A New Found Respect For Dwight Powell

[F Gump]

The total minutes played by DP + Maxi is close to 48, game after game. It just is. Obviously game conditions (opponent, fouls, injuries at other positions, etc) alter the mix from game to game, and sometimes one plays more or sometimes the other, but your center is DP-Maxi.

The point is, it's a split position, so the fact that DP plays half of 48 is not all that noteworthy. They play the same position and rotate, each plays about half, and when the roster is healthy, it's rare for them to play together.

You can spin that as a negative (ie they don't have one good enough to shove the other to the bench) but it might instead have positive connotations (you have two centers you want to play regularly, and merit doing so, but only 48 minutes available). Which is it, a plus or a minus? The answer may lie more in one's bias rather than in anything objective.

The fact that they have differing skills, which you will almost certainly not get in a single player elsewhere, adds value and is part of the equation. That's rarely mentioned in the lust for another center, but is probably way more important to the merit and value (or lack of same) of the theoretical alternatives than is realized.