(06-03-2021, 09:48 AM)HanspardsShowerVoice Wrote: Not a surprise to me that JRich isn't getting much playing time in a gameplan that involves going big. You can't put him on the floor with Boban/Powell/WCS for extended periods of time. You can only put so many non shooters on the floor at one time in the modern NBA, and Josh has laid enough bricks behind the arc over the season to build a subdivision outside of Frisco. Brunson only played 10 minutes. We had to keep shooters on the floor with this gameplan, so THJ plays 45 minutes.
This is more along the lines I think as well. The problem with matching up in 'small ball' is very simply that sometimes their small ball talent is just better than your small ball talent. This doesn't necessarily mean your small ball guys are bad, but they aren't stacked with NBA ring bearers and all stars etc.
If you go simply guard for guard and Wing for Wing up and down the roster, after Luka, the Dallas guards and wings are good, sometimes very good but the Clippers can Match your Luka with a Kawhi and then raise you a Paul George, Rajon Rondo etc. etc. The LA concentration of talent in small ball rotations is totally elite.
On the other hand by going the big the Mavericks rotation includes not only Porzingis and Boban, super bigs, but then they can run your guys ragged with Powell, Kleber and WCS while keeping their best guards/wings in play enough for shooting, slashing and perimeter defense as much as possible.
So the minutes to go big had to come from somewhere and not only JRich but even the talented small guards like Brunson are not left to try and beat the Clipper wings man for man. The Mavs BIG rotation over the course of a game is a real load for small ball rotations to defend even though the LA wings are big wings and very good defenders.