12-18-2020, 11:14 PM
I have been trying to figure out what Rick sees in Powell. I think the big thing is that Rick sees the offense perform better with Powell out there. Now this is mostly with KP also out there. I don't know that this iteration with Powell and DFS as your frontcourt is going to enjoy the same kind of statistical success as past Powell-featured lineups.
On defense I think it's the same situation where he does okay in his unit and so the overall impact is a positive over time.
I like to look at ratings of the lineups that were played the most over the course of a season:
https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanc...on=2019-20&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612742
You see 2 of the top 3 lineups in minutes played featured Powell and have a very high offensive rating. The defensive rating with Powell and Kleber is also really good.
Luka, THJ, DFS, Kleber, Doncic did really well for 97 minutes last year. You could argue that Luka, THJ, Rich, Kleber, Powell would be a very good starting lineup. I know Rick loves Kleber off the bench but I think DFS could do well in a bench unit where maybe he plays the small-ball PF role against backups along with Johnson or WCS.
I do believe Rick and company believe a lot in advanced stats and unit stats. Bottom line is a unit gets it done or it doesn't. Some units don't get a large sample size but Powell was a starter obviously and thus played a lot in some of the lineups that garnered the most minutes and had success.
On defense I think it's the same situation where he does okay in his unit and so the overall impact is a positive over time.
I like to look at ratings of the lineups that were played the most over the course of a season:
https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanc...on=2019-20&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612742
You see 2 of the top 3 lineups in minutes played featured Powell and have a very high offensive rating. The defensive rating with Powell and Kleber is also really good.
Luka, THJ, DFS, Kleber, Doncic did really well for 97 minutes last year. You could argue that Luka, THJ, Rich, Kleber, Powell would be a very good starting lineup. I know Rick loves Kleber off the bench but I think DFS could do well in a bench unit where maybe he plays the small-ball PF role against backups along with Johnson or WCS.
I do believe Rick and company believe a lot in advanced stats and unit stats. Bottom line is a unit gets it done or it doesn't. Some units don't get a large sample size but Powell was a starter obviously and thus played a lot in some of the lineups that garnered the most minutes and had success.