Thanks Eric, a nice breakdown and easy watch. Looking forward to a follow up after a few games in the regular season...hell maybe even after game 1. Really hoping JK gets some time guarding LBJ in the season opener!
Love it. Thanks Apricot. If nothing else, Kuminga will be fun to watch. And genuinely what interests me most about Kuminga’s game is his defensive potential, which is stratospheric. I mean, you can always project Kawhi level shot improvement on any prospect, but that doesn’t make it likely. What this gives more confidence in is his floor. Honestly never felt better about this pick than I do after watching this vid, and that’s mostly because the more I see of this guy, the more I realize how truly competitive he is. That bodes very well. Go dubs!
Great stuff, and really encouraging. I really like that Kuminga is already very familiar with a switching scheme and seems very willing and able to communicate like you need to to make it a success.
Great E1P, thanks for doing this. It was really engaging and interesting. Honestly not sure which I like more - a traditional E1P that goes super in depth on a single play, or something like this. Seeing JK defend against similar plays and their slight variations really lets us see his strengths and weaknesses. I could easily imagine a coach putting together material like this to help educate a player. Damn, I hope nobody from the NBA sees this stuff. Keep putting together videos like this and we might lose you to a better paying job!
Wow, did I seriously just watch a 30-minute video? It didn't feel that long. Excellent work. Really shows you how much the team's coordination matters on defense. I agree that Kuminga showed a lot of good things in this video: speed and lateral quickness, high effort, and visible communication. That's great! But the miscommunications were clearly a problem; it makes you wonder, like with Wiseman, how many in-game screwups he'll have to make before he really learns that. Because as much as he has the physical tools to be a very good defender, if you muck up enough switches per game it'll cost you in the score sheet, so we'll have to wait and see how he fits with the NBA club.
BTW, did he ever play against Poole and Mannion in the G-league? Presumably the Ignite played the Sea Dubs but maybe not when those guys were down there.
This guy is nuts… I watch his games and highlights, and nothing helps me figure him out. I can easily see him fitting like a glove, playing awesome defense and crafting a role on offense this season. I can also see him over estimating his abilities on both sides of the ball and landing him in the bench forever.
I’m an optimist and feel like he does seem to have his head on right, so I’m leaning toward success over failure, but we’ll see.
Honestly, what impressed me the most about Kuminga was his rapid improvement throughout Summer League. The concerns regarding his shot selection and passing entering the tournament were rapidly mitigated as his efficiency/vision were amply demonstrated in his last two games.
Iggy will be the perfect mentor for Kuminga, showing him how an athletic wing with a questionable jump shot can make a huge impact in the game through excellent defense, passing, finishing inside.
As for Moody, I honestly believe that he can become a high level player in the league depending on three things.
1) Can he fully leverage his athleticism, being a gym rat to wrench every last bit of explosiveness he can from his body. He's going to need it everything since he lacks quickness. Improving his core strength is important since he'll need needs to dislodge opposing defenders quite often to create space.
2) Can he improve his handle? Given his lack of explosive athleticism, Moody needs a very good handle in order to break defenders off the dribble. The handle doesn't need to be fance, it just needs to be tight and functional, with no wasted movement. Look at Brandon Ingram for example.
3) Can he hit contested jump shots? Given his lack of athleticism/handle, he's going to need to demonstrate the ability to hit contested shots. If anyones got stats on how he performed with contested jump shots in college, that would be great!!
I'm not all that worried about the defense. Kuminga just needs to compete against Curry in practice shooting 3s until he can beat him. That will shut up the naysayers.
Thanks Eric, a nice breakdown and easy watch. Looking forward to a follow up after a few games in the regular season...hell maybe even after game 1. Really hoping JK gets some time guarding LBJ in the season opener!
Love it. Thanks Apricot. If nothing else, Kuminga will be fun to watch. And genuinely what interests me most about Kuminga’s game is his defensive potential, which is stratospheric. I mean, you can always project Kawhi level shot improvement on any prospect, but that doesn’t make it likely. What this gives more confidence in is his floor. Honestly never felt better about this pick than I do after watching this vid, and that’s mostly because the more I see of this guy, the more I realize how truly competitive he is. That bodes very well. Go dubs!
Great stuff, and really encouraging. I really like that Kuminga is already very familiar with a switching scheme and seems very willing and able to communicate like you need to to make it a success.
Great E1P, thanks for doing this. It was really engaging and interesting. Honestly not sure which I like more - a traditional E1P that goes super in depth on a single play, or something like this. Seeing JK defend against similar plays and their slight variations really lets us see his strengths and weaknesses. I could easily imagine a coach putting together material like this to help educate a player. Damn, I hope nobody from the NBA sees this stuff. Keep putting together videos like this and we might lose you to a better paying job!
Wow, did I seriously just watch a 30-minute video? It didn't feel that long. Excellent work. Really shows you how much the team's coordination matters on defense. I agree that Kuminga showed a lot of good things in this video: speed and lateral quickness, high effort, and visible communication. That's great! But the miscommunications were clearly a problem; it makes you wonder, like with Wiseman, how many in-game screwups he'll have to make before he really learns that. Because as much as he has the physical tools to be a very good defender, if you muck up enough switches per game it'll cost you in the score sheet, so we'll have to wait and see how he fits with the NBA club.
BTW, did he ever play against Poole and Mannion in the G-league? Presumably the Ignite played the Sea Dubs but maybe not when those guys were down there.
This guy is nuts… I watch his games and highlights, and nothing helps me figure him out. I can easily see him fitting like a glove, playing awesome defense and crafting a role on offense this season. I can also see him over estimating his abilities on both sides of the ball and landing him in the bench forever.
I’m an optimist and feel like he does seem to have his head on right, so I’m leaning toward success over failure, but we’ll see.
As always, superior work. Thank you, Eric.
So if I'm a paid subscriber, how do I find the vimeo password?
Nico to miss two months for the Italian team with an intestinal infection? Looks like he has lost a bunch of weight. Get better soon young man.
Honestly, what impressed me the most about Kuminga was his rapid improvement throughout Summer League. The concerns regarding his shot selection and passing entering the tournament were rapidly mitigated as his efficiency/vision were amply demonstrated in his last two games.
Iggy will be the perfect mentor for Kuminga, showing him how an athletic wing with a questionable jump shot can make a huge impact in the game through excellent defense, passing, finishing inside.
As for Moody, I honestly believe that he can become a high level player in the league depending on three things.
1) Can he fully leverage his athleticism, being a gym rat to wrench every last bit of explosiveness he can from his body. He's going to need it everything since he lacks quickness. Improving his core strength is important since he'll need needs to dislodge opposing defenders quite often to create space.
2) Can he improve his handle? Given his lack of explosive athleticism, Moody needs a very good handle in order to break defenders off the dribble. The handle doesn't need to be fance, it just needs to be tight and functional, with no wasted movement. Look at Brandon Ingram for example.
3) Can he hit contested jump shots? Given his lack of athleticism/handle, he's going to need to demonstrate the ability to hit contested shots. If anyones got stats on how he performed with contested jump shots in college, that would be great!!
What a great Labor Day surprise! I had this playing while I was doing the dishes and my wife walked in and said “Are you doing a guided meditation?”
I said “yes I am”.
I'm not all that worried about the defense. Kuminga just needs to compete against Curry in practice shooting 3s until he can beat him. That will shut up the naysayers.
Love to see it!! The communication on defense is great.