On this episode of the Heat Check. It's a Thursday and not a Tuesday, so you know what time it is, actually, probably don't know what time it is, but today it's a rookie report. Damn John tay Porter bumped the rookie report too full days. But do not fear we're gonna break down another rookie and tell you us what. Let's get right into it, Anthony, drop that motherfucker beat. That should be real, all right, So we got three weeks
less than the season, we gotta fill them. The gaps were pretty much covered a rookie this year, Someone somehow slipped through the cracks, and that was our man, a Men Thompson of the Houston Rockets. We covered his brother Ausar Thompson of the Pistons, who unfortunately went down a couple of weeks ago with the season ending injury, but not Almen. We saw him tonight. So let's fix that
right now, all right. Aman Thompson averaging nine six and two this year, pretty damn good rebounds for a rookie, honestly, especially since he wasn't getting that many minutes for the Rockets. But that does not begin to describe the impact that he has had for his team. Number four pick in the draft is a point guardard. We'll call him like a pass first point guard, like a scoring less point guard. And nothing is harder in the NBA than playing point
guard as a rookie. We've talked about that many times, except for a point guard who has asked to play center, which Iman Thompson is apparently doing right now. What makes Almon and Auscer so impressive is their defense. He is so versatile that since Alprin Shangoon went down, i'man has spent more than a little time guarding the other team's best centers and successfully. I might add, other teams are
increasingly asking centers to guard him as well. Coach he Mayudok said, We've mentioned guys like Ben Simmons, like Giannis who have done similar things at times in their career.
He can learn to implement those things as well. At six seven, he spends time as the screen setter in pick and roll situations and in the dunker spot as a faster, more athletic version of Clint Capella from the Hardened Days Whoo geezh Ahmans moved into the starting lineup seven games ago, and he has blossomed as a result. You probably don't even know. Fifteen nine and three nine rebounds a game is fucking sick. With one point four
stocks per game on twenty eight minutes. Most impressive is his plus ten point four net rating and the best part the Rockets are seven and zero during that stretch. Uh Oh, alprin shangoun uh oh. Of course, Almend feels when all's said and done, that he's a point guard and he has dutifully studied for a van Fleet in this season to pick up some pointers from the point guard. Fortunately, he's a quick study. According to Udoka, he's a sponge.
You've seen him improve just with the playing time alone, let alone the role that we're asking him to do. A guy that's had the ball in his hands his whole career. You put him out there with Fred van Fleet and Jalen in the starting lineup, Now you kind of have to divide those opportunities, those ball handling duties. He does it in other ways. He's great on the offensive glass, he's great in transition. But when he has a big on him, he can be used as a screener,
used as a facilitator as well. Just kind of attacking the basket at all times, getting the shots that he wants and the shots for our offense. Of course, we can't talk about the Thompson twins without talking about how badly they are as shooters. And as Aimon is bad, he's bad. He's like the Auscer bad. Aimon is shooting fourteen point eight percent from deep this season, which would be the worst in the NBA if he didn't have
a twin brother named Auscer. Matt Isa from Forbes wrote a piece about the four things that I'm gonnasked to do to avoid getting played off the floor by better teams. One, well, we already know what number one is, don't we Like, become a better shooter. Just become a better one easier said than done, Honestly, Just get into the fucking gym and shoot a million shots with proper form per game, per day. Just just do it. Play on a team
with tons of shooting and spacing like the Celtics. Three, become a tough shot taker in the paint like himI Howkas and be good at it. And four counter your poor spacing by using your supreme physicality the body opponents like ag Aaron Gordon. So one become a sniper from the three point line play on a team that's not the Rockets, become more like Himie Hawkas and become more like Aaron Gordon. Thanks, matt Is said, that was incredibly helpful.
It's pretty clear that unless the shooting improves by leaps and bounds, his ceiling is a defensive stopper. That does not mean that he can't be a super valuable asset on a team that has a bunch of bucket getters to offset his negative impact on offense. I am not sure that in a redraft amend Thompson still goes forth. I'm pretty sure he actually doesn't. I'm sure he'll go probably like still a lottery pick. But that's a lot about how deep this draft is as opposed to how
good he is and how he's played. The Rockets are very happy with Doman because defense was their number one need and looks like he's gonna find a home there for a really, really long time. That's all the time that we have for this episode of The Heat. Check come back tomorrow for an all new episode. Keith Smith's gonna be on the show, and check out the feed for past episodes and many episodes. Wild drop unexpectedly, like the foxes that live in the bamboo grove, sauntering across
your lawn, freaking your fucking dog out. Do not forget the fall of the heat check offs, Heason Long. That means download, let me subscribe. That means tell your friends, all of them, even your friend who calls you and says that even Mendes is not an a less actress actress, but Nick Cannon is, and that Ryan Gosling merry down. Say hey, yo key, stop smoking on that good good before you call me when you come down, and tell
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