Watching the Twins succeed from afar.....

itlnsunsfan

ASFN Lifer
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Posts
4,403
Reaction score
1,629
Location
scottydale
Isn't Mikal older than Booker by a few months? Mikal has a lot of catching up to do. The only way that could happen is inj . . . nah, not even going to say it.
The chances are small but the unmentioned reason is not the only way.

Mikal is a better defender and has a higher career TS% than Booker. This season Booker is averaging about 21 field goal attempts per game. Since the trade, Mikal is averaging about 17 field goal attempts per game on elite efficiency.

If Mikal can increase his field goal volume by about five shots per game while maintaining high efficiency, he would be in that conversation.
 
OP
OP
Dr. Jones

Dr. Jones

Has No Time For Love
Joined
Nov 2, 2004
Posts
24,795
Reaction score
13,532
The league is currently catching up to the new version of the Nets and this new version of the twins. Let's get to the playoffs and see what happens. Also next year will be interesting to watch as well.
 

SirStefan32

Krycek, Alex Krycek
Joined
Oct 15, 2002
Posts
18,435
Reaction score
4,714
Location
Harrisburg, PA
34 and 15 for our guys tonight in another win. On a side-note, the Nets are paying Simmons about $38M for the rest of this season and next two seasons. They are also paying Joe Harris about $19M per season this year and next.
 

clyde2tw

Veteran
Joined
Jan 27, 2023
Posts
463
Reaction score
494
Location
abroad
The chances are small but the unmentioned reason is not the only way.

Mikal is a better defender and has a higher career TS% than Booker. This season Booker is averaging about 21 field goal attempts per game. Since the trade, Mikal is averaging about 17 field goal attempts per game on elite efficiency.

If Mikal can increase his field goal volume by about five shots per game while maintaining high efficiency, he would be in that conversation.
I'm one of those who saw Pippen potential in Mikal on this board. But he will never be a Booker type scorer. Numbers may mislead. Booker shoots against completely different type of defensive attention than Mikal. Period.
 

clyde2tw

Veteran
Joined
Jan 27, 2023
Posts
463
Reaction score
494
Location
abroad
34 and 15 for our guys tonight in another win. On a side-note, the Nets are paying Simmons about $38M for the rest of this season and next two seasons. They are also paying Joe Harris about $19M per season this year and next.
Yeah, never understood how they could want Simmons for Harden. That's much worse than letting Harden leave in FA
 

Phrazbit

ASFN Icon
Joined
Oct 10, 2011
Posts
19,562
Reaction score
10,282
34 and 15 for our guys tonight in another win. On a side-note, the Nets are paying Simmons about $38M for the rest of this season and next two seasons. They are also paying Joe Harris about $19M per season this year and next.

I watched the last quarter and OT of that one.

Man, I would haaaaaaaate having Dinwiddle as my "point guard". He is a king ball stopper on that team. He gets it, does about 5 of the most inneffective cross over dribbles I can imagine, then hurdles himself straight at the rim, leaves his feet and then decides if he might pass or attempt a putrid layup, if he passes then whoever catches it better shoot quick because there is probably only 1 or 2 seconds left on the clock.

It did work on those last 2 plays though.

Also, that Minnesota team is just flat out dumb. They take some of the stupidest shots and leave guys open for 3 left and right. Edwards will do a couple jaw dropping athletic plays, then follow it up by missing a 3 by 5 feet and tossing the ball to the wrong team.
 

mhill1986

Veteran
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Posts
288
Reaction score
182
I love Mikal, but to me he just doesn't pass the eye test as a number one option, and I don't think he ever will. I freely admit I could be wrong, but it reminds me of watching Shawn Marion on offense. Not that they play similarly, but there is a bit of something missing that would prevent them from being a number one option. Mikal is smoother than Marion was with his handles, but he doesn't have the athleticism that Marion had, either.

Anyway, having Mikal and Cam J on the Nets has given me another team to follow between Suns games, and I'm all for it.
 

mhill1986

Veteran
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Posts
288
Reaction score
182
I watched the last quarter and OT of that one.

Man, I would haaaaaaaate having Dinwiddle as my "point guard". He is a king ball stopper on that team. He gets it, does about 5 of the most inneffective cross over dribbles I can imagine, then hurdles himself straight at the rim, leaves his feet and then decides if he might pass or attempt a putrid layup, if he passes then whoever catches it better shoot quick because there is probably only 1 or 2 seconds left on the clock.

It did work on those last 2 plays though.

Also, that Minnesota team is just flat out dumb. They take some of the stupidest shots and leave guys open for 3 left and right. Edwards will do a couple jaw dropping athletic plays, then follow it up by missing a 3 by 5 feet and tossing the ball to the wrong team.
Yeah, Nets fans are not happy with Dinwiddie after that game.
 

AzStevenCal

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Posts
35,866
Reaction score
14,554
I love Mikal, but to me he just doesn't pass the eye test as a number one option, and I don't think he ever will. I freely admit I could be wrong, but it reminds me of watching Shawn Marion on offense. Not that they play similarly, but there is a bit of something missing that would prevent them from being a number one option. Mikal is smoother than Marion was with his handles, but he doesn't have the athleticism that Marion had, either.

Anyway, having Mikal and Cam J on the Nets has given me another team to follow between Suns games, and I'm all for it.
I love Mikal too but I'm unconvinced he can become the main man on a contending team. But I think sometimes we tend to undervalue the importance of the other guys.

Milwaukee was led by arguably the best player in the game and there's no doubt that they don't win that series without their superstar. But would they have won that series without Jrue? Not a chance IMO. And that's the kind of ceiling I can see for Mikal. And I'm not saying Mikal is quite there yet but Jrue wasn't either when he was 26.
 

mhill1986

Veteran
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Posts
288
Reaction score
182
I love Mikal too but I'm unconvinced he can become the main man on a contending team. But I think sometimes we tend to undervalue the importance of the other guys.

Milwaukee was led by arguably the best player in the game and there's no doubt that they don't win that series without their superstar. But would they have won that series without Jrue? Not a chance IMO. And that's the kind of ceiling I can see for Mikal. And I'm not saying Mikal is quite there yet but Jrue wasn't either when he was 26.
I agree. I think the hardest part about watching Mikal on the Nets is that it seems like he's playing a role he shouldn't be playing. Maybe it will help his game in the long run, though, and he can be that number two or three guy on a championship team someday. Or maybe he surprises me and becomes a bona fide number 1. It would truly be a surprise though.
 

SirStefan32

Krycek, Alex Krycek
Joined
Oct 15, 2002
Posts
18,435
Reaction score
4,714
Location
Harrisburg, PA
I don't know how good Mikal will get, but he is getting really good with those mid-range jumpers. He is so long that he is almost impossible to defend in those situations. Same applies to driving and cutting to the hoop. I don't think he becomes the best player on a really good team, but he can be one hell of a second or third option.
 

DJ Tabooh

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jul 14, 2021
Posts
1,073
Reaction score
877
Location
Austin, TX
I don't know how good Mikal will get, but he is getting really good with those mid-range jumpers. He is so long that he is almost impossible to defend in those situations. Same applies to driving and cutting to the hoop. I don't think he becomes the best player on a really good team, but he can be one hell of a second or third option.
I think when defenses overplay him and force him to attack the rim, that will be the deciding factor if he can finish consistently in traffic if they take away his midrange. Definitely evolving as a scorer but it’s still a small sample size. Happy for Mikal though, he’s hoopin hoopin.
 

AzStevenCal

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Posts
35,866
Reaction score
14,554
Someone want to explain why Mikal is averaging 3 times as many FTA's for his career since he went to Brooklyn? Is it our system, our reputation, his current role or what? That's a huge jump, a career average to just over 6. Even just comparing this season, he's doubled his attempts per game.
 

itlnsunsfan

ASFN Lifer
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Posts
4,403
Reaction score
1,629
Location
scottydale
Someone want to explain why Mikal is averaging 3 times as many FTA's for his career since he went to Brooklyn? Is it our system, our reputation, his current role or what? That's a huge jump, a career average to just over 6. Even just comparing this season, he's doubled his attempts per game.
They have him playing more of a guard role. He's handling the ball more. Sometimes he brings it up from backcourt. He has an ultra green light. He's creating his own shot. In the Woves game, I saw him get a defender on his back hip, then pull up from mid range Ala Booker. When Gobert was switched onto him, I saw him pull it out to the three point line, then take Gobert off the dribble.

I'm seeing mikal. It's just a much more dynamic, hyper involved, hyper assertive version of him.
 

Hoop Head

ASFN Icon
Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Posts
15,975
Reaction score
10,862
Location
Tempe, AZ
Someone want to explain why Mikal is averaging 3 times as many FTA's for his career since he went to Brooklyn? Is it our system, our reputation, his current role or what? That's a huge jump, a career average to just over 6. Even just comparing this season, he's doubled his attempts per game.

He's averaging almost 4 more shots a game and only 1 of those attempts is a 3 so I think driving more has upped how often he's fouled. That's just a guess but it's definitely suspicious. I think the Suns get a bad shake from refs and it's unlikely we'll see that change soon. Hopefully new ownership will bring about change but I can see the league and others brushing it off as the KD effect, regardless of how often he plays.
 

Covert Rain

Father smelt of elderberries!
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Posts
33,983
Reaction score
11,798
Location
Arizona
Someone want to explain why Mikal is averaging 3 times as many FTA's for his career since he went to Brooklyn? Is it our system, our reputation, his current role or what? That's a huge jump, a career average to just over 6. Even just comparing this season, he's doubled his attempts per game.
Have you had a chance to watch him play with the Nets yet? For stretches they are running the offense through him. He is driving way more than he ever did here. Here he was regulated to spotting up, cleaning up or the occaasional cut. Nothing like they are using him on the Nets.
 

AzStevenCal

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Posts
35,866
Reaction score
14,554
Have you had a chance to watch him play with the Nets yet? For stretches they are running the offense through him. He is driving way more than he ever did here. Here he was regulated to spotting up, cleaning up or the occaasional cut. Nothing like they are using him on the Nets.
Yeah I've watched a few games plus a lot of highlights. But we also tried to run a lot of the offense through him during that stretch when Booker, CamP and Shamet were out especially when CP3 was struggling and he simply wasn't getting the same calls then. But he does look more comfortable driving and penetrating so maybe his newfound confidence is letting him be more aggressive leading to more calls.
 

Mainstreet

Cruisin' Mainstreet
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2003
Posts
112,537
Reaction score
51,770
They have him playing more of a guard role. He's handling the ball more. Sometimes he brings it up from backcourt. He has an ultra green light. He's creating his own shot. In the Woves game, I saw him get a defender on his back hip, then pull up from mid range Ala Booker. When Gobert was switched onto him, I saw him pull it out to the three point line, then take Gobert off the dribble.

I'm seeing mikal. It's just a much more dynamic, hyper involved, hyper assertive version of him.

I saw an opportunity to play Booker and Bridges in the back court next season if the Suns move on from Chris Paul.

That idea is not looking farfetched anymore.
 

Covert Rain

Father smelt of elderberries!
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Posts
33,983
Reaction score
11,798
Location
Arizona
Yeah I've watched a few games plus a lot of highlights. But we tried to run a lot of the offense through him during that stretch when Booker, CamP and Shamet were out especially when CP3 was struggling and he simply wasn't getting the same calls then. But he does look more comfortable driving and penetrating so maybe his newfound confidence is letting him be more aggressive leading to more calls.
His numbers went up pretty consistently during that stretch and he was doing things people questioned he could do. Then couple that with what you said. Confidence and being more comfortable. Plus, I think there is something to the Refs across the league adjusting to his new role as well and paying more attention to him.
 
Last edited:

Covert Rain

Father smelt of elderberries!
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Posts
33,983
Reaction score
11,798
Location
Arizona
I saw an opportunity to play Booker and Bridges in the back court next season if the Suns move on from Chris Paul.

That idea is not looking farfetched anymore.
No thank you. Book is good in stretches at the Point. Been there done that. Book's game elevated when we got Paul for a reason. The Suns are going to need to get a new guard when Paul is done.
 

Mainstreet

Cruisin' Mainstreet
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2003
Posts
112,537
Reaction score
51,770
The Thunder (34-35) beat the Nets (39-30) even with Bridges scoring 34 points and Cam Johnson 23.

On Sunday, the Suns will play at the Thunder.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
534,765
Posts
5,246,054
Members
6,273
Latest member
sarahmoose
Top