MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

I mean, Kyrie isn’t even a PG. At least not in the traditional sense. That’s why I think we all need to open our mind a little and move away from the old traditional position labels.

I think we're all using (and confusing each other with) the term "traditional" differently. 

Luka was absolutely not a "traditional" PG in the way I take that label's meaning. Neither is Harden. Or Brunson, for that matter.

I keep seeing this conversation devolve into "heliocentric vs. ball movement," and I just can't believe our collective understanding of the game (quoted poster excluded) is so lacking in nuance. Using the example of Indiana (again), I think they moved the ball and ran a beautiful, rhythm-building offense the likes of which the league hasn't seen for quite a while. But, I think they were able to do that because they had (before the injury) possibly the best "traditional" PG in the league right now. Just because Carlisle is a great coach and got a great, super-intelligent player (and team) to understand the value of moving the ball does NOT mean that Haliburton's handles and 1-on-1 skills weren't necessary to pull it off. I'm not saying that's your point, but I keep seeing people suggest that if the ball is moving, you don't NEED skilled offensive playmaking. Dribble penetration is how 90% of the NBA operates in the latest version of a sport that will ALWAYS AND FOREVER be played "inside-out."

In fact, there were 3-4 players on the IND team who can function as ball-handlers much better than any currently healthy Maverick. And, Siakim is a far superior 1-on-1 player at the elbow (like Dirk was) than AD. It's not close.

You could convince me that some type of 5-out, dribble handoff system with lots of cutting (where the players move, not the ball) that allows AD and/or Lively to make decisions at the top could work, but...if that's the plan, why on Earth is Daniel Gafford still on the team? He'd have no chance of thriving in an offensive system like that, and desperately needs to be on a team that plans to spam spread pick and roll. 

There are loads of ways to run offense, but they all depend on creating advantages, and I'm not seeing a way for the Mavs to do that at the moment. I suppose at this point we just need to see what else they do and then see how it looks, but I'm definitely not getting "contender" vibes at the moment unless we see a pretty big offensive add (in addition to the tpMLE guard).