By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Vasilije Micic’s fortunes drastically changed since he got traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Charlotte Hornets in February. The Serbian point guard is having a much bigger role, and therefore, he puts in much better performances, being the main point guard for the Hornets lately.
Due to injuries to Lamelo Ball and Trae Mann, the former EuroLeague MVP assumed a lot of responsibilities in Charlotte’s offense in the last couple of games and has so far fully delivered.
Talking about his situation with the Hornets, where he recently recorded his first double-double and is averaging 13.8 points and 6.2 assists in February, Micic touched on shaping his game to the NBA and what he can bring to the table.
“I’m still trying to find myself. It’s a mix of what’s really happening. We have a lot of injured players, and it’s something that opened a lot of room for me in terms of minutes. But at the same time, I’m at the age of, now, 30, and I’ve kind of shaped my game already. And I’m coming from five years of playing it the same way. So, it’s not easy to adjust to fit in the team that needs more of a creator or passer — whatever it is. And I’m just trying to find the mix to still be aggressive, to still be capable of also scoring. But at the same time playing the right way,” Micic said, per the Charlotte Observer.
So far, he has proved to be more than capable of organizing the offense for the Hornets, but Vasilije believes he can do more.
“I’m trying to remain aggressive against the defense, reaching the paint, finding the best man. Because we have a lot of talent, and that’s how I’m trying to mix this balance. Sometimes if there is open room, I’m going for a basket because I don’t want them to think I’m just a passer because, unfortunately, in modern basketball, you can’t play anymore like that. You have to be capable of more. I work every day on my skills. Even now I’m doing the same things I used to work on at the age of 20. So, I can get better and better in different styles and different distances from the 3-point range. But it’s all what I want to do — just to remain a threat to the opponent. And that balance is key to me,” Micic concluded.