07-24-2024, 10:48 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-24-2024, 10:53 AM by KillerLeft.)
(07-24-2024, 10:38 AM)The Jom Wrote: He’s only 31. Guards with skillz don’t fall off a cliff at 31 unless their game depends on athleticism, which Dinwiddie’s doesn’t. As a PG, maybe he does get his own a little too much. But not as a second guard. As a starter, maybe his defense is suspect. But not as a bench piece. Why didn’t he pick us at the deadline when we would’ve been excited about him instead of making that lame poppa/momma analogy and pissing us all off? Who knows. But he’s always been a bit weird. And you know he was watching all playoffs kicking himself and thinking, like Klay, I coulda helped with that. As a 14th or 15th piece? This is as good as it gets.
I disagree that athletic ability isn't part of what made him successful. He was good here for two reasons:
1) His outside shooting was much better than we expected. Not (directly) because of the Luka effect, because he takes a lot of perimeter shots off the dribble. I'm sure there is a systemic reason he was better in that area, even if it's just confidence-related, as in maybe he thrives off of being empowered by a constant green light, but it's possible that part of it was just that the Mavs just caught him on an extended hot streak.
2) He was able to get downhill with the ball, like a LOT. This had to do with the spacing we discussed earlier, and the changes the Mavs have made since then have decreased that spacing somewhat (again, I'm hopeful the pendulum will swing a little back towards spacing due to the roster choices they made this summer), but it also had to do with him being quick and strong in the paint. That's athleticism. Factually.