20 of 54 shots, Amen also has three-pointers

The offseason has entered this stage, and there is no trading news except for the upcoming European Cup. Sports Illustrated reporter Lachard Binkley is a Rockets. He recently wrote an article about the Rockets' key figure next season, Amen Thompson and said bluntly, "Maybe you didn't expect that Amen's three-pointers may be the key to the Rockets."

Amen Thompson has achieved some success in bottom corner three-pointers, and increasing the number of attempts may make this shooting a weapon in his upcoming season. For the upcoming 2025-26 season, the Houston Rockets are considered a team that could compete for the NBA championship. After two straight seasons of improvement, the Rockets achieved 52 wins last season and completed a big deal with Kevin Durant, and on paper, the Rockets are one of the best teams in the NBA. One of the main reasons why the Rockets have improved over the past two seasons is Amen Thompson's performance. When Thompson was initially selected by the Rockets, they knew his potential. Thompson is considered a super sporty point guard who will thrive on the open court, is an aerial operator and has a high basketball IQ.

Thompson not only demonstrated all of these skills, but he successfully proved himself to be one of the best defensive players in the NBA, even in his second season. His selection to the first team of the All-Defensive Team last season cemented that further.

In Thompson's first two seasons, there was one area he had been struggling, which was three-point shooting. Thompson shot only 22.1% from three-pointers in the first two seasons. Each team will shrink the defense against the Rockets as part of the strategy to stop the young guard from getting closer to the rim. After all, the opponents knew very well what would happen if Thompson was allowed to approach the basket.

However, there is an area on the court where Thompson has some success with three-pointers, and increasing the number of shots in this area will improve his overall 3-point shooting percentage. Despite his struggles with shooting outside the arc, Thompson showed some hope when he shot from the bottom corner, especially on the left corner. Last season, Thompson made 20 of 54 three-pointers from the bottom corner, hitting a considerable 37%. He performed better when shooting from the left corner. Thompson shot 8 of 17 shots from the left corner, shooting 47.1%. Of course, while only 54 3-pointers aren't a big sample size, it does show that he can shoot long distance shots. Compared to 5-for-35 3-pointers on the top of the arc, you'll see why Thompson should increase his attempts at the bottom corner 3. According to the current situation, as long as the number of three-point shots is increased in the bottom corner, his three-point shooting percentage will increase.

If Thompson's three-point shooting percentage improves, his offense will be more room because the defense will not shrink too much into the paint because Thompson's shooting ability improves. The coaching staff also needs to play a role in Thompson’s bottom corner three-point shooting, and they need to design more tactics that allow him to move in the bottom corner instead of standing near the dunk point like he did most of the time.