08-25-2021, 10:47 AM
(08-25-2021, 10:33 AM)mavsluvr Wrote: I have to strongly disagree that the presence of Richardson was this team's biggest problem
You may be right, but there is a LOT of data that says otherwise and points to JR as the single largest on-court issue over the course of the entire season and thousands of minutes.
(08-25-2021, 10:33 AM)mavsluvr Wrote: The enormous issue for the Mavs, it seems to me, was turning KP into a player who is productive on both ends and fits into the system.
Yes, as I stated, KP is the elephant in the room because of his salary and how he has not lived into the expectation of being the second star. For whatever reasons, the Mavs seem to be currently choosing to see if coaching and system change and improved health is enough to change the dynamics with him.
And back to the data: There is much more data that suggests there is more hope with a future KP fit than there was with JR. JR had a few good lineups, but the overall data screamed that he was not a good fit on this team and with Luka.
Over the course of 3,461 minutes JR was a team worst -6.3 on/off (next closest was -3.4). In the last 15 regular season games with a reduced role in place he was still -5.2 on/off. In the playoffs for anyone who played more than 50 minutes, he was a team worst -33.6 on/off. Large role, small role, regular season, playoffs...it didn't matter, JR playing was consistent with the team's performance being at its worst.