Mavs rotation

[KillerLeft]

I just get a puzzling sense that some fans view (for example) all those guys as pretty much the same player, with THJ somewhat worse on defense.

This is the main point for me. 

Hardaway is skilled enough on offense to be used as a weapon. They run actions with the intent of creating shots for him, and it's his job to get them off. The opposing team knows this and plans ways of combatting it, so possessions sometimes end with him taking some of what fans who don't care for him consider bad shots, for sure, but that doesn't mean he's not required by the team to get those shots off. (I'm speaking about things in general here, not suggesting that THJ never takes a shot he shouldn't. Just about all players do that from time to time)

I think shooting percentage is absolutely a fair thing to factor into our opinions about how successful he/the team are with this strategy, but I don't think it's fair at all to compare his 3pt% with that of DFS (whom I love) and suggest that if DFS's is a little higher that he should be given that role. He's not remotely qualified for it, imo. He takes wide open shots that occur when the defense is forced to commit extra defenders to take away angles/looks from guys like Hardaway. It's an important role, but distinctly different, imo. 

I also don't think it's wise to consider taking away that role altogether in order to add an additional DFS-type role in its place. I think what the Mavs ask Hardaway to do on offense is extremely necessary, and it's just a matter of whether or not the player who plays that role is good enough to succeed. 

To be fair, I'm not abundantly familiar with Bullock yet, though what I do know about him so far has me thinking he's in line for a DFS type of role, not a Hardaway type of role. Who knows, though - maybe he's better at moving without the ball and has a quicker release than DFS. That would be an improvement for the team, regardless of how the players are used.