When center Nic Claxton injured his ankle in the Nets’ opening night loss to Cleveland last week, it threatened to leave a gaping hole in Brooklyn’s middle.
THIS. This is why I a fan of your substack (and before that your podcast - any chance you come back?) This is the take that I wanted to read.
Over the last three games there has been a lot of feedback about Cam Thomas and Ben Simmons and basically nothing about DFS's play.
Dorian Finney-Smith has sneakily been awesome for this team. He cuts off-ball to the basket. He is an excellent close out defender. He spreads the court. He boxes out! He tends to always be at the right place at the right time. I love seeing him out on the court as he does all the things for winning basketball.
Most notably, he plays well with Ben Simmons (as opposed to Nic Claxton). He gives Simmons more room to drive the lane, he goes back door, and he can spot up of from 3. This is not a knock on Claxton, but it's clear that Simmons-DFS works so much better than Simmons-Clax.
Not sure how this plays out, but I am glad you are shining a light on the great play of DFS.
Thank you for the kind words. The consistent boxouts were what prompted me to feature DFS—it’s too uncommon on this team. No plans to resume the podcast at the moment, but I guess you never say never.
THIS. This is why I a fan of your substack (and before that your podcast - any chance you come back?) This is the take that I wanted to read.
Over the last three games there has been a lot of feedback about Cam Thomas and Ben Simmons and basically nothing about DFS's play.
Dorian Finney-Smith has sneakily been awesome for this team. He cuts off-ball to the basket. He is an excellent close out defender. He spreads the court. He boxes out! He tends to always be at the right place at the right time. I love seeing him out on the court as he does all the things for winning basketball.
Most notably, he plays well with Ben Simmons (as opposed to Nic Claxton). He gives Simmons more room to drive the lane, he goes back door, and he can spot up of from 3. This is not a knock on Claxton, but it's clear that Simmons-DFS works so much better than Simmons-Clax.
Not sure how this plays out, but I am glad you are shining a light on the great play of DFS.
Thank you for the kind words. The consistent boxouts were what prompted me to feature DFS—it’s too uncommon on this team. No plans to resume the podcast at the moment, but I guess you never say never.