And that is the point. That is what the adjustment is from the Euro game to the NBA. Here, especially under Brooks, there is no real system beyond: let the gunners gun and everyone else stand out of the way. No squad in Europe would allow two players to take 70% of the shots when they are on the floor, or even to handle the ball all the time with no one else involved. Euro ball is more like Spurs/GSW ball where the ball spins from player to player. The concept is that it is harder to stop a team than to stop one person, even a mega talented player. The NBA subverts that since they have a level of talent that Euroball generally can't match. Nobody is stopping that guy. Let him have the ball since he can do it no matter what.
Deni is frustrated making the adjustment, not because he wants to star, but because he is from a system without stars. Without true point guards often, where players make each other better. Where there are touches enough to go around. The system is not wait in the corner and make your shot if the ball gets to you, but spread it around with motion and passing and ballhandling so that every player stays in rhythm. When Russ asked people to define their roles for themselves, Deni was surely confused: what is a role? I am a basketball player. All the jobs are done by all the players, there are no specialists. That's not the NBA, ESPECIALLY under this coach. He has stars and he has peripheral players. He has basically 2 starters and everyone else is the bench.
Deni, TBJ, Wagner, Bonga -- these are not good fits for a Brooks coached team. They are glue guys on a team that rewards stars. Under Brooks no team exists where the team is greater than the sum of the parts of individual players. Individual players who are mega talented get all the burn they want to develop, but the non-stars will tend to fade. However, it's not good basketball. It leads to the vulnerability noted in all of Scotty's teams, in that they burn out in the playoffs because they are too predictable and easy to stop. Stop 2 guys and you win. Turn Russ into a jumpshooter, and don't let Beal touch it.
Deni has a right to be frustrated. As does TBJ, Bonga, Wagner. There is talent there that could be finding better use. Deni in particular would have a right to question: well why the hell would you draft me if you weren't going to use the things I do well.
The problem is Tommy is drafting and assembling a different team than Scotty knows how to coach. A strong natural talent like Rui will adjust. He doesn't know the difference. The veterans like Lopez, understand the star/roleplayer system. But the young cats who have gotten where they have by playing system ball will be lost trying to figure out how and where they fit in.
Oddly, despite the fact that he gets all the touches, Beal knows how to play in a system with team concepts and screens and off ball motion etc.
Russ. No. Russ has no idea how to do anything but star in the Russ show. He gives 100% effort in that role. And his energy encourages other players. But he racks assists primarily because he holds the ball forever. That is what the Euro coaches mean when they say that the Point Guard is an american concept. In international ball, anyone can handle, bring up the rock, make a pass. If you held the ball the whole time the coach would bench you.
U nailed it.
Hey guys i'm a Deni fan since his days in Maccabi. I won't starting to say he's a big star and doing well rn, u know better than me, and offcourse Deni has the responsiblity for how he's playing, but the guy that wrote this comment nailed it very well. In Europe and Israel the Basketball is very different in a lot of aspects.
Firstly - the fouls. Deni hasn't got used yet to the fouls you given in the NBA comparing to the Euroleague. In Euroleague what called a good defence (with contact) won't count as a foul. And Deni in Maccabi was among the better stars in our defence. Also i believe u could see a little bit from his 1vs1 defence against Lebron and the Lakers. He guarded Lebron very well for a rookie. But he's very frustrated from the fouls he has been given. U can see it by his body language.
Secondly - the sharing of the ball. In the NBA indeed most of the teams are playing HERO BALL, the type of game u play when u have a 1/2 stars and they will lead the team no matter what, they will take the shoots, they will handle the ball and they will make the decisions in offense. For the good, and for the bad.
The problem in that system is that as a result of using it - a lot of good players won't get enough touches. Their role on the team will be very minor and they won't feel like they are in the game actually, won't be in flow. It doesn't mean the stars aren't good. They can be great. But the real question is how can u improve your odds to get a W. When Westbrook is all good and great, making assists, rebounds, points, but he's the only one that making calls on offence - how will u be able to let others coming into the game? When Beal and Westbrook combined are scoring 70/110 points the team has scored against the Celtics, what does it mean for the others? Well i'm calcuating it. all the others in that night shooted 33 times to the basket, and the starting 5 without Beal and Westbrook have shooted only 10 times in the whole game. Brad and Westbrooks 51 times combined have shooted to the basket. The USG% telling the story of this team.
https://www.nba.com/game/was-vs-bos-0022000524/box-score#box-scoreI know Beal is great, really he's a superstar and amazing player, and Westbrook can do sometimes really good things while he's not turning it over, but this type of Basketball isn't a good fit for Deni (and generally for basketball teams - unhealthy). This way a lot of players aren't in the flow of the game, In defence and offense (as they don't touch the ball).
That is what NOT making a basketball team - a winning team. Basketball is a team game. But in Washington and some other teams in the NBA all what the players care about is their own good, their own stats. This is a horrible situation for a rookie, and especially for one who comes from a different game. If Deni would have come to the Warriors or Spurs, u would have seen his abilities as a Point Forward, and the coaches would have taken care he runs the offense sometimes, makes decisions, passes, drives, being active in general and that's how u should give confidence for a rookie. In Washington his role is far far away from it. His role in the team is to be a 3 and D player, to standing in the corner, waiting for the ball to come to him. But since the beginning the Wizards knew that 3-pointers isn't his best ability, yet they have still chosen him to a bad role for his career. Bertans is a 3 and D player, a catch & shoot one. But Deni? WTF? Deni is a very very very different player from Bertans in skills. Deni is more Athletic, Faster, better at passing and he's quite good at making decisions. Every time he handles the ball - especially at P&R situations, something good is gonna happen. He's not selfish. He will look to other players first to see if someone else is open for an easy basket, or a miss-match.
But the lack of confidence rn is also making him being hesitate and afraid of the ball. By letting him standing at the corner for a wide open 3, u actually lose the player's abilities. Turning him off. He's a player who needs to run the floor, to handle the ball and make decisions, but he can't do that right now at Washington. His role right now leading to a loose of confidence, that never stops.
Even in the second unit, his role stays the same, it's a shame. And that's coach's responsibilty, not Deni's.
In the bottom of the line - Deni is a team player, in a solistic team. And he seems to be unhappy right now, and so do his basketball.
Something must be changing here. Cause right now Brooks destroying this player's future.
I'm not saying he supposed to drop 20-30 points each night like Lamelo in his first year, but i do expect the team will let him sometimes runs the offense while Beal and Westbrook are resting. And if they don't, then why in the hell have u drafted him? his 3-pointers? come on. U knew he wasn't a good shooter like Bertans by his precentage. Right now he looks like the shadow of himself, and that is not how u develop a player. U all talk about waiting a couple of years, let him gain the confidence and that he's just a kid. That he has a bright future. But i'll tell u what, The way he's being used right now is destroying his future. As a player.
A sad fanatic Deni's fan.
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