JayTWill wrote:Probably Mikal at this point. I know he hasn't met the lofty expectations many have had for him but he may have been the guy that has had to sacrifice the most. He showed he could be more than a 3 and D guy over the last few years but he has accepted that role again while also having to step up and carry a bigger load at times.
He hasn't complained about being asked to be the point attack defender all game while playing crazy minutes and dealing with a ton of criticism from an impatient fan base in an unforgiving media landscape. I like the improvements I have seen from him on the defensive end recently and I have no issue with him attempting to improve his jump shot last off-season. I trust him to get the kinks worked out by next season.
I love his ability to get to his spots in the midrange and create for himself and others at times. Nothing flashy. Just simple and effective. If he can get that above the break 3 figured out while maintaining his current level of defense I would have no complaints about him.
I just like his workman-like attitude mixed with just the overall positivity. I still wouldn't have traded all those picks for him but that wasn't his decision.
Mikal's play the past 10 days has been key to the current successes. We're finally attacking the other team's point of attack with generally strong results and Mikal is usually the key to this. We're short circuiting PGs like Trae and Jar and last night we undermined Jokic significantly. This is why defense should not be so dependent on drop coverage and defending the paint instead of the perimeter. Thibs finally adjusted and the results show we can be a good defensive using the personnel we've got NOW.
