02-13-2022, 01:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-13-2022, 01:47 PM by KillerLeft.)
In terms of on court play, one thing I find interesting about this trade is that both teams seem to be trying to sell angles that have an element of hopeful wishing to them.
Washington's coach stuck his neck out a bit too far, imo, declaring that Beal/KP were going to be an effective tandem in the "two-man game." KP might keep playing better and better there if his health holds up, but I don't really see a reason he and Beal would be any more effective two-man partners (the phrase seems to imply pick setting, playing off of Beal, etc) than KP was with Luka. It might work for some reason I don't understand at this time, but I'm skeptical.
Similarly, there has been optimism from DAL that Dinwiddie is going to be able to play effectively off-ball with Luka. I've seen in a couple of places that even this year, a down year for Dinwiddie coming off of a major injury, he has been noticeably better when NOT playing with Beal. I have no trouble whatsoever believing that Dinwiddie as the lead guard in situations when both Brunson and Luka rest will be a significant upgrade off the bench for Dallas. But, that amount of time, while crucial, will be fairly insignificant in terms of percentage of game time. Likely to get less and less significant as we move down the stretch and into the playoffs, too. Basically, if he can't play WITH Luka and Brunson this is going to fail pretty hard, fit wise. I suppose there was a time when we argued the same thing regarding Brunson and Luka, and that seems silly now. But, unlike Dinwiddie, Brunson can catch-and-shoot a little. Maybe I'm underrating that part of Dinwiddie's game.
Bertans, on the other hand, would seem to fit this team like a glove, as all the things they needed to do with Porzingis that he was just not happy doing are the things Bertans wants to do. I guess the only issue with him is about whether or not he is even still a good player anywhere.
It's all fascinating to me. I'm getting more and more excited to see how this plays out for both teams.
Washington's coach stuck his neck out a bit too far, imo, declaring that Beal/KP were going to be an effective tandem in the "two-man game." KP might keep playing better and better there if his health holds up, but I don't really see a reason he and Beal would be any more effective two-man partners (the phrase seems to imply pick setting, playing off of Beal, etc) than KP was with Luka. It might work for some reason I don't understand at this time, but I'm skeptical.
Similarly, there has been optimism from DAL that Dinwiddie is going to be able to play effectively off-ball with Luka. I've seen in a couple of places that even this year, a down year for Dinwiddie coming off of a major injury, he has been noticeably better when NOT playing with Beal. I have no trouble whatsoever believing that Dinwiddie as the lead guard in situations when both Brunson and Luka rest will be a significant upgrade off the bench for Dallas. But, that amount of time, while crucial, will be fairly insignificant in terms of percentage of game time. Likely to get less and less significant as we move down the stretch and into the playoffs, too. Basically, if he can't play WITH Luka and Brunson this is going to fail pretty hard, fit wise. I suppose there was a time when we argued the same thing regarding Brunson and Luka, and that seems silly now. But, unlike Dinwiddie, Brunson can catch-and-shoot a little. Maybe I'm underrating that part of Dinwiddie's game.
Bertans, on the other hand, would seem to fit this team like a glove, as all the things they needed to do with Porzingis that he was just not happy doing are the things Bertans wants to do. I guess the only issue with him is about whether or not he is even still a good player anywhere.
It's all fascinating to me. I'm getting more and more excited to see how this plays out for both teams.
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