Prediction: We will Start a Traditional Center

[omahen]

It is hard to argue that we addressed the need many cite as our biggest (secondary playmaker/creator).  But, I don't think you can argue that Bullock isn't improvement either.  The discussion, at least the part I joined, seemed to be about the Clippers series.  We can argue all day about whether he'd have been a "difference maker".  Much depends on how close you think we came in games three and six.  JRich couldn't defend anyone from the bench and couldn't hit threes from the bench or the court.  I don't envision a way LAC would have played Bullock off the court.

Terry claimed Bullock could have made a big difference. I claim the big difference can only come from two spots - non Luka minutes and KP on both sides of the court. We didn't add a wing, we replaced one and the result is yet to be seen. Both are actually very similar players before coming to Dallas, similar also in height and weight. JRich actually was 3-10 from three in the series, which was not bad. 4-10 wouldn't make much of a difference. But I agree, Mavs defense somehow collapsed everytime he stepped on court. That wasn't the case in the regular season (not to such extent) and certainly wasn't the case before coming to Dallas. Exactly the same thing happened to Wright. Where is the guarantee it won't happen to Bullock? Interesting stat - NY was better when Bullock sat in playoffs. 

But, in the specific case of the LAC playoff series, it isn't hard to imagine Bullock making a timely stop or made three that could have flipped the series. 

Closest loss was game 6, by 7 points. A game Richardson actually played reasonably well in his limited minutes. It was Kawhi going supernova and Luka below his average that won the game for Clipps. All other losses were arguably way too far apart to claim that a wing change would make such a difference. 

I think Bullock's potential to flip the series fulfills the definition of "difference maker" in the specific case that your question and my answer seemed to be addressing.

 

I think it is important to note Mavs didn't add a wing, they just changed one. Replaced one option for another. I don't think it is as simple as to just take bad wing minutes from last season and replace them with a guy that had solid (but nothing more!) wing minutes last season in a different environment. When taking everything into account, I think there will always be guys with good and bad minutes, rarely just guys playing well, in a specific match or even series. Based on stats players had before coming to Dallas, it is actually difficult to say that Bullock is a definite upgrade over either Wright or JRich. Before claiming that Bullock is an upgrade we would have to understand what made both Wright and especially JRich worse players in Dallas than they were elsewhere and why they were essentially played off the court in playoffs. JRich was a good defender in both Miami and Philly. So why he suddenly became a bad defender in Dallas? I honestly have no answer. But that also makes me very careful before accepting as a fact, that Bullock will be a good defender, because he was a decent defender in NY. Both JRich and Bullock were surrounded by good defenders with their previous teams, playing good team defense. They both came to a different situation. They even had similar introduction speaches   The only thing that certainly makes Bullock different from Wright and JRich is his better three point shooting. 

Let me just repeat - I don't want to bash Bullock, I think he is a decent player. But I don't believe he is enough of an upgrade to be sure Mavs would win the Clippers series.