03-23-2021, 05:48 AM
(03-23-2021, 04:35 AM)meistermatze Wrote: My take on KP, taken form my post in mavsluvrs gamethread (was about Luka getting doubled in the playoffs):
"That's why you need a second star at least, and that's where KP comes into play. I like him as a player and I was sure he had superstar potential whilst in New York. I still see it, but I don't think it is going to be in Dallas. He still feels like a foreign body in our offense - even if he's on fire (don't get me wrong, his play is okay for his standards right now and I see signs of improvement still) and drops 25+ it doesn't feel natural. It's him hitting difficult (and sometimes awkward feeling) shots. If he does, great, if he doesn't, he gets you 12, like last night.
He just does not seem involved, he just doesn't fit somehow and why is a mystery to me. On paper, he should complement Luka almost perfectly, yet he is not involved most of the time.
In another thread, Kamm and Killer were talking about how maybe Luka does not feel that he is good enough to justify more consideration in the offense. Luka will make the play and find the open man. You only change that it you have a better option per se (e.g. star player x) than player y being in a good position.
I think there is some truth to this and coaches seem to be unwilling to impose something else on Luka (like special treatment for KP). Their two-man-game got a little better over the last couple of weeks but they don't use it consistently as it looks out of sync.
I don't mean to be a downer but that's what I see and it's a huge red flag.
Let me first state that I think KP is an awesome player and I was super happy when Mavs traded for him. Still am. He basically has unlimited range which creates huge problems for opposing defense. However, he has a clear limitation that he can't really create for himself, let alone others. I don't think this is a consequence of Luka "ignoring" him or the Mavs system. It is just a simple fact and KP is the only one who can change that. 70 % of his shots are catch and shoots and his percentage is drastically dropping with number of dribbles he takes. Doncic for example only has 6.7 % of catch and shoot shots and his percentage is very stable even when he takes more dribbles.
KP gets his touches and his shots, never mind small sample of last three games. No one can claim he doesn't. He is a clear number two guy. But, you can pass him the ball all you want and he will unfortunately have little effect unless he is left at least a bit open by opposing defense. His go to move is a post up and unfortunately he hasn't been really efficient. Offense can't miracoulously create open looks for KP, if defense is giving him attention.
All that being said - I am ok with that. I accept KP is who he is and I still think he is great for the team. IF he accepts his role. Since he is supposed to be such a student of the game, it should be clear to him what his limitations as a player are. I have a hard time believing he would think he should have the ball all the time and force something to try to prove he is something else than he really is. Just because he is a max player and he should be allowed to do what he wants or something. He might be frustrated by his inability to provide more, but that is not really Luka (or Mavs system) fault.
I totally agree Mavs can't survive with Luka being asked to create everything. But I also think KP is not the answer here, again not because Luka is ignoring him or Mavs are not involving him, but because he just isn't able to be that player at this stage of where he is as a player. Not until he can reliably exploit his height advantage against smaller players. And I am ok with that. I would be super happy if KP would be able to improve and start punishing teams that would put smaller players on him. Than he would become a beast. Smaller players too small to guard him and centers too slow. Just look games like against Pelicans where he is guarded by Adams. He was killing it. And with Zion and Adams as very bad perimeter defenders, Pelicans just can't afford to throw a wing to guard KP. And KP is great in those games. But when playing Portland or Clippers, they put a wing (Kawhi, Jones, Hood and similar) on KP and he has a problem exoiting that. He is not strong enough and has high center of gravity to just push them below the rim. It is clear his worst games come against teams that throw good perimeter defenders on him (all three games against Portland, for example) and he thrives against the likes of Atlanta (Capella, Collins and Gallo are questionable perimeter defenders at best) or Pelicans.
Until KP will learn how to punish smaller players, Mavs will have a dire need for a capable creator. I am optimistic and I think one healthy offseason can solve that.