Most impressive and underrated part of this is his decision making, always making the right pass which leads to almost all of these ending in an easy score
I haven't watched him play a lot, but after seeing this, I think it speaks a lot about his mindset and effort. Literally not taking plays off. Imagine making multiple inbound steals in a row and making a basket each time, everytime a different player taking it out lol
@@Raxengun when he played for the Sixers it was like every single time they let him on the floor he would get a steal on the first play lol. He’s sick on defense.
I'm so proud of TJ. He was another "no name" that was brought in to fill minutes during The Process but he took advantage of the opportunity and has made a real career for himself. Sixers and Pacers fans really appreciate every little thing he does.
Kid comes from the most revered Basketball family in Pittsburgh (Brookline neighborhood)....Aunt Suzie..holds NCAA assists record, Olympic Gold Medal, WNBA Rookie of the year, WNBA Coach of the year, Father Tim, over 600 wins as a Highschool coach with several championships, Aunt Kathy WNBA coach, and I'm lucky to have grown up with them back in the 70's
I find it hard to believe that nba players seem to forget that inbounds passes are also live passes that can be stolen but credit to McConnell for taking advantage of their carelessness, also helps that he's sneaky athletic with quick hands and high defensive IQ
I used to do this same thing in high school. Most players are taught “out and in” when the other team scores. Most time they just grab it from the net and pass it in. I used to act like I was getting back on defense when my team would score but the whole time I’m eyeing the in bounder, and as soon as I see him get into a passing motion I would just sprint and jump the pass.
this guy really deserves to stay in the NBA. He makes players look unprofessional lol. sad to say sometimes NBA does not do that to underrated/underdog players, Sometimes they would throw away these kinds of players in D-League, etc.
The team were not utilizing his steals well. Most of them were surprise to see him with the ball already. They should see it coming and respond to it quick as possible.
When I played I was good at this. In my experience it comes from baiting the passer, making them think you aren’t engaged. Then as they release intercept the pass or disrupt the recipient enough to cough it up.
He is very smart, quick and sneaky but he and his teammates need to work on a better conversion rate after the steal. They tend to take quick shots or make bad passes afterwards.
