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[QUOTE="oldude, post: 5337423, member: 7511"]
Your take on Nika offensively is spot on.  But as to her defensive abilities, your take is a bit confusing.  It appears that you are intimating that despite some “exceptional” plays on the defensive side, Nika was overrated.  That idea, if that is what you are expressing, doesn’t square with the fact that Nika was named the BE DPOY not once, but two times.

All defenders foul, get beat occasionally and complain about foul calls.  The strength of Nika defensively is that she would defend the opposing team’s top guard by getting into their “hip pocket” and hounding them all over the court, denying them the ball, speeding them up when they had the ball and forcing turnovers.

It’s a “high wire act” if you can pull it off.  Not everyone can, and certainly there were games when an overly aggressive Nika put herself on the bench in foul trouble early in the game.  On balance, Nika was an outstanding defender who was absolutely relentless.  She wasn’t a perfect defender.  But then again, no one is a perfect defender.
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