07-15-2022, 07:10 PM
(07-15-2022, 05:57 PM)cow Wrote: That's what made Jordan and Pippen so dominate as they were two way players who were devastating defenders. Toss Harper and Rodman in the mix and you could skate by with place holder centers like Longley and Wennington.
I'm not sure the Mavs have the FO talent to build a team around Luka. I mentioned threading that needle earlier. You need guys around him that can help hide his liabilities on defense. As great as JB is, he doesn't do that but rather compounds the problem. It why in concept that I don't hate that he is gone, but I have little faith that they can replace him and they fact that they got a bag of air when he left is painful.
We really need our own version of Klay Thompson or Kris Middleton but then again, who doesn't?
I think that Luka showed enough over the course of the season last year that he is indeed physically capable of playing defense. Unfortunately, especially in the playoffs, he slacked again. It's mental. He has to decide he wants to do it. Part of that is having other guys who can do the heavy lifting on O. While losing JB is addition by subtraction personnel-wise due to his own defensive warts, I think that's more than evened out right now by the additional wear-and-tear Luka is going to accrue by being one two instead of three principal ball handlers. That's why it's a major banghead smiley moment if the Mavs don't get Conley, Kemba, Schroeder, or someone else to fill those JB minutes.