05-23-2021, 05:33 AM
(05-22-2021, 11:39 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: Someone else mentioned this in another thread, but I'm 90% sure the main purpose for the KL/KP matchup was that Lue expected a lot of Luka/KP pick and roll action and put his best defender there to switch onto Luka in those scenarios. I'm not sure if Dallas really did plan on running much of that or not, but if so, it was a successful deterrent.
I think Lue is not that smart, otherwise Ibaka plays more than 13 minutes. 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks +11. We had no answer for him. Luckily Marcus Morris talks a lot bigger than he plays, so he somehow got 33 minutes. Hopefully it will continue.
Also I don´t think Leonard wants to defend Luka for 48 minutes. His body probably can´t handle it. My question would be what PG13´s excuse is? Can nobody stop him anyway, but on paper nobody should be better equipped to defend Luka than the Clippers.
Leaving aside the horrible game by KP, especially in terms of defense/effort, since off nights offensively can happen, Powell and Melli are just not playable. There is so much potential to upgrade this PF position, it´s ridiculous. Markkanen or Collins feasting off Luka would be something else. I´d love to see a FG/3pt% stat career of all the Mavs with/without Luka. Feels like they all shoot about 2-5% better, which would be pretty remarkable for Markkanen/Collins.