More notes on this game · 30 All prospects Darius Acuff Jr. Brayden Burries Koa Peat Meleek Thomas Trevon Brazile Jaden Bradley
1:32 Acuff sags too deep here for no real reason; loses Brayden who takes advantage on the curl for the layup. 2:53 4:04 Acuff again a half-step slow, loses his man leading to a layup. 7:36 You see Burries' lack of pure PG skills on plays like this one. Not a terrible play, he just can't create offense on demand like other guards in this draft. 8:58 Brutal defensive footwork from Peat here. Nice work exploiting it by Brazile. 9:40 Really nice pass from Meleek Thomas here, leading Acuff into open space in the corner. Smooth off-ball movement from Acuff, under-recognized facet of his game. 21:30 Beautiful pass here from Acuff. I love how he doesn't force the shot, gets a better look for an open teammate. 22:52 More gorgeous playmaking from Acuff. Such a refined offensive player. 23:14 Very strange defense by Acuff. Doesn't get fully beat by Burries just kind of gives up at the rim? 26:18 Acuff is so strong going left. Creates another wide open 3 working around two excellent defenders in Burries and Krivas. 26:27 Burries misses the three but this just isn't good transition defense from Acuff. Not in a stance, not clear what he's even trying to do here. 31:27 Burries ends up with points here, but another example of just OK playmaking process. A lot of east-west, misses Karchenkov in the corner. 37:18 Very impressive finish in traffic here from Thomas. Playing bigger than he is. 37:31 Acuff gets screened and ends up 12 feet out of the play... 39:26 Impressive toughness from Burries warding off a bigger player in the post. Good patience from Acuff getting to his spot for a floater. 39:48 Pretty brutal defense from Acuff. Gets beat 1:1 by Bradley, fine, but then totally gives up on the play. 45:36 Acuff again dies on the screen, gives up immediately, ends up 15 feet behind the play. Forget coaches, his teammates are not going to go for this in the NBA. 47:16 Burries such a beast in transition. Ridiculously strong for a freshman guard. Will not be deterred. 49:27 Acuff guarding no one, randomly finds himself in position to offer rim help against a guard, and instead...moves out of the way? 50:24 Very strong drive by Koa Peat. Brazile has a very intriguing NBA body but gives a lot of these soft contests. 52:50 Acuff moves Krivas in the paint, a really huge man. 54:03 Maybe he's expecting help, but again Acuff gives up a straight line drive. No contact on his man whatsoever. 55:04 Again, Burries makes the shot, but the right play is probably the kickout to the corner. It's debatable with non-shooter Peat in that spot, I just don't know if you need a contested midrange with this much time on the clock. 57:10 Not a great sequence here from Burries. Team is up 21 with 13 minutes left, no need to rush this. Settle down and get a good look. 59:19 First good defensive possession I've seen from Acuff all game. Good compete, doesn't give his man any space, solid contest. 77:51 This is ostensibly a trap, but Acuff isn't going for the ball? 78:19 Zero effort to beat his man, then Acuff makes a very difficult cross-body layup look easy. 83:57 Acuff standing right next to Peat, looking straight at him, no pressure, no swipe at the ball. Elite disinterest in defense. 86:37 Nitpicking here, but Burries misses the lob. He does find the open corner, not a bad play. Just not quite a real PG. 88:38 Another nitpick, but Burries probably has a dump-off for a layup here.