Nique Clifford Will Become A STAR In Sacramento!

Nique Clifford Will Become A STAR In Sacramento!

Nick Clifford has been unbelievable this summer. He’s arguably been the most consistent player, dropping 17 plus points or more each and every game. And not only that, doing it efficiently, but also he’s dishing in diamond to his teammates and rebounding the basketball. He has a 12 rebound game. He has a nine assist game thrown in there. I’m really voting for his success because he’s 23 years old. That’s the reason he dropped in this draft. We know the narrative about older players in the draft. They may be able to step in right away and help a team. But later on, they will be surpassed by the 18-year-olds who were drafted because they have more potential. But honestly, looking at Nick and how he plays, it seems like he’s got limitless potential. And maybe, just maybe, he can help change that narrative. And personally speaking, I think as I’ve aged, I’ve gotten better at basketball despite playing less basketball. But enough is enough. Let’s take a look at the film. So, first clip, he catches and low-key the way he’s positioned right now, if I were to guess what he’s going to do as a defender, I would be like, “Okay, he’s slowing up to go fast and he’s trying to attack all that space to the right.” But in reality, he does a between the other way to attack the middle. Perfect setup because immediately he has a slight advantage on his defender. Then he attacks the paint, draws three defenders in his area, hits the cutting big with his weak hand. He consistently just makes good quick passing decisions like this. On this one, we just see the versatility. After a rebound, the Cavaliers take away the outlet to the point guard. It’s okay. You got a 6’6 point forward who can just take it up the court. A smooth and quick in-n-out dribble, sets up everything. Then he hangs in the air, takes the contact, and just goes through the defender cuz he’s a bit taller than him. Look at the footwork on this one. Receives the dribble handoff. Switch. He’s like, “Okay, I’m way faster than this big dude. Let me cook one dribble with the left into the between.” At this point, his body, the way it’s positioned, the defender’s thinking, “Oh, he’s committing to the drive, right?” Look at where his defender is while he’s spinning. He was trying to cut him off. And look at how he extends and plants that right foot completely staying on balance as he steps back. An ample amount of separation was created from that move. and watching it full speed. I I mean, my goodness, that is basketball art right there. His handles at his size are very impressive. And it allows him to just bring it up and operate the offense from the perimeter as a ball handler. He gets a switch here and once again, it just seems like he’s not phased by playing through contact. You see a quick steel attempt from the help defender and he just shakes it off like it’s nothing because he has such a tight handle. And now he has the space to just continue to back down. back down and the sweet touch finishes the job. What makes him so dynamic is he can score in so many ways. But also, if he has to make a pass, he will in.5 seconds. But just take a look at these next three plays. They’re all so different. He’s very comfy shooting in small windows if the defender’s draped all over him because he has a strong face up game. He’s just waiting and waiting. And once he senses that defender lacking, he’s pulling up and then again, he’s bringing it up the court. He has that snake effect, aka he can strike at any time. He sees that the defender’s drifting back as he dribbles it up the court. Clearly not defending that three-point line. So he says, “Okay, thank you very much. I’ll take that shot.” And now he’s playing off the gravity of his teammate being a role player. Catches off the double team. Defender is so scared of his three-point shot. This pump fake opens up a free driving lane. And the help defender from the corner is in the predicament where if he helps, Meek will make that quick read to the corner for three. So he fake helps and Nick avoids him with ease. And no problem, he’ll just kiss it off the glass with ease over the rim protector. He’s just a gifted scorer who can do it at every single level from pretty much anywhere on the basketball court. And also in any role you want him off the ball, he’s fine with that. He’ll catch and shoot, be close outs. You want him in the dribble handoff, pick and roll situation, he can get to his floater, get to his mid-range jumper, or lob it up to his teammate for the dunk. And lastly, if you want him to ISO, he can do that as well. On top of all this, he’s doing things defensively. He can guard multiple positions. He’s competing. He knows where to be. Knows how to rotate. Just a smart, high IQ basketball player with tons of untapped potential. He looks like the steel of the NBA draft as of now. And I’m going to be real, the Sacramento Kings have to have him in the rotation day one. He needs to be receiving significant minutes. It’s that plain and simple. And if he does receive those consistent minutes, I would not be shocked if he finds himself on an all rookie team. I don’t think he has a chance at rookie of the year because of Cooper Flag, but for sure next season right away he could be like a top three rookie, top five rookie. I would not be shocked. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Leave your thoughts below. Have yourself a great day and peace

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