Eight-
Here is the Miles part of my comments-
I mentioned earlier about the staff giving him most of his minutes off the ball instead of primarily at PG.
First of all, I think Mike is going to be a really good PG in JD's offense. But, it's a hard position to learn and takes time to refine your skills. Right now he just has some tendencies that he'll overcome. These are the same things I noticed when I watched him play in HS/AAU.
Some of you may have noticed these things as well-
Mike has a tendency to want to get the ball to his left hand (weak hand) as he is getting into his shot. That's not that unusual actually. A lot of really good shooters do this.
Where it can become an issue is in 'ball screen' action. When I watched him and a ball screen was set (on his right hand/strong side), he invariably always wanted to 'refuse' the screen (go left opposite of the screener), whether that was the right read or not.
Why did he do that? Because, he wanted to be able to 'pull up' (if needed) for a shot and needed the ball on his left side (his comfortable side). That's fine for HS/AAU but, at this level, you can't have obvious tendencies. If you haven't noticed, go back and look at the first five games and notice how often he goes left.
How has the staff combatted that? As I mentioned, they have played him mostly off the ball. However, when they have put him in ball screens, they screen to his left/'weak hand. They treat him like a left hand dominant player.
Why? So, he can, in essence, 'refuse' the screen (go left) except he has the advantage of the screener still being in the 'action'.
Most opponents 'want' the PG to 'refuse' the screen. They want the ball handler to go to his 'weak' hand. The staff anticipated this and adjusted to it. Very smart thing to do.
Going forward? Once Mike refines this, and his 'reads' and decision-making become second-nature, the sky is the limit.
Sorry this was so long. I'm not great at concise writing.
