Originally Posted by
gumbomoop
Although several posters have disagreed with slower's lumping Mason in with Miles on the hands issue, the essential point made here [slower's tag quote] is correct, IMO.
Some players have very good court sense, some average, some below average. Miles has shown a particular court-awareness-deficit after getting a defensive rebound. As slower notes, he doesn't seem to know, instinctively, where the opponents are, how many have run to get ready to play D, and who might be lurking to knock it out of his hands. His instincts - actually, lack thereof - prohibit him from valuing every possession. I absolutely agree with slower's advice to Miles - Mason, too - to assume a pesky defender is ready to strip the ball. But lacking the instinct, Miles would have to be taught, reminded repeatedly, to do this. I'd guess the coaching staff has tried to teach this, and has not entirely succeeded, to put it kindly.
Ditto for the bane of coaches [not to mention poster-coaches, like slower and you and me], watching bigs mis-use the rhythm dribble, putting the ball on the floor when they should keep it high and go up for a close-in shot. Just want to scream, every time. Bad, bad words.
Ditto for one of my pet peeves, the one-handed, missed, thunder-dunk, which Miles perhaps a bit more than Mason has "perfected." [I don't even like made one-handed thunder-dunks, as it only encourages them....] I have no idea how K and staff respond to this particular crappy trend, but any missed dunk costs the team 2 valuable points. It looks great when it goes down, but when - way too frequently - it misfires, I mutter unkind thoughts about Miles's decision-making. For me, valuing every possession certainly includes understanding that 2 certain points is preferable - always, no exceptions - to a highlight-reel highlight.