07-22-2024, 06:03 PM
(07-22-2024, 02:00 PM)F Gump Wrote: With all due respect, I think this take is way off base. Almost polar opposite to reality, frankly.
Rather them not feeling the need for multiple ball-handlers (aka offense creators) on the floor, I think their lineup will have AT LEAST two of Luka-Kyrie-Klay, and I think they will at times opt for THREE ball-handlers (aka offense creators) at a time, including in the starting lineup that includes all of those 3.
Your thought that they will look to complement their offense with some defense is right on target imo, but I'm looking for them to do that within the framework of the MULTIPLE ball-handlers (aka offense creators) model.
It's in that vein they added Dinwiddie imo, and Exum also fits that mold, as players who can make the offense continue to flow as a 2nd or even 3rd ball-handler (aka offense creator), particularly in cases of rest days, injuries, etc. I think we're sleeping on Exum's value, and I think they are actually doubling down on making sure they have plenty at all times with the addition of SD.
The ball needs to move.
The emboldened has been my rallying cry for years, so always assume that it's my goal.
I don't think your memory of Dinwiddie is an accurate one. He's a ball stopper, not a ball mover. The one time since Kidd came here the ball moved, even just a little, was during this past post-season. Not during the regular season, mostly, but the ball started to move just a little down the stretch and then the movement increased with each playoff round until Boston's defense completely befuddled the Mavs' "system" (which I use loosely).
The ball moved LESS during the '22 run, not MORE. It was "my turn, your turn" and didn't work, particularly when they reached GS, a real playoff team at the time. Maybe you feel differently, but I felt better about this past playoff team in many ways than I did after that post-season. This one felt more sustainable to me, as if it could be built upon as a predictor of future success. Judging by what the Mavs are doing, I'm not so sure they felt that way.
This signing (if it means what I think, in terms of playing time, which it might not, to be fair) is a step AWAY from ball movement, not towards.
Plus, you totally discounted my point about the additions of Grimes, Marshall and Thompson, ALL of whom represent an uptick in TEAM offensive play (AKA ball movement) relative to the players they're replacing. Dinwiddie, by comparison, has only ever been effective in situations wherein he A) has the ball in his hands and B) has been allowed to create shots for himself basically at will. The year before coming here (coming off of major injury) he started his season in Washington as the focal point of their offense, to some successful effect, actually, and then was asked to stop playing that way. That's when his "bad" stretch of that season in Washington began. When he got here to Dallas, they let him play that way again, and he responded with a pretty effective stretch of play - but, at the expense of ball movement and especially defense.
All of that to say: two-way players who move the ball from DIFFERENT POSITIONS ON OFFENSE (like the ones in Boston) are what's needed. If ONLY your GUARDS are handling the ball, you haven't actually added ball-handling unless they're going to play a lot together (3 or even 4 at a time) which is exactly what I'm afraid of.