MAVS 107, BULLS 117

[mavsluvr]

I don´t care how good his advanced stats are. Powell is a huge liability for this team and has been for almost a decade now. He kills the spacing of the whole starting unit and he can´t defend. Every team will gladly give up the 6-8 PPG he scores on dunks, when it makes it so much easier to defend Luka, KP, THJ and DFS. There are dozens of guys that can do his job on minimum or rookie deals.

Actually, I don't think that there are. 

I don't think Powell is a bad player. He's just a limited one, and that is reflected in his minutes. Acknowledging his limitations, he also does some important things well. He is a very smart player, and you don't often see him making groan-inducing mistakes, which some of the other players really do. He has some elite skills, primarily screening, rolling, and being on the receiving end of alley-oops. Luka is one of the best PNR ball handlers around, and Powell is at least arguably his best PNR partner on the roster. I would say that he actually is a positive for spacing, unless the other guys are out there trying to position themselves closer to the basket in the middle of their PNRs. 

I'm not saying he's some kind of world-beater, or even deserves more time on the floor. If the Mavs wanted to move on from him, I wouldn't be crushed. But I think he comes in for way more scapegoating than is warranted. There is some reason that Kidd, Luka, KP, and Tim want him to play alongside them, and I don't think we advance the ball any by pretending that he is nothing but negative. If they put him in indefinite time-out from tomorrow on, I don't think that the team would be improved.

He's limited, but eliminating him isn't going to turn this offense into a thing of beauty, imho. I could be wrong, of course.