Unfortunately, he was eliminated, but he gained the embryo of a superstar! Average of 15+7+3 per game, the team s future is at the age of 22!

After being eliminated by the Warriors, the Rockets' journey came to an end this season. As the second in the Western Conference this year, although the Rockets once lagged behind with a total score of 1:3 in the playoffs, they still played a tenacious style. Therefore, despite being eliminated, they were still worthy of respect at that time. And for the Rockets today, they also have something to be thankful for, that is, through this round of playoffs, they have found the core of the future. In addition to Alperen Shinkyung, it is Amen Thompson. This 22-year-old man performed extremely well in this year's playoffs. Let's take a look at why he stood out from many young people!

1. Top outside defender, future DPOY hottest.

First of all, let’s talk about Amen’s biggest advantage, that is his defensive ability. With a height of 2.01 meters, a wingspan of 2.13 meters, and a weight of 90 kilograms, this is one of the most advantageous body panels in the NBA today. Moreover, Amen has a very good physical talent. He is good at running and jumping, and he is simply a natural defensive gate on the defensive end. In fact, he did quickly realize his talent. He could already save 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks in the regular season. He is one of the few players in the entire league who can contribute 1 steal + 1 block per game. Moreover, his defensive efficiency has reached 107.9, and he also squeezed into the top 50 in the league. There is no doubt that the Rockets can rise this year and rank fifth in the league in defensive efficiency, which is inseparable from Amen's contribution. Just as everyone was wondering whether Amen would be a regular season player, he gave a very perfect counterattack when the playoffs began.

Facing Stephen Curry, who is already the three-pointer in history, Coach Uduka waved his hand and asked Amen to "take care of" Curry throughout the whole process. Although Curry maintained a good performance in this round of the series, averaging 24 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game was a 47.1% shooting percentage and 39.2% three-point shooting percentage. At that time, under Amen's defense, Curry averaged 3.7 turnovers per game, which is a rare situation in Curry's playoffs in so many years. In addition, according to the data, when the library defended Amen alone, his offensive efficiency dropped sharply to 102.6, and in the fifth game, he only made 4 of 12 shots, only scored 13 points, which can prove Amen's value. And more importantly, Amen not only has excellent single defense capabilities, but his defense replacement is also very amazing and efficient. When he appeared with Shin Kyung and Tari Ethan, the team's defensive efficiency was as high as 103.7, which is the top three defensive combination in the playoffs. Considering that he is only 22 years old, he will definitely be one of the popular contenders for the DPOY trophy in the future.

2. The offense is surprising, but it still needs to be further improved.

In addition, in this round of series, Amen's offense was also a very surprising one. After all, for the first time participating in the playoffs, most teams will fluctuate in their state compared to the regular season, but Amen still handed in 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks, with the shooting percentage remaining at 49.4%, making him one of the few players in the team who can maintain stability. Moreover, this guy was ruthless at the critical moment. With the team behind 1:3, he was hanging on the line with his life, and he scored 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks in the fifth game. It can be said that he achieved the ultimate in both offense and defense, helping the Rockets win key games. In the tiebreak game, although the team still lost regretfully, they scored 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the third quarter, scoring 24 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in the whole game. Amen deserves everyone's respect. It is precisely because of such outstanding performance that Amen almost locked in the team's future core position.

Of course, Amen can now slightly celebrate his outstanding performance, but after a brief celebration, he also needs to start facing his own problem, that is, the disadvantages of not being good at mid- and long-term shooting. He was able to perform so amazingly in this round, on the one hand, it is inseparable from his tough game style, and on the other hand, it is also because the Warriors' inside defense is indeed relatively loose. After all, it is completely unrealistic to expect Draymond Green, who has already declined, to give Amen enough interference in the inside.

If faced with a team with strong inside defense, how Amen can help the team score will be a problem. After all, in the entire series, he only made 3 three-point shots and scored 1. The shots around the free throw line and three-point line are only 1 of 6 shots, so this summer Amen must polish his shots well. After all, not only is he not good at mid- and long-distance shooting, his free throw shooting percentage is only 69.4%. This is not the number that a star striker should appear. However, Rockets fans don’t have to worry too much. After all, Amen has proved his ability in tough battles. As long as he develops well, his future will definitely not be bad.