Mavs 107, Kings 121

[mavsluvr]

My responses....

1) I think a GREAT team can rely on Luka generating looks, just like Nash did for the great Suns teams. But Luka's talent around him either doesn't fit or is frankly not very NBA worthy.

2) KP is unreliable and inconsistent within the current system and next to Luka. THJ is inconsistent and always has been. JB is not given a consistent enough/big enough role to offer the consistency that the Mavs need from him.

3) JR is NOT a good defender and that has been proven over and over this season. When leaned upon as a stopper he will not come through most nights. DFS is also NOT a stopper. Leaning on either for that role leads to the breakdown of the whole D at the point of attack and KP has NOT been good playing behind these guys this season at all.

4) Whether the talent is not deep enough or whether RC is unwilling to play deeper players is debatable to me. But the result of fatigue feels pretty unquestionable at this point.

5) Yeah the deadline produced ZERO movement of the needle, so to speak. It was basically a trade just to do a trade. 

6) DFS should be a 15-20 min NBA player not a 32 min player. Having such a solid, but average player log so many KEY minutes brings down the team. DFS isn't alone in being asked to be much more than he is as a player.

7) This team does not have truly good shooters on it. THJ is probably the best from deep and he is crazy inconsistent. JB is good, but needs more space to get off his shot. I think Maxi's performance is an outlier.

8) Yes, the roster that is played by RC (cannot speak to what is buried on the bench) has not been improved in any meaningful way since the KP trade. The failure to develop rookies year after year is the main culprit in my opinion and it has snowballed over the last decade to this point.

Thanks for the detailed response. I'll take these on a couple at a time. 

1)  I think the team really is too dependent on Luka. Although that can work in the regular season, it is too easy to shut down one guy in the playoffs, even a super-talented guy. Think the team is in serious need of more playmaking on the floor with Luka. Agree that the supporting cast is not championship quality. 

2)  Agree that it would be better to have two guys who can be depended on for 20 ppg, rather than having to count on a couple of members of a platoon to step up from one game to the next. KP generally approaches this, but after that, you just never know.