TKKnicks1 wrote:Clyde_Style wrote:Context wrote:Love this video and what I learned yesterday in the Jay wright video about Donte is he carried teams in his young career before he got into college...
I think Divo could be Brunson's Klay-maybe better if Divo keeps pushing himself to get better...
I'd frame it this way. What if Donte's progression is now at the inflection point Brunson's was when he joined the Knicks?
IOW, Donte is possibly (probably actually) becoming the star SG that belongs next to Brunson.
As he is breaking out this season as a top perimeter shooter in the NBA, his trajectory to becoming a legit nightly scoring threat from all spots on the floor seems to be the trend now.
His defense has been top notch as well. The biggest knock on Donte was his consistency and that Thibs wouldn't utilize him for extended minutes due to his lack of defense. He has proven in these playoffs he can be a difference maker on both ends. More than O and D, its amazing how well he fits next to Brunson. He doesnt need the ball to thrive, is constantly moving and the defense must play up on him due to his lethal stroke. Honestly he has become everything we wanted Grimes to be.
Donte posted the best athletic numbers at the draft combine, and has had positive defensive numbers overall in his career. As we saw against Maxey game 6 and against Tyrese this series when they match up, he can lock guys down when he really wants to. If he has the lateral quickness and speed to stick to Maxey then he can defend any guard well enough. I just think all the extra minutes and scoring this year has taken some of his focus/energy for defense, but he’s finding the right balance now. He’s even averaging 1 block a game in the playoffs.
He always had a nice shot, but has obviously gotten better there the last 2 seasons. He was known more as a defensive/all around player than a shooter before he got here. His scoring is up this season, but his rebounding and assist numbers are actually down, probably because we have great rebounding already, Jalen controls the ball a lot, and we have flat out needed him to score more with no Julius. Point is he has shown he can impact the game in all areas.
Either way, unless we get good deals for Mitchell or Booker then Donte is our starting SG for the foreseeable future.
Speaking of white SGs, because let’s be honest that’s who he is compared to mostly, I would take Donte over Herro, Reaves, Caruso, Giddey, Huerter, and Grayson because he is more athletic, well rounded, tougher, and obviously we know he fits here already.
