By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Svi Mykhailiuk has been stepping up for the Detroit Pistons recently averaging 14.3 points on 47.1% three-point shooting over the past ten games.
In the last three, he combined for 13-21 from deep and scored career-highs in the last two – 21 vs. Boston and 25 vs. Atlanta.
“I try to do an all-around game so it’s a little bit of everything at the offensive and defensive end. You being in the league a few more years you learn about the game and how defenses are as compared to the college game”, he said, per Detroit Free Press.
Mykhailiuk was drafted into the league by the Lakers in 2018 as the 47th overall pick but despite great performances in the Summer League and G-League, he couldn’t get on the Lakers‘ roster. The LA squad got interested in Detroit’s Reggie Bullock and the Pistons used the opportunity to get Svi and a future pick.
The young Ukranian wasn’t even aware of the trade: “I didn’t even know. I knew it was a business and sooner or later people get traded. It’s part of the business of the NBA. I was like, ‘Alright, I got to keep doing my thing, working hard and hopefully I’ll play in Detroit.’ “
Aware or not, the trade happened and it’s a good thing it did as Mykhailiuk seems to have found the right place for him. His role is to shoot, shoot, and shoot, and he is doing that excellently with 44.5% from deep so far this season which ranks fifth in the NBA.
“We give him one job and that’s to shoot the basketball and stop thinking so much. He’s doing a really good job of getting them up and making them at a high level,” Andre Drummond said.
However, he still needs to step it up on the defensive end: “He’s only a second-year player and he still has a lot of growth to go, but he’s making strides. The main place he’s doing it is defensively. He’s not there yet totally, but to be a playoff-type player – more than the first round – all of our young guys have to step it up and get it done on the defensive end,” coach Dwane Casey noted.