10-25-2024, 07:51 AM
Imagine what this looks like if they shoot over 41% from the field.
Second half O-Rating was 135…and that included some sloppy as hell garbage time. You have two of the most clutch creators in the game with the ability to create wide open looks for either the center or a good perimeter shooter any time you want. I really don’t know how you stop this offense.
Strategically, Lively functioned in the Manu Ginobili ‘sixth man who is really a starter’ role tonight. We really have four stars and bringing him off the bench keeps three of them on the court almost all of the time. Hardy will tend to get his minutes (like he did in the second quarter) in those moments when two of the four stars are sitting. It makes sense as he provides a little more offensive punch than either Grimes or Naji. Lively will get his minutes (probably around 28) and will be the closer. I’m fine with this use of him. If you have to start him, you are basically saying Luka, Kyrie and KT aren’t good enough defensively. Hopefully that won’t be the case.
I thought they’d probably platoon PJ and Maxi, but they actually ended the first half without either on the floor. That made either Luka or Naji the PF. I think it is smart to take a look at this lineup (which probably works best next to Lively) so that you know what you have when Maxi inevitably gets hurt. I actually think the Maxi minutes are important and not easily replaced. Hopefully they will find ways to get OMax a little run on random Tuesday night games against the Charlotte’s and Portlands of the world.
When you look at box scores of other teams you quickly see that the CBA is killing the depth of many high dollar teams. Not so with Dallas. I think we are 10 deep with real contributors. That will be huge over the course of a long season. I’m interested to see how hard Kidd pushes for seeding. Defense travels which makes winning road playoff games more likely. If our D is diminished from last season (time will tell), it would be nice to not always start playoff series on the road. But, how hard do you push. I think there are three title contenders in the NBA given health. It is nice to be one of them. The question is how do you balance health and being at your best in mid April with the benefits of home court.
Second half O-Rating was 135…and that included some sloppy as hell garbage time. You have two of the most clutch creators in the game with the ability to create wide open looks for either the center or a good perimeter shooter any time you want. I really don’t know how you stop this offense.
Strategically, Lively functioned in the Manu Ginobili ‘sixth man who is really a starter’ role tonight. We really have four stars and bringing him off the bench keeps three of them on the court almost all of the time. Hardy will tend to get his minutes (like he did in the second quarter) in those moments when two of the four stars are sitting. It makes sense as he provides a little more offensive punch than either Grimes or Naji. Lively will get his minutes (probably around 28) and will be the closer. I’m fine with this use of him. If you have to start him, you are basically saying Luka, Kyrie and KT aren’t good enough defensively. Hopefully that won’t be the case.
I thought they’d probably platoon PJ and Maxi, but they actually ended the first half without either on the floor. That made either Luka or Naji the PF. I think it is smart to take a look at this lineup (which probably works best next to Lively) so that you know what you have when Maxi inevitably gets hurt. I actually think the Maxi minutes are important and not easily replaced. Hopefully they will find ways to get OMax a little run on random Tuesday night games against the Charlotte’s and Portlands of the world.
When you look at box scores of other teams you quickly see that the CBA is killing the depth of many high dollar teams. Not so with Dallas. I think we are 10 deep with real contributors. That will be huge over the course of a long season. I’m interested to see how hard Kidd pushes for seeding. Defense travels which makes winning road playoff games more likely. If our D is diminished from last season (time will tell), it would be nice to not always start playoff series on the road. But, how hard do you push. I think there are three title contenders in the NBA given health. It is nice to be one of them. The question is how do you balance health and being at your best in mid April with the benefits of home court.