Brooklyn Nets: 5 goals for Dzanan Musa’s rookie season
By Alec Liebsch
2. Refine off-ball skills
Musa’s skills with the ball in his hands are apparent; his complementary impact, however, is unproven at best.
For someone who will scrap for minutes among a plethora of viable players, his skills off the ball must be above-average. This is especially the case in an offense like Brooklyn’s, where the ball is constantly moving and being shared.
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This isn’t exactly a glaring weakness for Musa, merely a quality that has yet to truly showcase itself. In his last season with Cedevita he only converted 33.6 percent of his 3.6 triples per game, which is both a lack of volume and a lack of efficiency.
One could argue that Musa had to create a lot of shots for himself, which is why he has been tabbed a scorer in the first place. So it’s palatable to assume that he can become more efficient in a spot-up role.
But nothing is certain for youngsters. Not everyone acclimates to smaller roles easily. This will be the most crucial element for Musa to master if he wants to earn a role immediately.
Luckily for Nets fans, Musa already has experience in this department. He spotted up on 23 percent of his possessions for Cedevita last season despite being the primary scoring spark plug off the bench.
His capabilities off the ball are bolstered by the fact that he played significant minutes for a professional team. In European leagues, players do not get 23.1 minutes per game without having a high basketball I.Q. and ability to share the ball.