11-07-2019, 05:04 PM
(11-07-2019, 02:25 PM)luka_skywalker_77 Wrote: Thing that's interesting about this game, is that KP still needs a good deal of time to find his way back into being comfortable out there. There were times he looked lost, time where his teammates forced the ball into him and other times where he was just frustrated and chucked a few shots.
I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone that came through this franchise under Rick's watch, that didn't initially have issues. Couple that with being off the court for 20 months and you'll have what you currently see. You can even glean that from the post presser he had last night. I think he's still got a ways to go to figure out exactly how he's going to impact the game offensively, and it'l be even longer for the guys to develop chemistry with him and to know his 'spots'.
Either way, there's no such thing as a bad win. In years past the team would have lost this and we'd be talking about how this is going to come back to haunt them. Good teams win games they aren't supposed to and this is a good team.
RC addressed this in his post-game comments, and he literally put the blame on himself for not finding him shots. I agree. Powell's return has coincided with Porzingis' downslide on the offensive end. He ends up floating around the perimeter too often. When the ball finds him, it is without energy - he is not moving towards the basket or in scoring position (off screens or wide open shots). It finds him as a generic pass out to the perimeter with a dude in his face (or fighting to RECEIVE the pass in this game being guarded by Isaac!).
It is going to be a challenge for the coaching staff to keep the Luka/DP pick/roll as the primary offensive action, while not leaving KP alone. I haven't seen him in the corners that often - that is one option. I also read into RC's comments that they may break a few of their analytic rules and actually start getting him going in the mid-range where he is actually quite dominant. KP from the elbow-in is money. I also want to see him taking some lesser defenders off the dribble. But, whatever the solution, I think that it will be a focus of the next couple of games. I would expect the ball finding KP early and often the next couple of games (he plays).