04-04-2023, 11:45 AM
(04-04-2023, 11:23 AM)Dahlsim Wrote: I get that with McGee. My point was Kidd and company tried to get McGee to fit into the style and scheme they wanted to play. Javale himself actually commented on this early in the season and as I recall even before the season. He was slotted to play a major role but he wasn't at all confident that the way they wanted him to play was something he would be able to adapt to. Bottom line is he was never the center for the system they wanted to play so the Coach/System/Player fit was not there from day one.
What we saw in ATL was a motivated McGee + a motivated Wood being used playing to their strengths was a different look that brought the team back and gave them every legit chance to win with Luka/Kyrie. If Luka was even healthy and shooting on par they win that game.
I'm not suggesting now that McGee was great for the Mavs this year, of course he wasn't, but the fact is he has been good, very good to the tune of championship level for teams that figured out how to play to his strengths which are significant.
McGee was effective playing rim protection, rebounding and giving the Mavs a high percentage lob and inside scoring option. With age he may be slowing down some playing mobile defense in space though.
Wood is a big that can play effective offense like a big wing and IF motivated (still a concern after a signed contract) can play some defense too.
My larger point is about Coaching that can win with a hand that is dealt them vs. requiring just the right pieces to be acquired in making their desired style work. Cap space and other realities make the latter road dicey even to just keep a winning roster together such as we saw with Brunson.
Mav's coach, Kidd or whoever right now has to figure out how to play to a roster with a cast built to support Luka/Kyrie.
DFS is gone, that has to be filled but what does the championship contender roster look like after that?
Is it feasible with Luka/Kyrie?
Agreed. Adding McGee and expecting him to play a Powell-like role on defense never made any sense. McGee stated that the Mavs are asking him to play higher up in the pick and roll. Something he had never done before.
But going back to the playoffs last season we already knew that McGee wasn´t looking like his Lakers or GS self. If I had to guess I would say that he never had the best positioning or feel for the game but a combination of length and athleticism allowed him to make up for it. Without elite athleticism a steep decline isn´t exactly suprising.
Absolutely agree with your overall point. Lack of adjustments and/or attempts to play to the strengths of the roster this season lead to a lot of justified outrage among fans.
Sadly I don´t trust them to upgrade the overall talent or at least bring in better fitting pieces.
Personally I don´t think that Luka/Kyrie is a winning formula given that they only have limited assets to make at least two major changes. Fit wise the most interesting topic isn´t about offense for me. I trust any Luka lead team to have a top 10 offense in a worst case scenario. My primary concern is Luka´s role on defense. Depending on his role the Mavs either need another smaller point of attack defender next to him or another big wing. In addition to the much needed PF/C upgrade.