04-19-2021, 02:33 PM
(04-19-2021, 01:07 PM)TXBamanut Wrote: Star players are like this. You expect them to get righted so you go with them. Role players like THJ or Brunson or DFS, they can be off and you just move to the next guy because you have a bunch of that category. You can't just move to the next guy because your star isn't because you have 1, maybe 2 of those guys and if they are what you go down with the ship on. Just is the nature of sports
Spot on, NBA revolves around the stars, you can't move on from them within the team, you have to move them off the team if it comes to that. Even if someone else emerges as a star replacement, you'll have a cancer in your locker room.
I would say though you can't make it with 1 star in todays NBA, really you hever could. You need at least 2 stars playing like stars and preferably 3 stars, You might have a superstar and an allstar but 1 star isn't winning anything today.
Lebron didn't even make the playoffs in LA the year before AD arrived and yeah you increase the chances of wearing and / or injuring your star.
Quote:I'm going to agree with this and add something that no one wants to admit when they talk about Luka. Until Luka learns to share some of the load, there is no real time star that is coming here to play with Luka...and I'm not sure there will ever been a big man star that he can play with if he can't share the load.
I think trading KP will expose it more, not cure it.
I'm in agreement with 9 of 10 on your points Bama but that's not one of the nine.
Luka is playing to win. As someone posted earlier he dished out a bunch of assists sacrificing his scoring a few games ago and Dallas was getting blown out.
Luka is too smart not to recognize when the plays and passes he's running aren't likely to produce well.
For instance if KP is sitting out at the 3 point line but he's not looking like his shot is on then Luka may well feel he can sink the 2 pointer even with 2 or 3 guys around him. In fact I watched him do exactly that couple of times.
Now you can rightly say at some point you have to just trust your teammates but if its not happening too many times his BBIQ may say Hero ball is what I have to do.
Some of my favorite plays are Luka rolling to the rim with a strong BIG off PnR or similar action.
KP is a load in that scenarios and Luka can also run it with Boban incredibly well. He can do it with Powell or WCS but those guys aren't really skilled creators as much as good leapers if the play is finished with a slam.
KP & Boban can create improvise near the basket at elite levels.
Problem is this sort of action is never an staple in RC offense. Its an occasional thing, never something they run to consistently stabilize the offense. Of course Boban doesn't play and KP increasingly is expected to shoot like Steph Curry outside the arc.
The reliable inside game from the Mavs big men is simply not there to support Luka, offensively or defensively.
Luka and the wings have to do themselves, and they really aren't bad at it, Brunson is pretty good, THJ etc. but its not a good replacement over the long term for strong frontline bigs.