***The Official Musa Thread***

[Papi_swav]

He is young so I won't crucify him, he has a lot of time to get it together. I said it once, if he can be a knockdown shooter then there will always be a place for him in this league. He is slow and won't be able to keep up with faster guys so he has to use his craftiness which I see he has a little of. He has size so he's going to have to bulk up which will take him a few years.

He should follow the steps of Bojan Bogdanovic, a craft scorer and lights out shooter. I'll be honest, I did not believe much in Bogs at the beginning and I definitely didn't think he would take it this far, he's playing fairly well in Utah and was good in Indiana. Musa needs to become a knockdown 3 pt shooter, learn how to pull up from mid range and little fade ways from 15 ft, and add a little post game. He has the vision and good passing ability but he needs to get a little better handle. He needs to stop tripping over his own feet. If he can be somewhat like Bogs is than that is a home run for us. Right now is the best time for him to play through his mistakes and learn because next year we're going to need him to be on his A game, and he's going to have to guard KD at practice sometimes so that should help him. All I hope for right now is that he becomes a knockdown shooter and make the right plays.

[Prokorov]

I think this is what the hardest part about the criticism and anger toward Musa is right now. I'm obviously a fan of him, and maybe a bit bias as well, but I can also admit when he makes mistakes, doesn't do well, etc... Right now everything with him seems to be magnified by Nets fans simply because he is the youngest on the team. If you break down film of each game the one thing you can say about him is his intensity and will to win exceeds a couple other Nets currently playing. You can also say he is flat out playing better defense and giving more effort as well.

It almost leads you to believe many Nets fans don't have a basketball IQ so to say. The kid has taken endless heat and criticism since he started playing the game. He's always been attacked and the target since he has been the youngest on every pro team he has played on, and the confidence and arrogance he has I think makes it easy for fans or vets to do so. He has also been attacked over in the Croatian league because of his religion. The kid isn't ever going to break mentally and will just continue to get stronger physically. It's really hard to understand from a basketball fans perspective how you can't like a 20 year old with those traits and that mindset, let alone the skillset.

I'll take a hard worker with a winning mentality every day of the week.

what heat? no expects him to be anything at this point. He is a 20 year old guy picked late in the draft in his second year.

He hasnt played well. He hasnt shot well, he has turned it over, he has been poor defensively and the nets have been worse with him on the floor.

there is nothing wrong with that. struggles are expected. but the struggles sitll exsist, no one is making them up.

Hmm.. he's actually only gotten meaningful minutes in the last 4 games:

- He shot well in 2/4 of those games
- His defense was very bad the first game, but very, very solid the 3rd game. And actually pretty excellent in the 4th game.
- The Nets actually were better with him on the floor in the 4th game; in the last ~3 minutes of the 2nd quarter he had a stretch that helped turn some of the momentum to the Nets where he made a couple of baskets, got his teammates involved, had some assists, and played well defensively. Prince on the other hand was far more terrible that first half, and as a result KA started Musa in the 3rd quarter because he clearly made a positive impact on the game. Although he didn't shoot well that game, he didn't force any bad shots and was distributing the ball and contributing in many other areas outside of scoring.

I'd say you're a bit off with what you're saying and are kinda making things up lol, no? I mean the last 4 games are the only ones that really matter. He played a combined 11 minutes in the other 3 games he's played in this year before those, and in 2 of those games he didn't even take a shot nor have any turnovers.

Most importantly: In the last 4 games with real minutes his defense has clearly gotten better every game. He was not only not a liability on defense in the last 2 games, he actually showed a lot of defensive versatility in the last game and I'm sure Kenny noticed that. Him being able to contribute to the W the last game without scoring or shooting the ball well is a positive sign.

I think that based on the last 4 games he's actually had somewhat more success than he has struggled. Especially given the noticeable improvement on defense every game, which has been no worse than the defense of some other players, like Prince.

im making things up by posting the facts.... but your argument is gospel because you decide only to use the subset of minutes that supports your argument?

how exactly does that work. you narrow it down to only the last 4 games, then throw away 2 of those games, then go even furhter and focus on a 3 minute interval?

Overall he hasnt been good on either end, hasnt shot it well, and hasnt protected the ball. even if you just take the last 4 games, he has a negative on/off. has he been good for a game or so or in stretches? yes. but thats doesnt dismiss his overall play.

his struggles are expected, that doesnt mean they didnt happen

[Prokorov]

He is young so I won't crucify him, he has a lot of time to get it together. I said it once, if he can be a knockdown shooter then there will always be a place for him in this league. He is slow and won't be able to keep up with faster guys so he has to use his craftiness which I see he has a little of. He has size so he's going to have to bulk up which will take him a few years.

He should follow the steps of Bojan Bogdanovic, a craft scorer and lights out shooter. I'll be honest, I did not believe much in Bogs at the beginning and I definitely didn't think he would take it this far, he's playing fairly well in Utah and was good in Indiana. Musa needs to become a knockdown 3 pt shooter, learn how to pull up from mid range and little fade ways from 15 ft, and add a little post game. He has the vision and good passing ability but he needs to get a little better handle. He needs to stop tripping over his own feet. If he can be somewhat like Bogs is than that is a home run for us. Right now is the best time for him to play through his mistakes and learn because next year we're going to need him to be on his A game, and he's going to have to guard KD at practice sometimes so that should help him. All I hope for right now is that he becomes a knockdown shooter and make the right plays.

yeah,.... its going to come down to how he shoots the three and how he finishes at the rim. bogs ended up doing both well. the defense matters less, we arent a win with defense kind of team

[gigantes]

I think this is what the hardest part about the criticism and anger toward Musa is right now. I'm obviously a fan of him, and maybe a bit bias as well, but I can also admit when he makes mistakes, doesn't do well, etc... Right now everything with him seems to be magnified by Nets fans simply because he is the youngest on the team. If you break down film of each game the one thing you can say about him is his intensity and will to win exceeds a couple other Nets currently playing. You can also say he is flat out playing better defense and giving more effort as well.

It almost leads you to believe many Nets fans don't have a basketball IQ so to say. The kid has taken endless heat and criticism since he started playing the game. He's always been attacked and the target since he has been the youngest on every pro team he has played on, and the confidence and arrogance he has I think makes it easy for fans or vets to do so. He has also been attacked over in the Croatian league because of his religion. The kid isn't ever going to break mentally and will just continue to get stronger physically. It's really hard to understand from a basketball fans perspective how you can't like a 20 year old with those traits and that mindset, let alone the skillset.

I'll take a hard worker with a winning mentality every day of the week.

Oof. I don't know where that remark came from. On the contrary, I doubt many true Nets fans are ragging on this guy already. That would just be silly.

That said, I see what you're saying about Euro fans being hard on him in the past. Sort of the 'pushback against a young savant' thing, I take it? Also, it probably doesn't help if you're also considered NBA-bound, with little incentive to bond with your team & fans.


Btw, I just found this SI article about Doncic & Musa:

Musa, on the other hand, is a complex character painted with depth. A key player for Cedevita in Croatia, he holds nothing back. During a pre-draft interview, he says he should be a lottery pick. Cedevita’s owner describes Musa as “arrogant” and “an egomaniac.” Musa is shown looking frustrated on the bench and animated on the court. His mother breaks into tears when she describes Musa leaving home at age 11, and his family recounts the tragic loss of his sisters.

A devout Muslim, Musa describes being targeted with anti-Muslim insults by fans in Croatia, where more than 85% of the country is Catholic and less than 2% are Muslims.

“I was a boy at 16 years old and I heard the insults,” Musa told The Crossover by telephone on Wednesday. “It affected me a lot. I was sitting on the bench for 40 minutes. I didn’t play at all and my team lost. [The fans] insulted me from behind the bench and they were throwing things at me. That’s something you have to deal with as a target when you’re in a different country. I’m not the guy who will say now that those fans are bad. I think they’re just fans and they just want to show they support their team. But I think that’s the wrong way to show support.”

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/08/10/luka-doncic-dzanan-musa-mavericks-nets-nba-draft-former-yugoslavia-kids-of-war

Also, I wonder how being a Croatian Muslim stacks up against being a Middle Eastern Muslim, for example?

[Prokorov]

Rough night for Musa at the rim... i like that he is confident/aggressive but he needs to dial back the reckless leap/switch hands in the air/reverse spin attempt. maybe just retire that one all together.

[Uncbball8293]

He has a beautiful floater in his game that he showed all last. Problem is he is only 5 games into his time in the rotation and you can tell the game isn't slowing down for him enough to make a smarter decision at the rim. He has the ability to get around on the closeout going both ways, but right now he's useless off the dribble until he slows the game down and makes better decisions at the 2nd level.

[MrDollarBills]

Those drives to the rim are going to land him on the injured list if he isn't careful.

Either way, he needs to keep plugging away but also take care of the ball because we need a reliable ball handler in the 2nd unit.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

this game against pacers is probably one of his worst in the entire career (hes been playing professional basketball for years in europe, but nba is whole another level), really rough night for him... im not of one those people who will say: "whole team played awful", i dont like excuses, he played awful and thats it, it has to be said

however, i do agree with the poster above, musa really hes a great touch on floaters, its his signature move, so i want to see him take those shots often... he can get to the paint with ease, but instead of going to the rim everytime (i said he will have problems finishing at the rim until he gets bigger/stronger), he should throw those floaters

but okay, its all part of the growth...

[Prokorov]

this game against pacers is probably one of his worst in the entire career (hes been playing professional basketball for years in europe, but nba is whole another level), really rough night for him... im not of one those people who will say: "whole team played awful", i dont like excuses, he played awful and thats it, it has to be said

however, i do agree with the poster above, musa really hes a great touch on floaters, its his signature move, so i want to see him take those shots often... he can get to the paint with ease, but instead of going to the rim everytime (i said he will have problems finishing at the rim until he gets bigger/stronger), he should throw those floaters

but okay, its all part of the growth...

The team isnt big on floaters... although they bent their methodology for D'angello so if its successful i dont think they would be super rigid with it. I like his aggression and im sure the coaches are pushing for him to be aggressive, especially with Kyrie/Caris out...

But his drives are so bad its almost a turnover... just throwing himself at the rim with like an off hand backwards no look prayer and to MDBs point so off balanced he is risking injury with how akward he lands

[Dzon Dilindzer]

when musa started playing nba basketball (rookie preseason and season), he was throwing those floaters

i know dangelo was throwing floaters, levert too

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[MrDollarBills]

this game against pacers is probably one of his worst in the entire career (hes been playing professional basketball for years in europe, but nba is whole another level), really rough night for him... im not of one those people who will say: "whole team played awful", i dont like excuses, he played awful and thats it, it has to be said

however, i do agree with the poster above, musa really hes a great touch on floaters, its his signature move, so i want to see him take those shots often... he can get to the paint with ease, but instead of going to the rim everytime (i said he will have problems finishing at the rim until he gets bigger/stronger), he should throw those floaters

but okay, its all part of the growth...

The team isnt big on floaters... although they bent their methodology for D'angello so if its successful i dont think they would be super rigid with it. I like his aggression and im sure the coaches are pushing for him to be aggressive, especially with Kyrie/Caris out...

But his drives are so bad its almost a turnover... just throwing himself at the rim with like an off hand backwards no look prayer and to MDBs point so off balanced he is risking injury with how akward he lands

I think the issue is that Musa is having trouble at getting separation at the NBA level which results in him barrelling in for awkward contested lay ups. And that's fine (not being able to get separation). He doesn't have to be that guy. At 6'9 with above average hand he can still be an asset especially if he continues to compete on defense and becomes a more efficient outside shooter. But he needs to pick and choose his spots wisely when driving to the basket, I thought he was going to land on his neck when he tried to go up against Turner. You're not going to draw fouls if you don't have a clear shot at the cup.

[Uncbball8293]

this game against pacers is probably one of his worst in the entire career (hes been playing professional basketball for years in europe, but nba is whole another level), really rough night for him... im not of one those people who will say: "whole team played awful", i dont like excuses, he played awful and thats it, it has to be said

however, i do agree with the poster above, musa really hes a great touch on floaters, its his signature move, so i want to see him take those shots often... he can get to the paint with ease, but instead of going to the rim everytime (i said he will have problems finishing at the rim until he gets bigger/stronger), he should throw those floaters

but okay, its all part of the growth...

The team isnt big on floaters... although they bent their methodology for D'angello so if its successful i dont think they would be super rigid with it. I like his aggression and im sure the coaches are pushing for him to be aggressive, especially with Kyrie/Caris out...

But his drives are so bad its almost a turnover... just throwing himself at the rim with like an off hand backwards no look prayer and to MDBs point so off balanced he is risking injury with how akward he lands

The Nets like many other teams seem to be big into stats and analytics. I really hope they aren't trying to change his game or craftiness around the rim that I've seen out of him. I saw Euro Steps and floaters all last year in the Gleauge which was what really caught my attention with him. I know the game moves faster at this level, but he is making good drives, picking his spots to shoot and blow by off a lazy closeout. Problem is he isn't doing anything after the blow by and he has a few different options, but is only using one right now. He has gotten away with it in the first 4 games, but last night against the big front line of Indiana it showed. Hopefully some film room and some adjustments can be made.

IMO he is so scared of making mistake and trying so hard to fit in out there he isn't playing like the kid I've always watched. His desire to want to be out there so bad is probably what's going to find him back on the bench because he just isn't playing like himself or what he's capable of.

[Prokorov]

this game against pacers is probably one of his worst in the entire career (hes been playing professional basketball for years in europe, but nba is whole another level), really rough night for him... im not of one those people who will say: "whole team played awful", i dont like excuses, he played awful and thats it, it has to be said

however, i do agree with the poster above, musa really hes a great touch on floaters, its his signature move, so i want to see him take those shots often... he can get to the paint with ease, but instead of going to the rim everytime (i said he will have problems finishing at the rim until he gets bigger/stronger), he should throw those floaters

but okay, its all part of the growth...

The team isnt big on floaters... although they bent their methodology for D'angello so if its successful i dont think they would be super rigid with it. I like his aggression and im sure the coaches are pushing for him to be aggressive, especially with Kyrie/Caris out...

But his drives are so bad its almost a turnover... just throwing himself at the rim with like an off hand backwards no look prayer and to MDBs point so off balanced he is risking injury with how akward he lands

The Nets like many other teams seem to be big into stats and analytics. I really hope they aren't trying to change his game or craftiness around the rim that I've seen out of him. I saw Euro Steps and floaters all last year in the Gleauge which was what really caught my attention with him. I know the game moves faster at this level, but he is making good drives, picking his spots to shoot and blow by off a lazy closeout. Problem is he isn't doing anything after the blow by and he has a few different options, but is only using one right now. He has gotten away with it in the first 4 games, but last night against the big front line of Indiana it showed. Hopefully some film room and some adjustments can be made.

IMO he is so scared of making mistake and trying so hard to fit in out there he isn't playing like the kid I've always watched. His desire to want to be out there so bad is probably what's going to find him back on the bench because he just isn't playing like himself or what he's capable of.

i dont see a guy scared to make mistakes... i see the opposite... a guy being super aggressive (probably encouraged by the coached to be aggressive) who knows he can make mistakes and its ok

[Uncbball8293]

i dont see a guy scared to make mistakes... i see the opposite... a guy being super aggressive (probably encouraged by the coached to be aggressive) who knows he can make mistakes and its ok[/quote]

I would say it's safe to say you didn't watch all of his Gleague games last year or summer league games. Trust me he is playing timid and scared right now.

[jbeachboy]

do you guys think nwaba should be playing over musa?

[gigantes]

i dont see a guy scared to make mistakes... i see the opposite... a guy being super aggressive (probably encouraged by the coached to be aggressive) who knows he can make mistakes and its ok

Or combine the two things, and you have pressing. So Musa could be pressing out there.

[Prokorov]

i dont see a guy scared to make mistakes... i see the opposite... a guy being super aggressive (probably encouraged by the coached to be aggressive) who knows he can make mistakes and its ok

I would say it's safe to say you didn't watch all of his Gleague games last year or summer league games. Trust me he is playing timid and scared right now.[/quote]

well thats probably a good thing... because if "timid" is recklessly and aggressivly going to the rim at all times and throwing up ill advised layup attemps then we dont want to see what "not scared" is

[Prokorov]

do you guys think nwaba should be playing over musa?

yes... or over someone. we need an energy guy who defends.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

Brooklyn Nets Nic Claxton & Dzanan Musa Start to Carve Out Roles

good article pre indiana pacers game

[Uncbball8293]

do you guys think nwaba should be playing over musa?

yes... or over someone. we need an energy guy who defends.

In my short time on this board I got to say you are just a ray of sunshine!!

If that's the case Prince and Jordan shouldn't touch the court if we are talking about energy. I've watched Kyrie job back on D countless times this year. It all starts from the top with Vet leadership, this has nothing to do with Musa, Pinson, Rodi, or Clax our young guys. They are going to make mistakes and it's to be expected. What should never be expected is a lack of effort from veteran leadership and that's been evident all year watching the Nets play.