@"cow" is absolutely right. There were stretches in Philly when Richardson's role was to handle the ball PRIMARILY, and it didn't go very well.
But, I agree with Dan that he has enough experience doing that to make the Mavs want to try it as a SECONDARY guy on the floor with Luka. And, they might've given up (for now) on the star secondary ball-handler we all know they want and just found the closest thing who can play DEFENSE.
It's not like anyone is thinking Luka is going to be standing in the corner watching Richardson go to work for 15 possessions a game. He's definitely not that guy. But, I think he's experienced enough to press a 4 on 3 in a situation where Luka gets trapped, for example, and the mavs had next to NOBODY who could do that last year.
And, he can shoot a little, so he's definitely capable of playing off-ball, but I don't think he's a replacement for the kind of ELITE off-ball offensive play Hardaway gives you.
I think Dan has this one right, at least as far as what the Mavs are thinking. It might not be successful, but this is what most of you wanted, right? Better defenders? Well, these types of issues are the type of problem that come with that, and I think, given the price to get him, Richardson was a really good thing to try.
(11-20-2020, 12:53 PM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]But you all want a PF (Wood, Gallo and similar). So why not Tucker as a poor man option.
Oh, I don't say no...I guess my point is that MOST teams don't have a 4/5 combo who defends hard and pulls opposing bigs out by knocking down corner 3's...a "3 and D BIG"...that's a rare, awesome thing to have. I just wonder if the price to get him might reflect that he's more valuable to a team with NONE of those than he might be to Dallas, where he'd be an ADDITIONAL one.
If he just appeared on the roster, I absolutely think he makes them better, especially with the KP injury early on. No argument there.
@"omahen" I see your point now. I was looking at Wood/Gallo in a different light than Tucker, and you're saying he's the same as them, only farther down the list.
I gotcha. That's a decent point.
@"omahen" I'll say this:
IF the Mavs were to land PJ Tucker and go into the season with a possible playoff big rotation of KP, Tucker and Kleber, THAT is a team built to neutralize the things that make the Lakers special (if everything works as planned).
The secret to breaking the Lakers' defense is absolutely getting AD out of the paint, and that's going to be a crucial option for Western Conference contenders to have at their disposal for a long, long time. But having TWO of those three be agile, hard-nosed defenders? MAN, that's pretty sweet.
