2021-2022 ROSTER TALK: [ARCHIVED]

[dirkfansince1998]

I for the life of me, don't understand this off-handedness of the post up--analytics be damned of course. It's not unfortunate; it's highly effective and uses both of your main assets to their fullest when utilized properly. I'm not a fan of the smartest person in the room/five out style of offense when that's proven to not work when it actually matters. Sorry if that sounds irritating, but the nerds have the run of the office and it's made for some truly bad basketball. 

Not exactly sure how the nerds are to blame for the Mavs problems to run an efficient offense. RC "Nerd ball" was more efficient and in my opinion better to watch.

Caution...nerd talk incoming

Luka and KP both rank top 10 in the league in post up FGA per game according to synergy. Both combine for more post up attempts than AD and LeBron in LA.
Problem is that they aren´t as efficient as other players with similar post up volume. 0.92 PPP for both. That´s just not good enough when the league average (including all play types) is 1.08 PPP.
Even the best bigs struggle to reach those numbers (Embiid 1.06, Jokic 1.04 PPP). That´s why both are doing a lot more than just post ups. 

That obviously does not mean that the Mavs should never post up. In certain matchups it can be a good option but it shouldn´t be the focal point. Right now the volume is a little bit to high for my taste (as a team 4th behind Lakers, 76ers, Nuggets). Especially because it isn´t leading to increased inside scoring numbers. The Mavs are last in the league in PITP.

Talking about KP. I think he looks really good when he gets a deep position and just needs to make a quick move to finish over a defender. That should be his focal point if he wants to get more inside touches (obviously next to another shooter, Kleber or DFS, not Powell). That´s what I would classify as a good post up attempt.

The ellbow/high post attempts shouldn´t be more than a bail out as long as he cannot improve his percentages. KP trying to force switches and catching the ball 15-20ft away from the basket rarely leads to positive results. Gets even worse when he tries to backdown the defender.