Game 36: HOU (21-10) @ DAL (12-23)

[KillerLeft]

I never once thought Kidd was trying to make something "work"  in the context of winning games. I rather thought the opposite. That Kidd was possibly sacrificing games for 1. lack of a first-rate PG and 2. And giving Flagg the steering wheel just to test drive.

I agree with this, exact perspective. I think he was pissed that nothing like what he perceived to be a real PG was on the roster, didn't think Russel fit the bill and kinda went out of his way to make a point of it all. That, for me, fits the information we have. 

Whether he was doing it just to give Harrison the finger in front of God and everyone or he was carrying out some Machiavellian plan to get Harrison fired, I don't know, but it's interesting that most of the Mavs wins this season happened in the stretch right after Harrison got the boot, when (shocker) Kidd started playing Russell, Williams (who was hurt initially, to be fair) and eventually Nembhard (who got a short audition in the first group of games, to be even more fair). Those guys getting more burn and starting to play better created what might end up being the most successful portion of the entire season (on the court, at least - we'll see what the ping pong balls do to help). 

I'll state the point that's central to all of this, and that bizarrely nobody seems interested in discussing, again: one of the problems with the 2 big lineup, and the one perhaps most unique to this roster, is that almost all of their good players are centers and forwards. You play two centers, but you don't want to shelve PJW or Marshal, so already you're in an awkward situation. You obviously can't sit Flagg, nor should that even be considered, so you're basically forced to give him the ball. Stein echoed this exact sentiment in the latest DLLS podcast, and you know he's getting it from the coaches. They have no choice but to play Flagg at point in that huge lineup, unless they sit either him or PJW (and my lord, sometimes even Marshall is on the floor with that group - insane). This is just as true now as it would be with a healthy Lively, and I can't even imagine how awkward the rotation would be at this point if he hadn't gotten hurt. 

News flash: you can still run the offense through Flagg plenty in lineups with appropriate, complementary skills (like shooting, for example). I'd argue that he'd get even better opportunities to grow if he was initiating in sets/actions/lineups that played to his strengths. In fact, during the more successful games, and in most of those where Flagg balled out impressively, this exact approach was used to close out 4th quarters. 

The roster has many good pieces, but they don't fit with Flagg nearly as well as they fit with Luka. What worries me is whether or not the next GM sees the same thing I do, because I think something has to be done about this, and fairly soon. If you're going to lose games, fine, but at least put some kind of offensive plan in place so progress can be made for next season.

Incidentally, this is why I haven't been on the "trade AD" train as hard as everyone else. I'm into it if the deal is right, but AD/Flagg together works, and actually might be the very best discovery of this season so far, as far as I'm concerned. There's a real synergy between them at the defensive end when AD is at the 5 and Flagg is at the 4. Almost all of the Mavs basketball I've enjoyed this season has come out of that lineup.