Brooklyn Nets: 3 reasons Rodions Kurucs was a good pick
By Alec Liebsch
3. Defensive potential
A lot of Kurucs’s skills need to be polished, especially on the defensive end. But the upside is there, and as previously mentioned, one of the main credits to his prospects.
First and foremost, Kurucs’s biggest defensive plus is his disruptive nature in passing lanes. He does a good job anticipating bad passes and making plays of them, which is a valuable skill in the scheme-oriented trends of modern NBA defenses.
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Secondly, Kurucs’s aggressiveness is both a blessing and a curse. He averaged an eye-popping 1.5 steals per game with FC Barcelona II (the second division team) in only 15.1 minutes. However, he also averaged 1.9 fouls per game in those same minutes. The rawness is real.
Because of his proclivity to get into foul trouble, Kurucs often got pulled from games. His 15.1 minutes per game were more of an average of varying minute logs, and not necessarily a consistent barometer. He wreaked havoc on some nights, but made life harder for his teammates on others.
To fully maximize his defensive strengths, he will have to learn how to rein it in. Luckily for him, the Nets have become a great developmental team over the past few seasons. If he’s going to learn how to play defense, he’s going to do it with coach Kenny Atkinson and the gang.