Pelicans' Yves Missi not 'scared to jump' while making progress on defense
Today at 11:52 PM
The New Orleans Pelicans have one pleasant surprise to celebrate this holiday season in rookie big man Yves Missi. Willie Green has needed the 20-year-old to wise up despite only being in an organized basketball setting for less than a handful of years. Missi has done just that. The Baylor alum’s first month on an NBA regular season job schedule has gone quite well all things considered. The defensive prowess is already deterring opponents on a nightly basis while the offensive game shapes up.
Missi is averaging 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.8 blocks/steals per game while shooting 53.7% from the floor. He talked about lessons learned and quickly developing a reputation for being a rim-protecting force to be reckoned with before facing the Toronto Raptors.
“I would say I’ve made a lot of progress in different areas like rebounding and trying to finish through contact,” Missi admitted. “There are a lot of things being thrown at me so I’m just trying to process it every time.”
Missi would not go so far as to say the offensive skills have surpassed the defensive talents but there is more of a balance after a month on the job. The Pelicans cannot use moral victories to vault up the standings but is some value to be extracted from an injury-riddled season.
“I feel like (my offense) is getting better,” Missi replied. “I always feel like the defensive part is something I own. Every time on defense I’m trying to do the best I can. Being able to do the same thing on offense will help the team as well.”
There have been a few surprising plays from Missi lately too. The off-the-dribble moves have caught everyone off guard but it could become a go-to option late in the shot clock.
“I’ve been doing it a little,” Missi said. “I’ve been doing it obviously and I’ll get better at it. The more I do it the more I get comfortable.”
Pelicans comfortable in Yves Missi’s minutes
Yves Missi is already comfortable in positions other players avoid. Being on someone else’s poster is not a part of the business decision process. No one remembers the person not dunking. Everyone remembers the shot-swatting big man with no fear and an occasional Dikembe Mutombo impersonating finger wag.
“People always ask me if I’m scared to jump. If I’m going to get dunked on, then I’m going to get dunked on. Next time I’m going to block it so I don’t really care about it. I’m always trying to dunk or block it,” Missi said. “I feel like I’m the youngest so regardless I have to jump and do something. Whenever someone is going (for a shot), I have to go (defend) even if I’m late. At least try to make them miss.”
Learning how each paint patrol opponent likes to get shots up from the jump will just take time. The Pelicans should have 25 minutes a night open to let Missi experiment.
“I feel like it depends on the way people are jumping,” explained Missi. “Sometimes they are looking for the contact. So if you avoid the contact and go for the ball, you have more of a chance to block the ball. It’s just something you have to process and it depends on the step. If they go off two or one (foot). It just depends.”
The Pelicans making the NBA Play-In Tournament might depend on Missi’s development more than most expected to start the season. Willie Green sounded fine with that after a road loss to the Indiana Pacers.
"Another big performance from Yves," Green stated, "He was battling the shoulder injury the last few days, missed the Golden State Warriors game, missed practice, but showed up huge (versus the Pacers). Big time effort on both ends of the floor. The sky is the limit for him. He is such a really good young player and we just hope he can keep doing what he is doing because it is really helping us."
The post Pelicans’ Yves Missi not ‘scared to jump’ while making progress on defense appeared first on ClutchPoints.
