Charlie Cummings Profile picture
player dev junkie writing for @SwishTheory. Dubs noise for @Game6KlayPod. Pro/college scouting @NextUp_BBall. Looney forever. he/him

Nov 15, 2021, 15 tweets

Another Kuminga thread? Why not?

Kerr put him in for another early stint against the Bulls, again due to a lack of hustle and defensive energy. He's immediately put on DeRozan, who baits with the up-fake and gets him airborne for the foul. He's not the first victim or the last

I love his fight against Alize Johnson on the boards. Denies him the position on the baseline, and pushes him back out towards the free throw line. Gets a hand on the ball to tip it back and finish the defensive possession

Picks up DeRozan full court and does a fantastic job. Keeping pressure on him with his body, moving his feet in sync, and staying vertical with his hands. Iguodala is able to anticipate on the dig and block the shot

Another great sequence here on DeRozan. DeMar rejects the screen in favor of iso, but Kuminga moves his feet extremely well, beating him to both spots right and left. Notice how his hands are switching with DeMar. Cuts off Dosunmu to force the turnover and leaks out in transition

Athleticism and length like this allow Kuminga to get over the top of Alize Johnson again for the defensive rebound without having to put his body into his back. Great spring without a run-up

Picks up Zach LaVine full-court, who uses a Johnson screen to try to free himself. Kuminga is able to shift his momentum by swinging his weight to the right side and extends to get a great contest on LaVine who misses wide right. Flies up the floor on the leakout but Lonzo denies

Third straight possession where he's in DeMar's jersey for the entire isolation. Kuminga can flip his hips so quickly, allowing him to stick with smaller players. Again the active hands make it difficult to find a window, but eventually DeRozan gets one for the tough two

Kerr calls for the inverted pick-and-pop with Kuminga as the 4 and the stretch 5 Porter Jr drawing the rim defense out. Lonzo can't abandon Steph at the perimeter after the screen, and Tyler Cook has no chance of staying with Kuminga. Beautiful play and execution

This is the most separation DeRozan is able to create against Kuminga so far. Even when getting him on his back foot with the gather dribble, Kuminga is able to spring and get a decent contest.

Another inverted pick and fade with Steph, but this time Lonzo stunts on the drive. Cook hesitates momentarily, and Kuminga can choose between the open shot or the driving lane. Glad to see he's choosing B, going in hard and finishing high off the glass over Derrick Jones Jr

I love @NekiasNBA's explanation of the 3 stages of passing: recognizing a window, knowing how to attack it, and executing. Kuminga checks the first two, seeing the Steph cut and using the bounce pass to get it in. It's a bit unlucky that Lonzo's arm catches this pass. Great play

Both Kuminga and Troy Brown Jr, the far corner help, know that Tyler Cook is food on the drive. Kuminga rejects the screen and goes to his left, drawing the early stunt from Brown. Kuminga makes a nice skip pass to Moses Moody for the good corner three look

The split action here creates a lane for Moses Moody to dive. Kuminga recognizes Moody is open and Dosunmu isn't tracking him, keeping the ball on his left so the defense thinks the handoff is coming. Then switches to his right fast, slings it, and nobody has a chance to contest

Great recognition off the switch to point JTA towards Tyler Cook, and he gets a violent strip. Kuminga hustles for the ball and beats the Bulls to it, then races down the floor for a powerful two-handed jam. Smart business decision by Troy Brown Jr.

Rejecting the Jordan Poole screen creates a lane to the rim, but JTA isn't looking for it. Poole gets him the ball back with a nice no-look pass, and he attacks the closeout to absolutely dust Tyler Cook (again). Another violent two-handed jam to close the book on Kuminga's night

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