01-05-2021, 08:33 AM
(01-05-2021, 07:33 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: Love that people don´t realize that I am just holding up the mirror. If the sample size was big enough to declare THJ the worst player that should be traded asap it is big enough to declare him the 2nd or 3rd best player of the early season after tonights game. The numbers certainly back it up.
You point out THJs streaky shooting but what about DFS and Richardson. So far we have:
THJ 17/4/2 45.2% FG 40.7% from 3, -4.1 on/off
Richardson 14/3/2 42.5% FG 32.6% from 3, -10.3 on/off
DFS 9/5/1 41.5% FG 28.6% from 3, +4 on/off
But THJ is the problem?
I agree that both are way better on defense and once they start to hit at least league average percentages from 3 both are great fits next to Luka but right now (especially without KP) the Mavs desperately need more shooting next to Luka. That´s why THJ closed the game. Everytime the Rockets closed the gap he made a big shot.
For some reason people are in love with Richardson (maybe because fans missed a really good defender) but so far THJ is clearly the better shot creator, shooter and even passer.
DFS and Richardson are not (and never were) shooters. Both never passed 38% on 3's in their whole carreers. DFS works better as a SF, not good when played at PF. DFS-Richardson looked nice yesterday against Wall-Harden. All metrics point out (at least without KP) that the 2 big lineups works better than the 1 big.
As I've said on the discord chat, even with a 12-point lead, I felt our offense wasn't doing a good job in the 1Q of creating good shots. Could be him being missed or just bad overall playmaking/Rockets good defense. But our defense was great with DFS/Rich on their stars, Maxi/Luka can switch with almost everyone and WCS protecting the paint. Our only weakness was the Wood PnR defense.
THJ is not the problem. DFS and DP at the 4 & 5 were. If you want to go Luka-THJ-Rich-Maxi-WCS, I'll suport it (Luka will have to step up defensively, but we gain a shooter/creator). Maybe it was that CHI game that we were close and he couldn't buy anything. He's actually played good on half of our games (his defense is improved, but still not good).
I'm on the J-Rich train because of the impact he's had so far on our defense (communication, deflections, switches). If he could get more than 15ppg than it's a plus. Right now it's Timothy's job is to be our 2nd best offensive player. Can he deliver?