Why does Jackson get inconsistent minutes

[Mavsfan12]

In defense of Seth, he does a fair amount of playmaking/ball handling while he is out there as well.  JJax is pretty much a spot up shooter/opportunistic driver.  I am not knocking his game, just wasn't fair to say that their offensive roles were the same.  I actually have been surprised that he hasn't earned more minutes, but I still think it comes down to a group of 5 players (6 if you count DWarp's time on the floor with Luka) that all need minutes at the 2/3 and a coach's decision on how they get handed out based on team dynamics - on and off the floor.  If there were an injury or trade and minutes were freed up, I don't think many people would complain that he got more opportunity.  It is splitting hairs continuing to try to justify cutting someone else's minutes.  Generally, they have all played well and deserve minutes for a variety of reasons.  

That leaves the group of Brunson/Curry/JJax.  RC tries to alleviate the logjam a little bit by playing JJax out of position at the 4 at times.  But those are all good players that need minutes and none of them are getting a ton of run - with Curry getting the most minutes. Barring an injury/trade situation or someone's play falling off, This isn't going to change much and hopefully, the Mavs can keep blowing people out and resting Luka. 

That is one of the least talked about things on this board actually.  The Mavs are playing this well and have their two stars playing in the low 30's in minutes and no one else really much over 25.  The Mavs are a fresh team with room to expand minutes if needed to win games or when the playoffs come.  So underrated!

First off, thanks for an eloquent, well thought out response. It's hard to get that around here nowadays. You truly are a Mavs fan. 

Now, I have to counterpoint with Jackson and Seth's offensive role being a lot more similar than you think. Seth is coming off the bench with Delon and Brunson, both being far superior passers than Seth. His "playmaking" isn't all too noticeable now, and it's arguably not needed at all when he shares the court with those two.

As a result, Seth is very much a stand around the 3PT line guy with an occasional drive/pull-up. It was this way when he started too, Luka dominated the ball outside of a couple games. For both, 50% or more of their shots come from catch 'n shoot opportunities, primarily from 3PT range. Maybe you're seeing different things in games than me idk.

At least with JJax, you get more rebounding and size, which imo is always more needed on this team. Furthermore, Seth has the worst defensive rating on the team. He is also 6 years older than JJax, this is as good as he's gonna get.

The allure with JJax, as you and others probably already know, is that with youth comes upside. There's more room for improvement and the JJax pushers are curious to see if that gets tapped into with more playing time. 

Completely agree with your last paragraph, fantastic point!

Yeah, I see Seth's game differently.  While not functioning as the primary ballhandler, he is part of what RC has praised as being a connecting player.  While he certainly gets more assists than JJax, he also has a lot of hockey assists too.  It is a part of Seth's game that I have always appreciated.  While their primary function (and the source of most of their shots) is to be a spacer and knock down outlet, what they do when they are not shooting is somewhat different.   

That said, I actually agree with your other points.  1and2) with Brunson/DWarp out there, is that a bigger need than, say height/rebounding/defense that maybe JJax is better at?  3) youth is an asset.  no doubt.  So is finding out what you have in the player and developing him to his full potential.

I would add that so far this season, JJax has performed the primary role at a more efficient clip than Seth.  It is early, and Seth's track record certainly gives him the benefit here, but that would be the case I would make for JJax.  He has been pretty elite so far this season - ranking in the top 10 for 3pt% in the league.

Lastly, while this post has compared Seth/JJax, I would actually think it was Brunson who's play has not been up to par this season out of the 3.  His 3pt shot has really fallen off, but even he has found his niche by being an attacker into the paint.  Haha.  It goes round and round.  Lots of pretty good options to choose from here!!!  Also, since they are really all playing together for most of their time on the court, there isn't a substantial amount of time that can really be reallocated between the 3 of those players any way.  It makes for an interesting discussion though!

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It's hard to get that around here nowadays.

Seriously? I find lots of thoughtful posts and posters around here these days.

I do too.  Thanks for the kudos, but this place rocks.