MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

Its a good question.  Have we seen a team like that win the finals?  The closest I can think of is Warriors, but they had an elite creator in Curry.  I don't know that Toronto played beautiful basketball, but they had a committee of quality creators (DeRozan, Lowery, VanVleet, Siakam) but didn't do anything until they got a true elite creator in Kawhi.  It seems like you need that elite talent regardless of your offensive style, but with beautiful ball movement that guy might only need to be 30% usage instead of 35.

I really struggle with the idea that numbers and stats (as we use them) can be an answer to questions like these. 

I think NBA offense is and will always be played "inside out," meaning the ball will have to touch the paint, either through dribble penetration or the post pass. These days, it's mostly achieved through dribble penetration and the post pass is directed most to cutters on a dead sprint, not lumbering dinosaurs who've fought for position close to the basket. But, in a way, not that much has or will ever change. You won't hit enough of your 3's if you don't have a way to generate good ones. 

Like you, I look at this roster and have a hard time seeing how the Mavs plan to create the initial advantage that gets defenses moving, no matter how they plan to play offense. And, maybe even more than you, I struggle to trust Kidd to invent something creative that capitalizes on the talents their current players possess, so I have some of the same worries you do.

But, in a general sense, I like the idea of everyone touching the ball, and I think there's more offensive talent here (even if you must label it "secondary") than your thinking seems (to me) to acknowledge. In other words, if/when they figure out how to base this offense on something, I have a good feeling about the other guys (except maybe Gafford, if that original something isn't spread pick and roll, but I digress) finding a way to succeed in its wake. 

Further, I am much higher on Russell than you seem to be, and I think we might be on the verge of a very, very good season from him. What if the Lively/Gafford contributions to the recent pick and roll success here were more crucial than we thought, and not quite as "coattail riding" as we have assumed? That's just one example of a way in which this conversation could seem silly in a month that doesn't involve "so many things going right" or however you put it earlier.

Also, there's the Flagg of it all. I think it's dangerous to expect him to play point from day one, but I'm also not sure how smart it is to bet the house against him making a significant impact on offense (in some way) right off the bat. I suppose that would count towards "so many things going right." Just saying. 

Idk, I just have more hope this works than you do, I suppose. In fact, I'm realizing more and more that I have more hope than I did going into last season, bizarrely. It seems that many on the board watched the DAL/BOS finals and thought "you know, any other year against any other team," and they might have been right, but what I thought was "Luka doesn't get how to do this, and I'm not sure he ever will."