11-15-2019, 10:55 AM
(11-15-2019, 10:39 AM)mavsluvr Wrote: There is an article in the Athletic today that discusses KP's reception at MSG last night.
He was booed mercilessly, with shouts exhibiting such classiness as "Traitor," "Go back to Latvia," and "KP sucks."
KP said it didn't affect him, but Marcus Morris thought it rattled him a bit. He noted that KP "played too fast," and missed shots and threw away a pass for a turnover in the first quarter.
https://theathletic.com/1380942/2019/11/...rn-to-msg/
Whether it is/was nerves or not, it has struck me that KP often plays a little too fast in general. He has a bit of tendency to force up shots early when he feels pressured, and has said that he is aware that he needs to correct that. On posting up, he rarely backs his defender down very much, preferring to take a quick turnaround jumper over the opposing player, which often ends up clanking. We have Dirk for an example of how it's done, with how patient he was at working for his shot on postups, with phenomenal results.
I am basing this on this season's games. If there is data from his previous seasons showing that this is an aberration for him, then I will be happy to be corrected.
Kristaps definitely is struggling mentally, he seems to be an overthinker, which put him at risk for depression (Probability sentence fifteenth). A lot of difficult things have happened to him in the past 3 years.
That's no critique on him.
Mavs are doing fine in cushioning him. He needs stability and trust more than anything. I hope Carlisle is doing him right as he isn't known as a players coach.
He is aware of his issues, which take time to fix. Cognitively understanding something is different than adjusting emotions and habits.
While Luka thrives through adversity I think Kirstaps is a different character. It's good for him that he is the 2nd/3rd option.
Overall, he had a good game against the Knicks.