(05-24-2026, 03:51 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: saw this on Reddit comparing Acuff vs Trae Young defense. I personally give him a pass for defense last year. I don't think he was asked to play it and he was carrying such a heavy load on offense. I also don't expect him to ever be a good defender in the NBA.
I think the big question for me is, does he care? Does he have pride in playing defense not just giving up? Jalen Brunson will never be a good defender, but he cares. He is good on rotations, he takes charges and he competes. Sure, he gets picked on some, but he tries. That is the big question for me with Acuff. Some of his defensive highlights are pretty bad. A lot them he is not even trying to compete. That will need to change.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comme...t_college/
In all his newer interviews, he addresses his defensive weakness. He's very aware of that I think. As I understand it, his coaches made sure he understood that he could not foul out so his attempts at defense were "measured" at best.
Still, it's a hard thing to just get a lot better at defense right out of the box. He's going to have to expend a lot more energy than he's used to in the NBA.