Yves Missi revealed at New Orleans Pelicans Media Day that he has been focusing on improving his touch in the paint rather than trying to develop an outside shot. Missi touched on how he can’t get ahead of himself and needs to focus on other parts of his game before developing an outside shot.
"I feel like I need to be able to do the stuff around the basket first to be able to expand the game... Right now the focus is on the paint."
This response to being asked about developing his outside shot was the best possible answer Missi could have given. In the NBA nowadays, many bigs have attempted to transition into stretch bigs, but still lack fundamental skills that all big men should possess, such as being a good rebounder, finisher, and screener.
Missi’s awareness of this is extremely valuable as he understands that before becoming an effective floor spacer, he needs to work on less glamorous parts of his game. Missi was likely asked about this because many believe the Pelicans' star player, Zion Williamson, needs a floor spacer beside him at the five for the team to reach its ceiling.
The whole idea of Z needing a floor spacer is ridiculous, as we’ve seen players who have a similar style of play as him succeed with back-to-the-basket bigs.
This level of accountability from Missi is encouraging.
Throughout the offseason, I’ve been really hard on Yves Missi. I felt that he underperformed immensely in the summer league, which was an area where he should have excelled. He shot below 30 percent from the field while in Vegas, which is just unacceptable from a 6’11” center.
So for him to come to media day and admit that he needs to improve his touch around the basket and overall skill set when in the paint is extremely encouraging, and it shows self-awareness.
We see young players all the time get ten steps ahead of themselves and end up chasing unrealistic goals, which often leads to them never reaching their full potential. Missi, on the other hand, is showing he has an understanding that he must crawl before he can walk, meaning he needs to refine his inside touch before he can take his offensive game to the next level.
If Missi can be a solid rim protector, a quality screen, and an efficient scorer in the paint, the Pelicans are going to win games. They don’t need him to become something he is not; they just need him to be Yves Missi.