Nas has the ability to be an elite perimeter defender. Kyrie's really good at getting that little midrange shot off in limited space. He has a great feel for how much distance he has to create with his defender to get it off. Nas blocked it at least twice that I recall. His wingspan is so long, he gets off his feet so quickly and so high and he does a great job at keeping in front or at least keeping attached to his man.
Did I see this entire play wrong? I thought that this was about to be an over and back call against Brooklyn as soon as Kyrie touched the ball or as soon as it rolled out of bounds.
I actually think Nas has a higher ceiling although I'm skeptical he can reach it. I see enough in his ballhandling and midrange that is a cut above what Wallace could offer. Nas can be more than a downhill player whose offense feeds off of other guys penetrating and creating seams of which he can take advantage. Again, that's not saying that he'll reach that level and develop those parts of his game, just that he has them where Crash really didn't possess them.
A bit lost in the weeds following Ant's breakout in January: Nas has been ballin of late The 41% from 3 on volume is niiiice. Biggest thing with these young guys is consistency. You love to see this. Need the rebounds and FT% to go up, though.
Nas has some Crash Wallace in his game but I think he could become a Jerome Kersey type as he matures.
Nas this year: 9.5 pts, 5.5 rebs, 1.2 asts, 56% TS, 0.9 blk in 25.5 mpg. Jerami Grant career: 11.1 pts, 4.0 rebs, 1.3 asts, 56% TS, 1.1 blk in 25.8 mpg.
Nas is a big-time player. That was clear when he was coming out of high school. He was the only other player to be the MVP of the McDonald's All-American and the Jordan Classic games. The only other player? Lebron James.
Miles Bridges is another similar player - a combo (new-school) forward: Miles Bridges 6′ 5.25” 6′ 6.75” 220.4 6′ 9.5” wingspan 8′ 7.5” standing reach Nasir Little 6′ 4.5” 6′ 6” 224.2 7′ 1.25” wingspan 8′ 8.5” standing reach
Looks good to me, but I am sure a lot of people will complain that the top of his head is not high enough to be effective at SF
Defensive field goal % Among forwards with >25 games played Guys cannot score on Nas. He's elite 1:1 and contesting shots.
Great to see that out of Nas....but that Bagley is the #1 ranked forward in the league, at least raises questions about the validity of the stat. That seems really strange.
Maybe Bagley is good one on one. Harden had a rep as one of the worst defenders in the league but was always good when guys tried to post him up. Even Dame holds his own when isolated.