2021-2022 ROSTER TALK: [ARCHIVED]

[KillerLeft]

It is a little tiresome to hear about bigs being played off the court in the playoffs.  The same can be true if you don't have them and get bullied by other teams' bigs!  You also have to make it through the grind of the regular season with a high seeding and not beat up.

It's a decent point, but it doesn't change the calculus, for me. 

Yes, Looney hurt the Mavs. I personally didn't think he bullied them, I think they moved the ball really, really, REALLY freaking well and he was the guy whose defender had to leave him at the end of those possessions. He made them pay by presenting himself intelligently as a target in the paint after the ball had pinballed around enough to break the defense. 

And, it's worth noting that he was on the floor specifically because he was able to hang in there early in the series when the Dallas ball-handlers (including Luka) tried to attack him on switches. He did so better than Gobert, better than Ayton. Kudos to him, and hopefully the Mavs can find some modern bigs like that. Hopefully Wood is one, honestly. 

But, it's disingenuous to suggest that GS simply decided to stay big at the 5. They had a good one who was ready to D up on the perimeter. That's rare.