Motor Keeps Going: The Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Thread III

spaceballer · Post #761 » by **spaceballer** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:25 pm

MKG basketball clinic at Johnson C. Smith University

http://www.nba.com/hornets/video/teams/hornets/2016/08/05/1470416306078-160805-MKG_Clinic.m4v-698733

Vanderbilt_Grad · Post #762 » by **Vanderbilt_Grad** » Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:41 pm

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17262551/manu-ginobili-built-legacy-love-team-storied-career

I was reading Zach Lowe's great article about Manu ... and I kept thinking about MKG. There was a lot of talk about reckless play and the fact that Manu's role off the bench artificially limited his minutes and probably kept him playing a lot longer given that.

In MKG's case, it was his shooting that kept him off the floor for Cliff ... but I frequently felt like there was a bit of a side benefit for MKG in that this allowed him to go all out for the minutes he was on. Now, given the injury history, this may be more important than ever.

LofJ · Post #763 » by **LofJ** » Fri Aug 12, 2016 12:27 pm

Vanderbilt_Grad wrote:http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17262551/manu-ginobili-built-legacy-love-team-storied-career

I was reading Zach Lowe's great article about Manu ... and I kept thinking about MKG. There was a lot of talk about reckless play and the fact that Manu's role off the bench artificially limited his minutes and probably kept him playing a lot longer given that.

In MKG's case, it was his shooting that kept him off the floor for Cliff ... but I frequently felt like there was a bit of a side benefit for MKG in that this allowed him to go all out for the minutes he was on. Now, given the injury history, this may be more important than ever.

Ginobli is a legend of the game. The part about him diving on the floor during a September scrimmage and Popovich stopping play to explain to everyone that he wanted to win more than anyone there is vintage MKG. I laughed pretty hard when he followed that up by telling Manu "it's fuc**** September, never do that again."

I definitely think there is a lot to be gained with MKG playing with the bench more than the other starters. Importantly though, unlike Ginobli, he doesn't need offensive touches, so he can play seamlessly with a lot of different groups of players. If our bench struggles to get stops the obvious solution is to pull MKG early for Lamb or Bellineli.

Post #764 » by **fatlever** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:41 pm

Read on Twitter

Post #765 » by **yosemiteben** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:48 pm

MKG is so awesome. This team is due some good luck.

Braggins · Post #766 » by **Braggins** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 9:48 pm

I think late September is 7 months since his second surgery. Really highlights how insane it was to let him return after like 3.5 months after the first surgery. One area I still don't trust this organization at all is handling injuries, especially after reading that Clifford interview where he talked about how he, MJ, and Ewing, basically think players sitting out games for rest is nonsense.

Post #767 » by **yosemiteben** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 10:28 pm

MKG wasn't sitting out for rest though.

Braggins · Post #768 » by **Braggins** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:12 pm

Yeah, i didnt mean to relate those two situations. Just meant that the conments from that interview added to my distrust of our ability to handle health/injuries.

Post #769 » by **fatlever** » Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:51 pm

I know he's made a lot of progress, but damn, would it kill him to square his feet and shoulders in the general direction of the basket?

In other news, MKG won 10 games in a row vs our 60 year old shooting coach.

Mystical Apples · Post #770 » by **Mystical Apples** » Wed Aug 31, 2016 5:25 pm

That drill reminds me of an MKG play from the same spot last year. Not many players can weaponize such disparate skills: defensive rebound, grab-n-go, high PnR, finish around length.

Notice how early MKG and Cody start the play with CHA teammates already spacing the floor.

Bonus footage from the other side. Putting MKG on-ball as a PnR handler totally alters the spacing dynamics.

mattcampbell · Post #771 » by **mattcampbell** » Fri Sep 2, 2016 12:49 pm

fatlever wrote:

I know he's made a lot of progress, but damn, would it kill him to square his feet and shoulders in the general direction of the basket?

Wouldn't be too awful if he was shooting on the goal at the other end :banghead:

Liver_Pooty · Post #772 » by **Liver_Pooty** » Fri Sep 2, 2016 4:21 pm

mattcampbell wrote:
fatlever wrote:

I know he's made a lot of progress, but damn, would it kill him to square his feet and shoulders in the general direction of the basket?

Wouldn't be too awful if he was shooting on the goal at the other end

Lol

Post #773 » by **fatlever** » Fri Sep 2, 2016 5:48 pm

mattcampbell wrote:
fatlever wrote:

I know he's made a lot of progress, but damn, would it kill him to square his feet and shoulders in the general direction of the basket?

Wouldn't be too awful if he was shooting on the goal at the other end

He is perfecting the no-look 89 foot shot.

HornetJail · Post #774 » by **HornetJail** » Sun Sep 4, 2016 6:17 pm

That's kind of the way Dwyane Wade shoots it. It's strange, but if it works....

Post #775 » by **fatlever** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:50 pm

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article104448976.html

"When we started making our big move from around 12th (in the East) to (a four-way tie for) the third spot, it was early February. That’s when MKG came back. That was no coincidence," Batum said.

"When he came, everything changed. Then he went down before the All-Star break and we brought in (Courtney Lee), but it all started rolling when MKG came back.

"If he can play 82 games, we can be in good shape."

Kidd-Gilchrist didn’t want to continue discussing last season’s during media day Monday. But he assured, "I’m glad to be back, on the court and healthy, and ready to go."

"I understand that I’m a leader on this team. I’m young, but so what? I know a lot as a basketball player. I know how to win basketball games, and that’s all I want to do.

"Me, Nic, Frank (Kaminsky) and Marvin (Williams) will all switch, whether it be a (dribble-) hand-off or a ball screen."

Kidd-Gilchrist put in major work this summer to get back to where he was, if not better, before the injuries.

"I don’t think it’s a secret that I’ve worked a lot on my shooting. I’ve been watching a lot of film this offseason of Iggy (Andre Iguodala) and Dwyane Wade. I’ve been doing that pretty much all summer."

Post #776 » by **Diop** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:55 pm

Mkg is so awesome I want him to be injury free genuinely for him. I want him to get the praise he deserves, I know that charlottes success will go with it.

amcoolio · Post #777 » by **amcoolio** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:19 pm

He is so clearly our best player. If we stay healthy, everything will fall into place.

mrfixit · Post #778 » by **mrfixit** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:20 pm

I know it was a small sample size last year(7 total shots) , but I wonder if he will continue to shoot the 3 ball well.

LofJ · Post #779 » by **LofJ** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:49 pm

mrfixit wrote:I know it was a small sample size last year(7 total shots) , but I wonder if he will continue to shoot the 3 ball well.

I doubt he'll shoot that high of a percentage for the season, but he's generally really smart with his shot selection so I think 35% is definitely doable for him. It won't be on high volume, maybe around 2 attempts per game, but that's acceptable because teams will have to respect the shot enough to guard him.

Post #780 » by **yosemiteben** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 8:51 pm

I'm pretty much only allowing myself to think of MKG in baby steps - I don't care if he forgets how to shoot altogether, I just want him healthy through the ASB. I'll take a broken shot (which I don't think he has anymore) over a guy who can't stay on the court.