roll. He’s shooting the three now. He can score. He can guard. He’s just a plug-able guy. You can put him anywhere on the court and be successful. He stepped right in for D.B. and we didn’t lose a step.”

Through 30 games, the 6-foot-7 wing is averaging 11.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks on 54.8 percent shooting and 27.5 percent from 3-point range. His outside shot has always been the concern, but he’s third on the team in block rate, fifth in offensive rebounding rate and true-shooting percentage. He’s an exceptional pesky on-ball defender and can impact in myriad ways, even if he’s not shooting well–his biggest knock out of Overtime Elite.

“You can put him on a bunch of different people, switched and made it tough on (LaMelo) Ball early,” coach Ime Udoka said. “He can guard one through five. We’re comfortable with that. Then, offensively, he’s played on ball at times as a backup point guard, or on the wing, and at the four last year. We can plug him into all those situations on both sides. It’s a luxury for sure.”

While it owns one of the league’s stingiest defenses, Houston isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing team to watch in some people’s view; after all, they’re No. 26 in 3-point rate, No. 28 in 3-point percentage, 26th in mid-range percentage and 18th in rim percentage. They have a pretty efficient shot diet inside the arc, but don’t make them at a high clip.

Thompson, 22, has been one of their few exceptions. According to CTG, he’s finished 72 percent of his attempts at the rim, placing in the 79th percentile amongst wings; he’s also finished 41 percent of his short 2s and 41 percent of his non-rim 2s, grading in the 58th and 63rd percentile, respectively.

The Rockets don’t plan on being one of the most active deadline teams, so I’m expecting them to get bypassed by a few teams hunting for more talent. Though while that may be the case, I’ll be very interested to see how Thompson’s role continues to throughout the rest of the season and beyond because the talent is there.

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