11-24-2022, 09:16 AM
You know, I don't think Maxi has been particularly good this season compared to seasons past, but I think we really miss him right now. 1-3 without him with losses to Houston and Denver and this embarrassment in Boston. I almost turned it off at halftime to join my wife in the other room. She was watching a Hallmark Christmas movie and the characters in the movie were playing better D than the Mav's. 70 points on 55%/52% at halftime. What we managed to do in the Josh Green led run in the late 3rd/early 4th doesn't come close to erasing the stench of the first half. We looked awful and I'm getting really tired of watching Luka vs. The World while four inept players stand around and watch.
Killer, I'm a bit surprised you pick this game to tout the benefits of Wood solo-big. Breaking it down by quarter it was -3 in Q1, -14 in Q2, +3 in Q3 and +0 in Q4. That is -14. Powell was -6 and we had 1:19 where McGee was by himself at -2. Without Maxi, there was only 2:17 of two big's at the same time and that was +6.
The second quarter was Keystone Cops stuff. Wood really has no idea what to do defensively. Don't watch the ball, watch Wood. People are constantly pointing to where he's supposed to be. Even on offense, I saw instances of people (including Luka) pointing to where Wood should go. So, he either doesn't know or just breaks off plays and does what he wants. I don't think we notice it as much on offense because 1. Most of us don't actually know where he's supposed to go on any given play and 2. Luka saves the day by ad-libbing something. Wood is immensely talented, which makes the experiment worthwhile. I hope it works, but my optimism that it will work is faltering. One other note on Wood. He's +47 for the season. So, his overall +/- contribution is positive. But be careful with that number. The two blowouts make up 43 of that 47. He's positive in only two of the last 11 games. For the full season, his +/- has outperformed the team's +/- five times and two of those came in the first 3 games.
I'm also surprised Cow doesn't think Green was fantastic last night. Maybe it wasn't as obvious on ESPN as it was on Bally, but he absolutely ignited the rally single handedly. And, the rally died when he checked out. Yes, he had back to back plays where he had hustle fouls that weren't pretty. But, he created at least 4 extra possessions with great D and had some really great moments of individual D as well. It isn't just some cosmic accident that the team is +13 when he's in the game. Contrasting Green with Wood (and much of their time overlaps...+18 which is Wood's best pairing), Green has been positive in 13 of 17 games. He's +81 for the season and still +50 when you take out the two blowout wins. This despite the fact Green gets more minutes (177) with Dinwiddie +3 than he does with Luka (157 @+24). Green is also Luka's best pairing and THJ's best pairing and Maxi's best pairing and DFS's best pairing. Powell is actually Dinwiddie's best pairing, but Green is the only other one that is positive (let that sink in for a minute).
There is much talk that it is criminal that Wood isn't starting. The real crime here is that Green isn't starting. The lineup to start and finish games should absolutely be Maxi/Wood/DFS/Green/Luka. There is literally no statistical argument for anyone else. If you want Wood to start and get 30+ minutes, this is what you should be advocating for to make it work The real question then becomes whether you can cobble together a bench with Powell/McGee, Bertans, Bullock, THJ and Dinwiddie. Given that that's $70 million worth of salary, you damned well better be able to.
This team is coasting. Maybe they can turn it on like they did last season. Much will depend on Wood figuring things out enough to 'earn' a bigger role. But, medium effort Bullock and DFS don't do nearly as much for me as high effort Bullock and DFS. The Luka/SD minutes aren't working either, so why not break them up some. These grizzled vets need a wakeup call and shaking up the starters and adding Green and Wood/Maxi is the medicine Dr. Dan is prescribing.
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Killer, I'm a bit surprised you pick this game to tout the benefits of Wood solo-big. Breaking it down by quarter it was -3 in Q1, -14 in Q2, +3 in Q3 and +0 in Q4. That is -14. Powell was -6 and we had 1:19 where McGee was by himself at -2. Without Maxi, there was only 2:17 of two big's at the same time and that was +6.
The second quarter was Keystone Cops stuff. Wood really has no idea what to do defensively. Don't watch the ball, watch Wood. People are constantly pointing to where he's supposed to be. Even on offense, I saw instances of people (including Luka) pointing to where Wood should go. So, he either doesn't know or just breaks off plays and does what he wants. I don't think we notice it as much on offense because 1. Most of us don't actually know where he's supposed to go on any given play and 2. Luka saves the day by ad-libbing something. Wood is immensely talented, which makes the experiment worthwhile. I hope it works, but my optimism that it will work is faltering. One other note on Wood. He's +47 for the season. So, his overall +/- contribution is positive. But be careful with that number. The two blowouts make up 43 of that 47. He's positive in only two of the last 11 games. For the full season, his +/- has outperformed the team's +/- five times and two of those came in the first 3 games.
I'm also surprised Cow doesn't think Green was fantastic last night. Maybe it wasn't as obvious on ESPN as it was on Bally, but he absolutely ignited the rally single handedly. And, the rally died when he checked out. Yes, he had back to back plays where he had hustle fouls that weren't pretty. But, he created at least 4 extra possessions with great D and had some really great moments of individual D as well. It isn't just some cosmic accident that the team is +13 when he's in the game. Contrasting Green with Wood (and much of their time overlaps...+18 which is Wood's best pairing), Green has been positive in 13 of 17 games. He's +81 for the season and still +50 when you take out the two blowout wins. This despite the fact Green gets more minutes (177) with Dinwiddie +3 than he does with Luka (157 @+24). Green is also Luka's best pairing and THJ's best pairing and Maxi's best pairing and DFS's best pairing. Powell is actually Dinwiddie's best pairing, but Green is the only other one that is positive (let that sink in for a minute).
There is much talk that it is criminal that Wood isn't starting. The real crime here is that Green isn't starting. The lineup to start and finish games should absolutely be Maxi/Wood/DFS/Green/Luka. There is literally no statistical argument for anyone else. If you want Wood to start and get 30+ minutes, this is what you should be advocating for to make it work The real question then becomes whether you can cobble together a bench with Powell/McGee, Bertans, Bullock, THJ and Dinwiddie. Given that that's $70 million worth of salary, you damned well better be able to.
This team is coasting. Maybe they can turn it on like they did last season. Much will depend on Wood figuring things out enough to 'earn' a bigger role. But, medium effort Bullock and DFS don't do nearly as much for me as high effort Bullock and DFS. The Luka/SD minutes aren't working either, so why not break them up some. These grizzled vets need a wakeup call and shaking up the starters and adding Green and Wood/Maxi is the medicine Dr. Dan is prescribing.
Happy Thanksgiving all!
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