2024 JK Thread

[Onus]

I'm a need JK to have a game like this against a good defense. But in his 3rd year these are the types of flashes we need to see. It's good to see he's no longer settling and is constantly putting rim pressure. He's definitely improving.

[wco81]

That one basket where he played bully ball and knocked Brunson over or Brunson flopped, that easily could be called an offensive foul.

That is the type of situation where he might have to use more finesse moves, at least once in awhile to keep defenders honest.

Also not give the refs a chance to make bad calls.

[whatisacenter]

I'm a need JK to have a game like this against a good defense. But in his 3rd year these are the types of flashes we need to see. It's good to see he's no longer settling and is constantly putting rim pressure. He's definitely improving.

He is improving by leaps and bounds. Opposing defenses are sending second defenders his way now and his assists are up and his turnovers are down. He is a 3pt shot away from being a superstar in the making.

[TB]

That one basket where he played bully ball and knocked Brunson over or Brunson flopped, that easily could be called an offensive foul.

That is the type of situation where he might have to use more finesse moves, at least once in awhile to keep defenders honest.

Also not give the refs a chance to make bad calls.

Ya he's got that pull up mid range he can use there, or a pump-step-through. However, I also like knocking a flopper into the stands once and a while to teach them a lesson and set the tone. Kuminga had them shook with his strength all game.

[TB]

I'm a need JK to have a game like this against a good defense. But in his 3rd year these are the types of flashes we need to see. It's good to see he's no longer settling and is constantly putting rim pressure. He's definitely improving.

He is improving by leaps and bounds. Opposing defenses are sending second defenders his way now and his assists are up and his turnovers are down. He is a 3pt shot away from being a superstar in the making.

That was hilarious when they sent a double down on the block at him and he panicked and threw it to worst spot on court for the turnover. He forgot he had his dribble

What was great is Dray/Kerr weren't mad, I mean Kuminga has never seen that defensive scheme before, they simply went over to him and talked through strategy with him. Will be fun to see how he reacts the next time it happens down there. Either attack early, dribble out to open lanes for cutters, or quick pass to perimeter to find shooters. For JK its probably the quick attack to split the double or quick pass to perimeter/cutter instead of dribbling back or pickup up dribble while leaning.

[CDM_Stats]

I'm a need JK to have a game like this against a good defense. But in his 3rd year these are the types of flashes we need to see. It's good to see he's no longer settling and is constantly putting rim pressure. He's definitely improving.

He is improving by leaps and bounds. Opposing defenses are sending second defenders his way now and his assists are up and his turnovers are down. He is a 3pt shot away from being a superstar in the making.

That was hilarious when they sent a double down on the block at him and he panicked and threw it to worst spot on court for the turnover. He forgot he had his dribble

What was great is Dray/Kerr weren't mad, I mean Kuminga has never seen that defensive scheme before, they simply went over to him and talked through strategy with him. Will be fun to see how he reacts the next time it happens down there. Either attack early, dribble out to open lanes for cutters, or quick pass to perimeter to find shooters. For JK its probably the quick attack to split the double or quick pass to perimeter/cutter instead of dribbling back or pickup up dribble while leaning.

I was pissed that CP3 didnt slide down into the corner, he just stood at the 45, not only not giving JK an escape route, but preventing someone else (I think it was Saric) to slide over into the shoulda-been-vacant 45 slot to give JK 2 options

Vets shouldnt be leaving the young guys hanging like that

[Onus]

I'm a need JK to have a game like this against a good defense. But in his 3rd year these are the types of flashes we need to see. It's good to see he's no longer settling and is constantly putting rim pressure. He's definitely improving.

He is improving by leaps and bounds. Opposing defenses are sending second defenders his way now and his assists are up and his turnovers are down. He is a 3pt shot away from being a superstar in the making.

That was hilarious when they sent a double down on the block at him and he panicked and threw it to worst spot on court for the turnover. He forgot he had his dribble

What was great is Dray/Kerr weren't mad, I mean Kuminga has never seen that defensive scheme before, they simply went over to him and talked through strategy with him. Will be fun to see how he reacts the next time it happens down there. Either attack early, dribble out to open lanes for cutters, or quick pass to perimeter to find shooters. For JK its probably the quick attack to split the double or quick pass to perimeter/cutter instead of dribbling back or pickup up dribble while leaning.

Yea I was thinking did he forget he could dribble? I mean yea no one helped him out but take an escape dribble and relieve some pressure.

[TB]

He is improving by leaps and bounds. Opposing defenses are sending second defenders his way now and his assists are up and his turnovers are down. He is a 3pt shot away from being a superstar in the making.

That was hilarious when they sent a double down on the block at him and he panicked and threw it to worst spot on court for the turnover. He forgot he had his dribble

What was great is Dray/Kerr weren't mad, I mean Kuminga has never seen that defensive scheme before, they simply went over to him and talked through strategy with him. Will be fun to see how he reacts the next time it happens down there. Either attack early, dribble out to open lanes for cutters, or quick pass to perimeter to find shooters. For JK its probably the quick attack to split the double or quick pass to perimeter/cutter instead of dribbling back or pickup up dribble while leaning.

I was pissed that CP3 didnt slide down into the corner, he just stood at the 45, not only not giving JK an escape route, but preventing someone else (I think it was Saric) to slide over into the shoulda-been-vacant 45 slot to give JK 2 options

Vets shouldnt be leaving the young guys hanging like that

Good catch, I didn't notice that. He was in no mans land down there.

[CDM_Stats]

That was hilarious when they sent a double down on the block at him and he panicked and threw it to worst spot on court for the turnover. He forgot he had his dribble

What was great is Dray/Kerr weren't mad, I mean Kuminga has never seen that defensive scheme before, they simply went over to him and talked through strategy with him. Will be fun to see how he reacts the next time it happens down there. Either attack early, dribble out to open lanes for cutters, or quick pass to perimeter to find shooters. For JK its probably the quick attack to split the double or quick pass to perimeter/cutter instead of dribbling back or pickup up dribble while leaning.

I was pissed that CP3 didnt slide down into the corner, he just stood at the 45, not only not giving JK an escape route, but preventing someone else (I think it was Saric) to slide over into the shoulda-been-vacant 45 slot to give JK 2 options

Vets shouldnt be leaving the young guys hanging like that

Good catch, I didn't notice that. He was in no mans land down there.

Yup and on re-watch, it was Podz not Saric, and I'd give him 1/3 of the blame too. CP3 was actually in the process of setting a screen on Podz man (not sure why considering Jericho Sims was on CP3 and there's no reason not to keep that going, but ok). But when Sims doubled, CP3 went back out to where he started, and Podz didnt filter through at all. Corner left empty, Kuminga got desperate, all she wrote

Still mostly on CP3, I just hate that things like assists are subjective but TOs aren't

[SpreeChokeJob]

Rereading takes on this thread is straight cringe comedy. I hope this thread never goes away.

It’s strange how so many people can not see what’s right in front of their face. There should be a psychological study performed on this.

[superunknown]

Read on Twitter

that monster dunk for the 73-71 lead on steph pass from the high p&r....as said before, he has glimpses of amare stoudamire. they find a way to deploy him from the high steph p&r, he can be unstoppable and give headaches to the likes of jokic and even AD. and, as said before, that p&r with steph can be unguardable because (and in the clip is evident) no one want to help off steph in that situation so kuminga has a free driving lane to attack the basket.
I'd really like to see that p&r action against DEN and LAK involving jokic and AD, maybe that is the countermove against those 2. jokic in particular could get killed as he has no chance to match kuminga speed in that
they can also run it with paul, he can punish the help with his classic long two from the elbow forcing D to pick its poison.

[whatisacenter]

Kuminga has been a true bright spot this season. He is becoming a more complete player with every game and the dude is only 21...sky is the limit.

[wco81]

He's not getting calls.

He's going hard to the hole and teams are willing to foul him, since he hasn't been good at the FT line until recently.

But at least half of the fouls are not being called.

[floppymoose]

The lack of calls will be good for him in the long run. He will develop his jumper. He will get better at protecting the ball. Better at finishing through contact.

He has made defensive strides this season too.

[HiRez]

Even without getting every foul call, he's now shooting the most free throws per possession of anyone on the team and pushing up against 75% from the line, that is really significant progress. His 3 point shooting is all over the place this year but hopefully that comes back around to get over 35%, that's going to help his drive game even more although I think he's at his best when receiving the ball already going downhill.

[wco81]

Regarding finishing through contact, that can only take you so far.

I remember Marcioulonis used to progressively get fouled harder and harder. You had teams like the Supersonics who were bullies just grabbing his arms and pulling him down and he couldn't get calls.

So if teams keep getting away with fouling him, it's going to lead to turnovers and fast breaks the other way.

[Jester_]

Read on Twitter

that monster dunk for the 73-71 lead on steph pass from the high p&r....as said before, he has glimpses of amare stoudamire. they find a way to deploy him from the high steph p&r, he can be unstoppable and give headaches to the likes of jokic and even AD. and, as said before, that p&r with steph can be unguardable because (and in the clip is evident) no one want to help off steph in that situation so kuminga has a free driving lane to attack the basket.
I'd really like to see that p&r action against DEN and LAK involving jokic and AD, maybe that is the countermove against those 2. jokic in particular could get killed as he has no chance to match kuminga speed in that
they can also run it with paul, he can punish the help with his classic long two from the elbow forcing D to pick its poison.

STAT is a cool comp. I can see it.

[vvoland]

Regarding finishing through contact, that can only take you so far.

I remember Marcioulonis used to progressively get fouled harder and harder. You had teams like the Supersonics who were bullies just grabbing his arms and pulling him down and he couldn't get calls.

So if teams keep getting away with fouling him, it's going to lead to turnovers and fast breaks the other way.

Good thing this ain't the early 90s. Big difference is, JK is huge and the fouls necessary to get him off his shot are going to be hard, obvious fouls. his 90% ft shooting in March is so very nice to see.

[vvoland]

Read on Twitter

that monster dunk for the 73-71 lead on steph pass from the high p&r....as said before, he has glimpses of amare stoudamire. they find a way to deploy him from the high steph p&r, he can be unstoppable and give headaches to the likes of jokic and even AD. and, as said before, that p&r with steph can be unguardable because (and in the clip is evident) no one want to help off steph in that situation so kuminga has a free driving lane to attack the basket.
I'd really like to see that p&r action against DEN and LAK involving jokic and AD, maybe that is the countermove against those 2. jokic in particular could get killed as he has no chance to match kuminga speed in that
they can also run it with paul, he can punish the help with his classic long two from the elbow forcing D to pick its poison.

STAT is a cool comp. I can see it.

Amare never brought the ball up the court, initiated the offense or had the iso 25 ft from the hoop. Amare was a play finisher - one of the best, to be fair. JK is an initiator and actually isn't that great as a PnR roller or dunker spot finisher.

I think he's closer to JRich than amare in terms of how they use their athletic gifts. Much better w/ off-ball back picks or cuts than involved in the primary action as the screener. Best when isolated against slower or smaller defenders they can bully at the rim.

I see glimpses of STAT in the sense that both were two foot jumpers that went through contact to finish. JK's layup arsenal and touch around the rim look to be miles ahead of Amare at that age. Rebounding, shot blocking, and timing/nose for the ball are skills JK may never catch up to Amare in. Just like ball handling, passing on the move and creating offense are places where JK has already more than lapped Amare.

[wco81]

You look at Jalen Brown as a possible comp.

Early in his career, he tried to use his size and athleticism to try to bully smaller defenders, to get shots in the restricted area.

Of course Brown developed more ball handling skills and he mixes in mid range pull ups as well as smarter ways to get to the rim than trying to bully ball all the time.

Thing is, Brown has been a decent 3-point shooter from very early on, so he's able to get good looks from 3 or attack closeouts to get at least to the midrange or the rim. So that is why he's making over $60 million a year as a 3-level All-NBA player.

Brown was encouraged from early on to take 3s, especially catch and shoot as they were able to generate a lot of looks off transition.

JK takes 3s only when given so much space that he could set his feet and take his time. But on transition, especially this year, if he can't get to the rim, he will look to kick out.

He's improved his FT shooting over the last dozen or two dozen games. He needs to integrate more catch and shoot 3PAs more in the offseason. Greater proficiency from beyond the arc is the key between being a good starter or rotation player and an all-star or better player.