Post#112 » by shawn_hemp » Tue Mar 7, 2017 5:38 pm
Monk didn't play much defense at the start of the year but he has slowly shown progress on that end of the floor. He doesn't get beat defensively as much as people claim, he just doesn't get a lot of steals either. He can work around screens pretty well
Someone said Jamal Murray had that "it factor", umm, have you watched Kentucky play this year? Not even getting into the UNC game, which he single handedly won for them, Monk has closed out plenty of games for Kentucky by getting points when they needed him to. The Florida and Vanderbilt games come to mind. Even when he doesn't shoot well to start the game, he is ready and willing to take the clutch shots.
I don't get the people saying he has no handles either. I mean, he's not pulling any And1 mixtape sequences out there, but he has a nice stutter step move when driving to the basket and he always goes for contact as well
Which brings me to my next point, he's not really a weak dude for his build. He is stronger than he looks, hence the leaping ability and mid-air adjustments around the basket.
He's from a small town in Arkansas and definitely seems like someone who will put in work to get better in the NBA, whether that's the weight room or film room or w/e. His older brother was an NFL athlete, I think it's safe to say he has strong builds in his family.
Lou Williams isn't an unfair comparison, but he reminds me more of Bradley Beal on Florida.
He is the best scorer in the draft, and also is willing to give the ball up to his teammates as well.
If he had a few highlights of chasedown blocks or picking players pockets people would be all over this guy.
But he doesn't really get his hands involved on the defensive end for whatever reason. It's not that he is out of position or can't keep up with his man, he just seems to save his energy for offense.
But when you get to a crunch time situation, he can really dial in and become a somewhat decent defender.
He is the player who I find it the hardest to find flaws in his game, and a player who should theoretically fit on any team since he is an awesome off-the-ball player who is always flying around the court trying to get open.
That's part of the reason he slacks on defense IMO, he runs around a lot on offense already.
And to be honest, I think that makes more sense for a player as gifted at scoring as Monk is to do then kill himself on defense.
TLDR - Bradley Beal 2.0 IMO. Even their releases are similar and both can shoot off the dribble very well.
Monk is not just a catch and shoot player who plays no defense.
