Prokorov wrote:Uncbball8293 wrote:I think this is what the hardest part about the criticism and anger toward Musa is right now. I'm obviously a fan of him, and maybe a bit bias as well, but I can also admit when he makes mistakes, doesn't do well, etc... Right now everything with him seems to be magnified by Nets fans simply because he is the youngest on the team. If you break down film of each game the one thing you can say about him is his intensity and will to win exceeds a couple other Nets currently playing. You can also say he is flat out playing better defense and giving more effort as well.
It almost leads you to believe many Nets fans don't have a basketball IQ so to say. The kid has taken endless heat and criticism since he started playing the game. He's always been attacked and the target since he has been the youngest on every pro team he has played on, and the confidence and arrogance he has I think makes it easy for fans or vets to do so. He has also been attacked over in the Croatian league because of his religion. The kid isn't ever going to break mentally and will just continue to get stronger physically. It's really hard to understand from a basketball fans perspective how you can't like a 20 year old with those traits and that mindset, let alone the skillset.
I'll take a hard worker with a winning mentality every day of the week.
what heat? no expects him to be anything at this point. He is a 20 year old guy picked late in the draft in his second year.
He hasnt played well. He hasnt shot well, he has turned it over, he has been poor defensively and the nets have been worse with him on the floor.
there is nothing wrong with that. struggles are expected. but the struggles sitll exsist, no one is making them up.
Hmm.. he's actually only gotten meaningful minutes in the last 4 games:
- He shot well in 2/4 of those games
- His defense was very bad the first game, but very, very solid the 3rd game. And actually pretty excellent in the 4th game.
- The Nets actually were better with him on the floor in the 4th game; in the last ~3 minutes of the 2nd quarter he had a stretch that helped turn some of the momentum to the Nets where he made a couple of baskets, got his teammates involved, had some assists, and played well defensively. Prince on the other hand was far more terrible that first half, and as a result KA started Musa in the 3rd quarter because he clearly made a positive impact on the game. Although he didn't shoot well that game, he didn't force any bad shots and was distributing the ball and contributing in many other areas outside of scoring.
I'd say you're a bit off with what you're saying and are kinda making things up lol, no? I mean the last 4 games are the only ones that really matter. He played a combined 11 minutes in the other 3 games he's played in this year before those, and in 2 of those games he didn't even take a shot nor have any turnovers.
Most importantly: In the last 4 games with real minutes his defense has clearly gotten better every game. He was not only not a liability on defense in the last 2 games, he actually showed a lot of defensive versatility in the last game and I'm sure Kenny noticed that. Him being able to contribute to the W the last game without scoring or shooting the ball well is a positive sign.
I think that based on the last 4 games he's actually had somewhat more success than he has struggled. Especially given the noticeable improvement on defense every game, which has been no worse than the defense of some other players, like Prince.
