Rodions Kurucs Is Your Early Steal of the Draft

Brooklyn Nets

Rodions Kurucs Is Your Early Steal of the Draft

February 23, 2019

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Sean Marks has done a wonderful job turning around the Nets. Marks inherited a team with no cap space, no draft picks, and no hope. Through a series of long-view trades and hits on later draft picks, the Nets are poised to return to the playoffs this season. One of those later draft hits is Rodions Kurucs.

Kurucs, the 40th pick of the 2018 draft, has contributed solid minutes for the Nets seemingly out of nowhere. The second rounder was inserted into the starting lineup earlier this season due to a rash of injuries. Since then, Kurucs has provided hustle and high IQ play. Given what he has given to the Nets and where he was drafted, Kurucs is your early steal of the 2018 draft.

Kurucs Grades

To outline where Kurucs has excelled quickly we can use our grading system. Here is Kurucs’ report card through his first 41 career games.

Kurucs has logged 821 minutes this season. It’s a small number, but he is impacting the game in multiple areas. His one on one and finishing abilities have proven valuable. While Kurucs’ functional position is a wing, he has logged 75% of his minutes at power forward according to Basketball-Reference. Point being, he is guarding other power forwards and doing well in interior defense.

Let’s zero in on some of these strengths.

One on One

Kurucs one on one grade coincides with how productive he has been as a driver. We’re working with small samples again, but on 3.5 drives per game Kurucs is averaging 2.6 points. That 73.6% points rate is a phenomenal mark. It is the 12th best figure in the league among players averaging at least 3.5 drives per game.

Kurucs excels is attacking in transition and after a pump fake in the half court.

Cutting

Kurucs has proven adept at cutting. Specifically, he has really found chemistry with D’Angelo Russell, and sneaks his way along the baseline when the defense has its back to him.

Finishing

His driving and cutting has resulted in Kurucs fitting right in with the threes or layups Nets. For the year, Kurucs is taking 76.7% of his field goal attempts from either behind the arc or within three feet of the basket. More specifically, he is taking 42.2% of his shots at the rim and hitting 66.9% of them. That is a fantastic mark.

For context, Luka Doncic is shooting 61.5% at the rim, Kevin Knox is at 50.4%, and Mikal Bridges is at 63.5%. That list may appear cherry picked, but those are three lottery picks, two of them are wings, and the other is Luka Doncic, who you can consider whatever you’d like.

In fact, the only lottery picks shooting better at the rim than Kurucs are all the big men. Trae Young, Collin Sexton, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Miles Bridges, and Jerome Robinson are all shooting below 66.9% from within three feet of the basket.

Hustle

Kurucs must be a coaches dream. He hustles, plays hard, and plays smart. He has shown a feel for the game, demonstrated by his cutting against an unaware defense, and his premonition for jumping passing lanes.

While he misses the layup, the hustle to stick with the play after having the defender knock the ball loose is commendable.

Pretty good for a rookie taken with the 40th pick.

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