08-15-2020, 10:26 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-15-2020, 10:44 PM by KillerLeft.)
Hey Scott, good to see you.
When I say "the right way" I mean they're building around a guy who really is good enough to warrant it. That doesn't mean everything they try will work, either short term or long term. Building a professional title contender in any sport is tough, man. Luka makes it possible, but not guaranteed. Still, don't take for granted that they made the playoffs in year 2! Lebron James couldn't do that, so obviously, it's not ONLY Luka's presence on the floor getting things done.
As far as what they did last summer, I think they had the right idea, tbh. Not everyone they targeted believed in their (at the time) 20 year old, but as he matures, more and more of those "no, thank you" responses will turn into "oh HELL yeah!" That seems clear, and I'm pretty confident about it.
Like I said, I like what they tried to do with Wright, Curry and Boban. Wright, in particular, has been a huge disappointment, but he's exactly the type of player they're missing: a defensive-minded GUARD with size (but still clearly a guard, and not a wing). Wright could've been that guy, but for whatever reason, he has failed on the offensive end both as shooter (good percentage, but he's just too gun-shy) and as a handler (OMG he is painful to watch with the ball in his hands). What that means is that he literally can't be played most of the time. Carlisle has given him chance after chance, but it just hasn't worked. Boban and Curry have both had moments this year where they seemed like successful acquisitions, though both are clearly only complementary players.
If you didn't like last off season, my hunch is that you probably won't like the next one, either. They'll look for little ways to improve again, as all logic points to a big swing for the fences during the summer of 2022. Giannis, Oladipo, whoever. Luka will then be 23, still an MVP candidate, and by then he'll have made friends around the league. It's so clear to me. They'll move Powell between now and then, offer a max slot, and someone who moves the needle is going to take it.
I mean, he did and he didn't. I agree that KP is the better player (obvs) and yes, they started playing him more and more at center, eventually playing him there exclusively (praise Jebus). This forced the Mavs to start working the Luka/KP game a little more aggressively, but honestly, the slow roll into that part of the offense might have been due to KP's injury, so maybe we'd be seeing more of that by now even with a healthy Powell. Not sure.
I do think the Luka/Powell pick and roll was special, and it created an unbelievable amount of space by extending the offense vertically. I'm not sure how they move forward with both he and KP on the roster, and like I said above, I think they see his contract as the only obstacle to a max slot. We'll have to wait and see how that pans out. But, regardless of what happens in the future, the offense that was designed during the last off-season and implemented during this season's training camp (with a 2nd year point guard) was absolutely built with Powell's rim running in mind. The fact that they've adapted so quickly and are still making defenses look silly is a testament to both Luka and Carlisle, in my opinion.
When I say "the right way" I mean they're building around a guy who really is good enough to warrant it. That doesn't mean everything they try will work, either short term or long term. Building a professional title contender in any sport is tough, man. Luka makes it possible, but not guaranteed. Still, don't take for granted that they made the playoffs in year 2! Lebron James couldn't do that, so obviously, it's not ONLY Luka's presence on the floor getting things done.
As far as what they did last summer, I think they had the right idea, tbh. Not everyone they targeted believed in their (at the time) 20 year old, but as he matures, more and more of those "no, thank you" responses will turn into "oh HELL yeah!" That seems clear, and I'm pretty confident about it.
Like I said, I like what they tried to do with Wright, Curry and Boban. Wright, in particular, has been a huge disappointment, but he's exactly the type of player they're missing: a defensive-minded GUARD with size (but still clearly a guard, and not a wing). Wright could've been that guy, but for whatever reason, he has failed on the offensive end both as shooter (good percentage, but he's just too gun-shy) and as a handler (OMG he is painful to watch with the ball in his hands). What that means is that he literally can't be played most of the time. Carlisle has given him chance after chance, but it just hasn't worked. Boban and Curry have both had moments this year where they seemed like successful acquisitions, though both are clearly only complementary players.
If you didn't like last off season, my hunch is that you probably won't like the next one, either. They'll look for little ways to improve again, as all logic points to a big swing for the fences during the summer of 2022. Giannis, Oladipo, whoever. Luka will then be 23, still an MVP candidate, and by then he'll have made friends around the league. It's so clear to me. They'll move Powell between now and then, offer a max slot, and someone who moves the needle is going to take it.
(08-15-2020, 10:07 PM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: Another question - didn't KP rather replace DP in his role when Powell got injured, and isn't that a far more promising usage of KP (who is obviously several times more important) than going back to using Powell as he was used?
I mean, he did and he didn't. I agree that KP is the better player (obvs) and yes, they started playing him more and more at center, eventually playing him there exclusively (praise Jebus). This forced the Mavs to start working the Luka/KP game a little more aggressively, but honestly, the slow roll into that part of the offense might have been due to KP's injury, so maybe we'd be seeing more of that by now even with a healthy Powell. Not sure.
I do think the Luka/Powell pick and roll was special, and it created an unbelievable amount of space by extending the offense vertically. I'm not sure how they move forward with both he and KP on the roster, and like I said above, I think they see his contract as the only obstacle to a max slot. We'll have to wait and see how that pans out. But, regardless of what happens in the future, the offense that was designed during the last off-season and implemented during this season's training camp (with a 2nd year point guard) was absolutely built with Powell's rim running in mind. The fact that they've adapted so quickly and are still making defenses look silly is a testament to both Luka and Carlisle, in my opinion.