AROUND the NBA:

[Chicagojk]

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.

Yeah, he can't be a number one option.  One of the things I was thinking about and why the offense may have been rough is AD likes to hold the ball a lot.  Cooper does too...but for different reasons.   Because AD is viewed as the best player, a lot of energy was given trying to get him the ball.  That leads to more standing and more holding the ball.   The best AD this year is when we ran quick actions and got AD the ball down low for a quick move.   I hate the ball holding and the long jump shots.  Yuck.