HEZI wrote:JayTWill wrote:HEZI wrote:
It is especially if he’s going 0-5 from 3. He has no handle and can’t dribble without looking like he’s about to lose the ball so most times when he attempts to and the defense applies even a little pressure he has to pick up his dribble and pass. He’s very weak and doesn’t attack the rim with the ball at all whatsoever. Certain things he tries to do offensively just annoy me
He is shooting well above league average at the rim, in the midrange and on the corner three. The only place he is struggling is the above the break three. He is also doing that while being the primary point of attack defender against everyone from Morant to Tatum for 38 minutes per game while being surrounded by weak defenders like Brunson, KAT and whatever it is that Hart does defensively.
Do people think we traded for Mikal Bridges or a version of prime Kawhi Leonard that never misses games while also leading the league in minutes? What more should be expected from the 3rd option in a Thibs offense? His defense could be better at times but what lockdown defenders are playing point of attack defense for the majority of their 38 minutes per game and giving you good offense too?
He’s more of a 4th option rather than a 3rd option and that’s kind of the problem. What mismatches does he create offensively for any matchup? None. He’s heavily reliant on a system or other players to create looks for him and struggles to do any of it on his own. This is not good for a deep playoff run when the team overall lacks ball handling and shot creation. As Brunson will see more traps, it will force guys like Bridges to create for themselves and he’s just not good at that. You look at teams like Boston and Cleveland, their 3rd guy is KP and Mobley. They have multiple guards/wings who can create for themselves and others and they have versatility that we just don’t.
Bridges would be ok if we had that 2nd perimeter guy but we don’t and he has to be it and that’s just not his strength
4th option? He is not an isolation player but he seems to be able to get to his spots in the midrange with the use of a screen where he is highly efficient. Even if he couldn't create his own offense and was almost completely dependent on the system and others to create offense for him how does that make him a bad 3rd option? Isn't that the point of having an offensive system and options 1 and 2?
I agree that the team could use another ball handler/shot creator since they don't really have an offensive system and KAT doesn't really do that as a 2nd option but that still doesn't make Mikal a bad 3rd option. That just makes the Knicks a poorly constructed team in some ways. KP is assisted on 85% of his shots. Mikal is assisted on 77% of his shots. KP is dependent on others creating for him too. He is great in his role when he is on the court. Mikal needs to improve his above the break 3 but there have been plenty of games where he actually looks better when he has a larger role in the offense.
Expecting the guy that is behind Brunson, Hart, KAT, Payne and McBride in ball handling responsibility to be creating offense for himself and others seems odd. Shouldn't the guys that actually handle the ball be better at creating?
He didn't have a great game from 3 yesterday with a few difficult attempts but where in these highlights do you see a guy struggling to get his shot off or dribble without almost turning it over? He is actually performing better with more dribbles in these clips. He is not someone that is just going to hijack the offense. He plays his role.
https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=FGA&EndPeriod=0&EndRange=28800&GameID=0022400856&PlayerID=1628969&RangeType=0&Season=2024-25&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&StartPeriod=0&StartRange=0&TeamID=1610612752&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game
