04-25-2021, 12:23 PM
(04-25-2021, 12:05 PM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: I'm not ready to give up on DP/KP as starters just because Powell had a great night with KP out. Powell is the best perimeter defender and has the best team defense numbers of any of the alternatives. We know DFS at PF is MUCH less effective defensively than DFS at SF (D-Rating is 10 points better at 106 when DFS is at SF). When KP and Maxi are on the floor together, the D-Rating is 108.2 (and 100 in limited minutes with WCS). The logical extension is KP/DP should be just as good defensively if not better. And, this is backed up by the 500 minutes they played together last season with a D-Rating of 105.3
The worry we hear is KP/DP can't work offensively or that it diminishes the value of KP or it keeps Luka/KP from working the two-man game together. We know the first isn't true. All we have to do is look at the early part of last season. The KP/DP experiment just started, for the current season, but we scored 115 and 127 in two games KP had 19 in each. So, let's focus on the other two concerns.
I've never bought the idea that KP/DP can't work offensively. KP has great 3Pt Gravity and DP has great Roll Gravity. The team has been diversifying KP's attack to the great benefit of his TS% this season (by far best in career). He can post (and pass out of the post), he's above average at ISO. His Total Perimeter Shooting Impact is in the 96th percentile. His O-Lebron, O-Raptor and O-BPM are all in the 90th-plus percentile. Surely we can find something for him to do next to Powell.
Based on all of KP's comments from earlier this season, I'd say he's the one who needs to be convinced. Most of the smart people here have been on board with this since last season, in part due to your excellent writing about it.
Speculation here, but I think Carlisle's "everything is on the table" comment from last week might've had something to do with KP's wishes. Something like "we tried it your way, but it's not working."