This was one of the oddest of series. Stalwarts of the season vanished. The team featured some of its bit players. The team performed better than expected, then seemed to fold like a cheap tent. What happened, and couldn’t it have been foreseen, at the coaching and/or roster construction levels?
LUKA. Was terrific, easily one of the best players in the postseason. But wore down with his extra minutes. Gasping for breath in fourth quarters, he was unable to consistently deliver in the games’ closing minutes. It was clear why they couldn’t just shorten his minutes — they hemorrhaged points with every second he was off the floor.
Was this a problem with Luka not taking care of his body? The Mavs failing to have an adequate backup? (See Brunson). Another problem?
PORZINGIS. Counted on to be the second star, KP was not necessarily that even in the regular season, but he disappeared in the playoffs. Serving as a decoy has value, certainly, and we saw that in some of the games. But taking KP out of the offense and into the corner meant there was a 20-point, 10-rebound hole in what one would expect a second option to contribute. Also, very little rim protection.
Very disappointing. Can he still serve as a force offensively? Something wrong with his role? Is he too limited in moving around to defend any more? Ultra-tall guys (over 7’1”) generally don’t prove durable in the NBA — is KP past his sell-by date?
RICHARDSON. A guy who started most of the season’s games was first benched and then reduced to a cameo role, being a negative on the court, prone to turnovers and missed shots.
Was this first noticed at the end of the season? Was he dealing with an undisclosed injury? How did he fall off the face of the earth like that?
MAXI. Initially tasked with guarding Kawhi, he was far from a stopper, and was eventually mostly replaced. Offensively, he seemed afraid of the moment, reluctant to take open shots. Considered one of the pillars of the team, he didn’t make the hoped-for impact.
Kleber was fighting injuries, which was evidently a lingering thing. Rick Carlisle: He was battling something all season long. One week it was one thing. The next week was another thing. It was always something.
Was this vanishing performance accounted for by playing hurt? Or, after two postseasons of not showing up, is the stage just too big for him? Should they have foreseen this, and given Kawhi some different looks earlier?
BRUNSON. Jalen was one of the best offensive players in the season, but was more or less played off the floor in the postseason. This seems like one that could have been predicted. Miniature point guards have not generally fared well in terms of making deep runs in the playoffs. The Clippers’ long, rangy players and extreme depth eclipsed him, and at best, he managed to create a few shots for himself.
Cuban has stated that the team needs another playmaker. Was Brunson’s failure to perform a quirk of the Clippers matchup, or is he too small/not good enough for starter minutes in the playoffs as a whole?
BOBAN. Bobi earned a lot of DNP-CDs during the season, and was suddenly a featured center in the playoffs. He brought some “easy” offense and a surprise look for the Clippers. However, the chemistry between him and the rest of the team was lacking. The Mavs committed numerous turnovers trying to force the ball into him, as passes were off-target, or Bobi couldn’t hold on to the ball.
Could Boban’s heavy usage in the playoffs have been foreseen, and the team sharpened up that look? Or could the passing/retaining skills have been a matter of focus?
DEFENDERS. There were six bigs on the rosters, and all played. Five played in all or most games. Why was there so little rim protection? That seems inexcusable. The perimeter defense was little better, or was missing altogether with the heavy use of the zone.
Last summer, the Mavs touted their defensive improvements. Gave up Curry for Richardson, who was benched and barely played. Selected a defensive prospect as their first-round draft pick. Green did not play much in the season, and no competitive minutes in the playoffs (not saying he should have, just noting he didn't). James Johnson was hyped as the enforcer. Wes Iwundu as a defensive addition. Neither was on the roster, both having turned into Redick, who was not expected to help defensively, and in fact was unable to play in the series.
OVERALL. This critique is meant to be a search for deeper knowledge, and not an empty rota of complaints. The Clippers were a more talented and deeper team, and were strongly favored. It’s not surprising that they advanced. What I find disturbing is the strange way it happened, with the postseason seeming to bear little relationship to the regular season. In a way, maybe that’s a compliment to Carlisle for having the boldness to go in an entirely different direction. But I’m not convinced that’s the end of the story.
How is it that so many of the major players descended into near-unplayable status in the playoffs? Were they used incorrectly? If they just weren’t good enough, to the point that Bobi and Burke were trusted above them, is that something that wasn’t obvious until Game 3 in the postseason? If it wasn’t foreseen, why not? Etc. The partial explanations we have heard for this wholesale disintegration from official and semi-official sources have been unsatisfying, imo.
Maybe these questions are just some of those mysteries of the universe that will never be solved.
LUKA. Was terrific, easily one of the best players in the postseason. But wore down with his extra minutes. Gasping for breath in fourth quarters, he was unable to consistently deliver in the games’ closing minutes. It was clear why they couldn’t just shorten his minutes — they hemorrhaged points with every second he was off the floor.
Was this a problem with Luka not taking care of his body? The Mavs failing to have an adequate backup? (See Brunson). Another problem?
PORZINGIS. Counted on to be the second star, KP was not necessarily that even in the regular season, but he disappeared in the playoffs. Serving as a decoy has value, certainly, and we saw that in some of the games. But taking KP out of the offense and into the corner meant there was a 20-point, 10-rebound hole in what one would expect a second option to contribute. Also, very little rim protection.
Very disappointing. Can he still serve as a force offensively? Something wrong with his role? Is he too limited in moving around to defend any more? Ultra-tall guys (over 7’1”) generally don’t prove durable in the NBA — is KP past his sell-by date?
RICHARDSON. A guy who started most of the season’s games was first benched and then reduced to a cameo role, being a negative on the court, prone to turnovers and missed shots.
Was this first noticed at the end of the season? Was he dealing with an undisclosed injury? How did he fall off the face of the earth like that?
MAXI. Initially tasked with guarding Kawhi, he was far from a stopper, and was eventually mostly replaced. Offensively, he seemed afraid of the moment, reluctant to take open shots. Considered one of the pillars of the team, he didn’t make the hoped-for impact.
Kleber was fighting injuries, which was evidently a lingering thing. Rick Carlisle: He was battling something all season long. One week it was one thing. The next week was another thing. It was always something.
Was this vanishing performance accounted for by playing hurt? Or, after two postseasons of not showing up, is the stage just too big for him? Should they have foreseen this, and given Kawhi some different looks earlier?
BRUNSON. Jalen was one of the best offensive players in the season, but was more or less played off the floor in the postseason. This seems like one that could have been predicted. Miniature point guards have not generally fared well in terms of making deep runs in the playoffs. The Clippers’ long, rangy players and extreme depth eclipsed him, and at best, he managed to create a few shots for himself.
Cuban has stated that the team needs another playmaker. Was Brunson’s failure to perform a quirk of the Clippers matchup, or is he too small/not good enough for starter minutes in the playoffs as a whole?
BOBAN. Bobi earned a lot of DNP-CDs during the season, and was suddenly a featured center in the playoffs. He brought some “easy” offense and a surprise look for the Clippers. However, the chemistry between him and the rest of the team was lacking. The Mavs committed numerous turnovers trying to force the ball into him, as passes were off-target, or Bobi couldn’t hold on to the ball.
Could Boban’s heavy usage in the playoffs have been foreseen, and the team sharpened up that look? Or could the passing/retaining skills have been a matter of focus?
DEFENDERS. There were six bigs on the rosters, and all played. Five played in all or most games. Why was there so little rim protection? That seems inexcusable. The perimeter defense was little better, or was missing altogether with the heavy use of the zone.
Last summer, the Mavs touted their defensive improvements. Gave up Curry for Richardson, who was benched and barely played. Selected a defensive prospect as their first-round draft pick. Green did not play much in the season, and no competitive minutes in the playoffs (not saying he should have, just noting he didn't). James Johnson was hyped as the enforcer. Wes Iwundu as a defensive addition. Neither was on the roster, both having turned into Redick, who was not expected to help defensively, and in fact was unable to play in the series.
OVERALL. This critique is meant to be a search for deeper knowledge, and not an empty rota of complaints. The Clippers were a more talented and deeper team, and were strongly favored. It’s not surprising that they advanced. What I find disturbing is the strange way it happened, with the postseason seeming to bear little relationship to the regular season. In a way, maybe that’s a compliment to Carlisle for having the boldness to go in an entirely different direction. But I’m not convinced that’s the end of the story.
How is it that so many of the major players descended into near-unplayable status in the playoffs? Were they used incorrectly? If they just weren’t good enough, to the point that Bobi and Burke were trusted above them, is that something that wasn’t obvious until Game 3 in the postseason? If it wasn’t foreseen, why not? Etc. The partial explanations we have heard for this wholesale disintegration from official and semi-official sources have been unsatisfying, imo.
Maybe these questions are just some of those mysteries of the universe that will never be solved.