MAVS 132, BLAZERS 117

[DanSchwartzgan]

I wonder if any doubt is starting to emerge among the trade-KP contingent. I wonder how many were also among the vocal trade-Dirk crowd after Nellie's "We Believe" Warriors embarrassed him in the playoffs? I know it all comes down to health for KP but I think it's time to acknowledge how well he's playing right now.

KP is number 21 among regulars according to EPM (estimated Plus Minus) at +3.5. He's no 6 among centers (only Jokic, Allen, Embiid, Townes and Gobert are higher) and no 4 among power forwards (only Giannis, KD and Draymond are higher). He's right there with Draymond who's at +3.6. If you're counting, that puts him at no 9 -- a top 10 big in the NBA.

KP is number 9 in the entire league, regardless of position, according to LEBRON at +3.41. 

All-in-one stats have their flaws but these are two of the "most trusted" according to one survey of league executives. 

Putting stats aside, he's clearly been great - and dominant at times - according to the eye test. I've been critical of using him as a PF but the defense has looked better recently and the spacing on offense is much improved. If KP's three starts to fall, watch out. Let's not forget a bunch of smart basketball people used to say KP has the talent to win an MVP someday. And he just turned 26.

The number one most used lineup that KP has appeared in has occurred in only 11 games (number two is only five games).  So, it is difficult for us to "know" anything.

Right now, KP has a slightly negative on-court rating and Luka has a very negative on-court rating.  Kamm has told us each sucks less when not playing with the other one.  We've had various scapegoats.  First it was Powell clogging up the lane.  But, KP is positive when on-court with Powell (and negative when paired with Luka, Brunson, THJ, Maxi and Willie).  Then it was THJ's D (so he was moved to the bench).  After last night it is our lack of ball movement (you have to be careful here as you border on sacrilege if you infer Luka...even fat Luka...may be partially to blame).

There are some among us who look at KP and believe he's the problem.  Where he likes the ball directly impacts Luka's effectiveness.  But, the stats say KP is a good player again.  Should we keep letting KP be KP even if it hurts Luka?  None of this is easy to deduce when only working with 11 games of data.  Shouldn't Luka and Kidd be expected to figure this all out since KP is clearly "back"?  Or, is there an overlap where one always cancels out the highest and best use of the other?

My position on KP has been that when he's good, he's too good to trade and when he's bad (or injured), he can't be traded because of the combination of salary and injury history.  We either need Kidd/Luka to figure this out or we need to move on from KP.  It is nice to have KP playing well because it at least gives you options.  I'm starting to rethink the first part of my position and looking for teams that might could use this version of KP.  I'm not confident we will ever get this version of KP alongside Luka the top-5 guy that he's been the last two seasons.