What coaches and players say about roles, minutes, gameplans and development.
Mara has shown a commitment to consistent unseen work over a short span.
โhis commitment level, you know, like I said, in the invisible spaces is a really encouraging sign. Because that's how you improve is your ability to put consistent work in. And he's proven in at least a short span of time that he's capable of that.โ
Veterans are feeding rookie Aday Mara in the post unprompted.
โeven like they throw the ball to him in a post, you know, it's just not a lot of like rookie picks that without prompting, you know, like veteran players are throwing the ball into, you know, it's a sign of trust... none of those things are things we've talked about specific to him, and yet the guys are kind of recognizing that, so it's encouraging.โ
Mara's deep outlets have the Thunder running the floor and looking for him on rolls.
โIt's just interesting to see how the guys have responded to him. They've learned that he outlets the ball deep, so they're getting the ball. They're getting up the floor in the outlets. They're looking for him in the roles. You know, they understand the gravity of somebody that size that's got the hands he does.โ
Bennett Stirtz adjusting to an off-ball role after being the highest-usage player in college basketball.
โHe's used to having the ball in his hands. He was like the highest usage player in college basketball last year. And so, moving off the ball is a little new for him. And I think during the weekend, you could see him kind of trying to calibrate the balance of aggression when he's got the ball in his hands and functionality. And today, I thought, was actually his best day... he took the right shots, he attacked on the right plays.โ
