MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

Me too.  I think this is where it is going to land up, outside of any trades/injuries.  The rotation is tough to make sense with minutes (when healthy) without it.   I didn't like Marshall at the 4 earlier in the year but it was a short run and it was during a bad early stretch.    He is one of our 8 best players.  I think grimes is also.  So, I think Marshall will eventually get backup 4 minutes.

I really think this was a trial run for Kleber.  In the end, I expect him to be in a wild card position depending on matchups.  If he gets hot, he gets more minutes.  If Gafford struggles, he gets some time at the 5.  ETC.

I could be wrong, but if I was betting that is what I would bet and what I would want to see.

This is totally the way I see it, and I'll go a step farther and state that Kleber this season, at the 4, has been more bad than good. If he's got another stretch of the old Kleber in him (he might not, but I'm not ready to proclaim that yet), I think it will be at the 5, where all of his best moments over the past 3-4 years have happened. His reflexes, foot speed, change of direction, etc, could still be assets at the 5 in short stints, but he seems badly outmatched by NBA forwards and wings to me lately. I realize that his rim protection has slipped, but there will be matchups in which that isn't the primary concern. I would much rather have seen him guarding Sengun last night than Gafford, for example. Guys who can shoot, like Turner and Horford, come to mind also. 

Setting aside the Kleber at 5 part of it, if Marshall and/or Luka can't hold up defensively as the biggest forward on the floor (I believe they can) then PJ Washington might be the team's most valuable player, which isn't an ideal place to be. O-Max's recent progression has been encouraging, but I don't think he's going to be in the top 8-9 by season's end.