WASHINGTON — Early in Tuesday’s game, the Wizards had seen enough of Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green destroying their man-to-man defense, and they wanted to do something about it.
After watching Green scored 37 points in last week’s matchup at Houston and seeing the 22-year-old score 19 points during Tuesday’s first quarter at Capital One Arena, interim head coach Brian Keefe needed to make a defensive adjustment on the fly.
With that in mind, Washington decided to trap and/or double team Green when he touched the ball, often using the man initially assigned to rookie Amen Thompson. When they were not doubling Green, the Wizards went zone, hoping to keep Green out of the paint.
The execution of those defensive schemes worked in limiting Green, at least for the second quarter and early in the third quarter. But that strategy opened the game up for Thompson, who finished with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in Houston’s blowout victory. Thompson took the defensive adjustment personally.
“I take it as a little bit of disrespect to double off of me,” Thompson said with a smile during his postgame interview.
Thompson, 21, has been vital to his team’s current six-game winning streak. After starting center Alperen Sengun hurt his ankle in Sacramento on March 10, the 6-foot-7 rookie was inserted into the starting lineup, and he has flourished in that role. During that stretch, the No. 4 overall pick from the 2023 NBA draft has averaged 17.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting over 80%.
Since being inserted into the starting lineup, the Amen Thompson numbers are eye-popping. In 27.1 minutes per game:
17.3 points
29-37 FG (79.9% TS!)
8.3 rebounds (3.0 offensive)
1.3 steals
130.3 OFFRTG
101.3 DEFRTG#Rockets 4-0 pic.twitter.com/mIrj8kVDM9— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 20, 2024
Playing in the proverbial “dunker’s spot,” Thompson is finding his rhythm near the rim, which is still unfamiliar for the natural guard.
“The progress I have been making, I am proud of myself,” Thompson said after Tuesday’s victory in Washington. “Learning how to play off the ball, which is something I never had to do before. I feel like I am really learning how to do that. I see my teammates trusting me more in certain situations to make a play or score. So, I am learning where to be at and taking my opportunities to score.”
Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is well aware of Thompson’s advantages on both ends of the court. The…
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