OMFKG! The Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Thread II

catch20two · Post #1721 » by **catch20two** » Sun Jan 4, 2015 5:32 am

JDR720 wrote:last 5 games

12.8pts
8.2rbs
2ast

31mins

It's all in the consistent starter minutes. 31 minutes instead of 25-27 minutes and rotting on the bench in the 4th.

Post #1722 » by **yosemiteben** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 2:05 am

I have been extremely impressed with MKG's handles lately. One benefit of being out Lance for so long is we've gotten to see MKG handling the ball a lot more. His TO numbers are up, but those are more due to poor passing than losing his dribble. I still really want to see a 100% healthy lineup of Kemba, Lance, MKG, Cody and Biz.

Post #1723 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 2:16 am

if you would have asked me why his turnovers are up i would have told you there were a result of charges and getting the ball stripped from his hands as he drives to the rim.

Post #1724 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 2:34 am

fatlever wrote:if you would have asked me why his turnovers are up i would have told you there were a result of charges and getting the ball stripped from his hands as he drives to the rim.

per stats.nba, 8 of MKGs last 10 turnovers have come as a result of him driving to the rim, either getting the ball stripped as he dribbles or charging fouls.

Post #1725 » by **yosemiteben** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 2:35 am

fatlever wrote:
fatlever wrote:if you would have asked me why his turnovers are up i would have told you there were a result of charges and getting the ball stripped from his hands as he drives to the rim.

per stats.nba, 8 of MKGs last 10 turnovers have come as a result of him driving to the rim, either getting the ball stripped as he dribbles or charging fouls.

Wasn't thinking about charges as TOs, I think the vast majority of those TOs were charges, not getting stripped.

catch20two · Post #1726 » by **catch20two** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 2:37 am

fatlever wrote:
fatlever wrote:if you would have asked me why his turnovers are up i would have told you there were a result of charges and getting the ball stripped from his hands as he drives to the rim.

per stats.nba, 8 of MKGs last 10 turnovers have come as a result of him driving to the rim, either getting the ball stripped as he dribbles or charging fouls.

A lot of those strips and charges woulda been defensive foul calls on the other team if we were a more respected team.

Post #1727 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 2:58 am

why does it always have to be an excuse with our players? why cant it just be as simple as acknowledging that while MKG is playing better recently he needs to do a better job of protecting his dribble when he drives, holding on the to ball when he goes up for layups and be smarter when driving into defenders close to the restricted area. these are all things that are easily correctable. they are hopefully just growing pains that we are seeing as MKG increases his usage. its not a bias from the refs.

Post #1728 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 2:59 am

yosemiteben wrote:
fatlever wrote:
fatlever wrote:if you would have asked me why his turnovers are up i would have told you there were a result of charges and getting the ball stripped from his hands as he drives to the rim.

per stats.nba, 8 of MKGs last 10 turnovers have come as a result of him driving to the rim, either getting the ball stripped as he dribbles or charging fouls.

Wasn't thinking about charges as TOs, I think the vast majority of those TOs were charges, not getting stripped.

i think it was about half/half, 4 charges, 4 times losing the ball as he either dribbled into the paint or getting it stripped as he went up for a layup. you can watch the videos of each one on stats.nba. i just looked at the past 3 games.

Post #1729 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 3:09 am

regardless, i havent really noticed an improvement in MKGs handles to be honest. his handling of the ball is still rather basic for a starting NBA wing player. perhaps we just have different starting points for our expectations. most of MKGs dribble drives are fairly basic probes into the lane, usually to his right almost exclusively with his right hand. if he gets an opening he goes in for the shot, if not he quickly cuts off his drive and kicks the ball out to the nearest player on the perimeter. he almost never tries to drive to his left and rarely tries to finish with his left hand. most of his drives to his left are just him getting out of trouble to pass back to someone at the top of the key. he will sometimes pull up for the jumper when driving left.

i dont really mind MKG handling the ball because he seems to know his limitations and doesnt try to force passes. he is fairly cautious when he has the ball, sans his drives to the rim.

improving his handles, specifically his left hand, is just one of the aspects of his game that needs to be addressed this summer.

TheKingofSting · Post #1730 » by **TheKingofSting** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 3:17 am

Hopefully he will take care of that this summer with his shot out of the way.

Post #1731 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 3:42 am

TheKingofSting wrote:Hopefully he will take care of that this summer with his shot out of the way.

the shot is definitely not "out of the way" however. its gone from completely unacceptable to barely passable. price said it was a 3 year process and we are only in year two. hopefully this summer he starts to add some range. adding a corner 3 is still #1 on the list of things MKG needs to work on this summer.

Post #1732 » by **JDR720** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 3:47 am

I think Price is perfect to help MKG with essentially all of his problems and is the reason i would be quite upset if Clifford is fired.

Price can help with his shooting, ball handling and a restricted area-FT line game like floaters.

TheKingofSting · Post #1733 » by **TheKingofSting** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 3:54 am

Just because Cliff leaves doesn't mean Price is automatically out.

Post #1734 » by **yosemiteben** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 4:29 am

fatlever wrote:i think it was about half/half, 4 charges, 4 times losing the ball as he either dribbled into the paint or getting it stripped as he went up for a layup. you can watch the videos of each one on stats.nba. i just looked at the past 3 games.

So four non-charge TOs in three games? Can live with that.

fatlever wrote:perhaps we just have different starting points for our expectations.

Maybe that is it. I mean I'm not gonna say he's great, but he's MUCH better than Hendo and its refreshing to see someone that can regularly get into the lane and create off the dribble. I agree that he strongly favors his right and he'll need to work on that, but IMO he has tight handles and coordination which enables him to consistently beat defenders off the dribble that are already playing off him because they don't respect his shot. If he continues to develop his midrange game (or lord willing actually extends it) and works on his ability to drive left, he could be a very serious weapon offensively.

catch20two · Post #1735 » by **catch20two** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 4:52 am

If MKG can get the confidence to shoot the 3 and make it at about at least 30% he will become a dangerous offensive threat. Until then he'll be this sputtering offensive player that he is now that defenses won't respect unless he's in transition attacking the rim.

MasterIchiro · Post #1736 » by **MasterIchiro** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 5:52 am

double post

Post #1737 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 6:00 am

yosemiteben wrote:So four non-charge TOs in three games? Can live with that.

actually it was 6 non-charge TOs in three games. 2 of his turnovers were the results of bad passes, which you originally mentioned.

regardless, its not a huge deal, just some minor things worth keeping an eye on. i'm glad to see this new agressive side of MKG and if means he has to suffer through a few bad turnover games or even bad shooting games, so be it. those are growing pains he needs to go through if he is going to take the next step offensively -> out of his shamecorner and into double-digits.

MasterIchiro · Post #1738 » by **MasterIchiro** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 6:23 am

MasterIchiro wrote:I have more confidence in a fan making a half-court shot for $50,000 at half-time than I do in MKG ever hitting 30% from 3 pt land. Or Zeller, or Hendo or any other perimeter player Cho has dumped on MJ's prize pick Kemba. (disclaimer: I know Hendo shoots better than 30% on his wide open 3's

Post #1739 » by **JDR720** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 6:30 am

Well MKG shot 25% on threes in college, i know its a shorter line from the NBA but with his improvement i am confident he can get to 30%. (13/51 BTW)

Post #1740 » by **yosemiteben** » Mon Jan 5, 2015 1:31 pm

MasterIchiro wrote:
MasterIchiro wrote:I have more confidence in a fan making a half-court shot for $50,000 at half-time than I do in MKG ever hitting 30% from 3 pt land. Or Zeller, or Hendo or any other perimeter player Cho has dumped on MJ's prize pick Kemba. (disclaimer: I know Hendo shoots better than 30% on his wide open 3's

How much confidence did you have in MKG's midrange jumper last year?