(01-20-2026, 07:19 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: AD and Flagg, while being one of the most ideal pairings I've witnessed on defense, might not be a perfect match on offense. Time will tell, provided AD is here and healthy long enough for it to matter. But, I agree, a second volume scorer who also doesn't like to play from the perimeter isn't an ideal pairing with Flagg at the moment and that can have a negative effect on spacing. Then again, while Davis doesn't command much respect at the 3 point line, he does pull defenders out of the paint better than literally any center the Mavs have ever had...just only to the deep two range.
The big problem happens when they try to pair those two with Gafford, Lively, Powell or Cisse. PJW and Marshal don't fit well with that pair, either. If you're going to make Flagg/AD work, it needs to be mostly as the 4/5, and all three other dudes need to be READY TO SHOOT.
The other thing that happened was that the Mavs game plan was to showcase AD. That meant there was a significant offensive strategy dedicated to getting the ball to AD where he would be scoring 2 points or scoring no points at all, and with fewer shots from the perimeter for everyone else. Perhaps if Kyrie were in the lineup that strategy would be better balanced. But as it is, I don't think an AD centric offense works for the team.