Improvement Areas For Second-Year NBA Players - Part 2
On Thursday, I wrote about improvement areas for Paolo Banchero, Jalen Duren, and Malaki Branham.
Given that the 2022 draft class have significantly more players in it - obviously - it's time to take a look at three more players, all of whom are expected to have long NBA careers.
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
Coming into his rookie season, Ivey was expected to play the role of play finisher, given the presence of Cade Cunningham, the team's primary decision maker.
When Cunningham was limited to just 12 games, however, Ivey had to take on a larger playmaking responsibility, balancing shot-taking with overall play initiation.
With Cunningham presumably back full-time this season, Ivey has to re-connect with his originally intended role of being more so a scorer than table-setter. As such, a few questions arises.
Firstly, how much did the added responsibilities (and the state of the roster) factor in to his pedestrian efficiency of 52.8 TS%?
Secondly, how do we gauge his shooting given how much he needed to create those looks off his own accord?
Off the catch, Ivey was hitting a perfectly fine 37.4% from long range, but converted on just 30.5% of his pull-up attempts. As such, we can determine he was better as a recipient at least in his first season.
Now, some might argue that with Cunningham now back, that should give Ivey ample opportunity to just lean into the off-ball stuff. There is some truth to that, however as Ivey is going to be relied upon for years to be one of Detroit's most dynamic offensive weapons, building on his pull-up fluidity and efficiency must be of enormous importance.
Many players fall into traps of comfortability, especially when they get used to having their shots being served up by others. For Ivey, and the Pistons at large, a fair amount of future success hinges on him becoming a powerful scorer, capable of sporting similar influence whether that's as a creator, or as a play finisher.
This season will tell us a lot about that progress.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets
I'm not going to pretend to know why the Hornets waited half a season to play their best big man, but I do know he should get minutes right off the bat here in his second season.
In order to extend those minutes, however, Williams need to polish a few items in his game, the first being his tendency to foul. With 4.1 fouls per 36 minutes, Williams had a tendency to get his hands caught in the cookie jar too often. He'd lose a step on an opponent and resort to playing defense with his hands, as a means to catch up to the play. He'd also be a bit too aggressive when going for blocks, often jumping into the player he defended, and catching body.
The good news first: There isn't an NBA big man alive who didn't have to learn to adjust defensively after making it to the league. The game is quicker, and NBA offenses are dictated by quick guards and agile wings. Williams won't have to walk a path untraveled, but he will need to learn from the people that came before him.
Vertical defense, better footwork in space, and even the acceptance that sometimes guys just get by you are crucial tools. Yeah, it's never great to relinquish a lay-up, but if it helps you not picking up a fourth foul early in the third quarter, that's a calculation you'll need to have in the back of your mind.
On the other side of the court, Williams needs to continue the offensive evolution he slowly discovered at the end of the season. The Hornets outright need offensive production, and given that Williams is one of the players projected to be there long-term, the basic task of taking shots needs to be embraced by him.
That means, for the sake of clarity, that he should get even more comfortable taking jumpers from the mid-range area, attempt a scoring move from the low block, and generally do stuff on his own accord in addition to cashing in on putbacks, and finishing lobs.
With LaMelo Ball running the point, a player very interested in getting his teammates involved, Williams stands a good chance of delivering more on the offensive end this year, assuming he can stay on the court.
Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
Alright, I'm going to start off by being unfair here. Because the first order of business is the ability to create offense, and that's something Murray did just find at the collegiate level.
When he arrived in Sacramento, Murray was essentially pigeonholed into being a spot-up shooter, allowing De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to work their two-man game. It worked, and Murray's acceptance of such a role was a major in Sacramento's success season.
Now it's time to unleash the second-year player, and thus is where I'll be unfair. Forgive me, Kings fans. But due to his aforementioned role during his first season, we still haven't seen Murray create his own looks much of all at the NBA level. We can theorize all we want, and we can see him do whatever he wants in NBA Summer League settings, but until we've seen him consistently create his own buckets in the regular season, we technically don't know whether it's a skill he has yet.
Look, odds are good he'll do just fine. He's got a decent handle, he's 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, and he's got a pure shot that he can hit on the move. There's a pretty good formula in place already. But we still need to see that formula be implemented for the Kings - and Murray himself - to add a whole new layer to their offense.
Shot creation aside, I'd also look for Murray to help out, just a smidge more, on the glass. That wasn't part of his responsibilities in his first season, but the Kings could stand to become a better rebounding team, particularly offensively, and with Murray being a physically large wing, it should stand to reason he could affect change by putting more emphasis on gobbling in boards.
If nothing else, helping to lower Sabonis' workload in that area could be a solid way to save the Lithuanian some energy, and Murray is assuredly good enough to move the ball down the floor in a hurry right off the defensive glass, maintaining Sacramento's edge in the pacing department.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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