05-07-2021, 12:34 PM
two Mavs notes in Zach Lowe's ten things column today:
The enigma of Dwight Powell
It's no surprise how wildly Powell's role has fluctuated in Dallas. He's a tricky fit. He's a rim-runner -- the most dangerous screen-and-dive threat for Luka Doncic -- but he can't protect the rim on defense. Opponents are shooting 70% at the basket with Powell nearby, one of the fattest figures among big men. Ball handlers go right through Powell as if he isn't there. He's a (way) below-average rebounder; lineups with Powell as the only big have been squishy on defense for years. Pairing him with another non-shooting big man is mostly a no-go. His ideal frontcourt partner can block shots and shoot 3s. The Mavs have two such players in Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber. Dallas outscored opponents by about 12 points per 100 possessions last season with those two combinations on the floor. The Kleber version has been good this season; the Porzingis version has hemorrhaged points on defense in limited minutes. Powell is not super well equipped to chase stretchy power forwards on defense either, and he has to do that next to Porzingis because Porzingis is too slow. Kleber is more versatile. Playing two bigs alongside Doncic squeezes the Mavs' perimeter rotation, and in some cases makes Dallas a little plodding. Most of the Mavs' role players have been up and down, so having options is nice. The Mavs are 30-15 since an 8-13 start in which they were upended by the virus, so they have clearly figured some things out. But night to night, you never know quite what you are getting. There have been clunkers where it feels like they just can't find themselves. Powell -- even amid a strong recent run -- epitomes that haziness.
5. Keep an eye on Josh Green
Green has drawn angst from Mavs fans. He has played only 364 minutes. He's 3-of-21 on 3s. Meanwhile, Saddiq Bey -- taken one spot after Green -- and Desmond Bane are thriving as 3-and-maybe-D prototypes with some off-the-bounce juice. But count me as at least a mild Green optimist. The fastest way to tell if a seldom-used rookie has any chance is to look for glimpses of advanced feel -- the ability to read the game in real time, or even from one step ahead. For deep bench rookies, that reveals itself in small things -- extra passes, on-time rotations, the occasional canny drive-and-kick. Green has flashed those signs. A lot of his extra passes -- even some from midair, in heavy traffic -- are touch passes, indicating Green knows where he wants to go before he gets the ball. He understands how defenses shift, and manipulates them with look-away passes: He rotates in sync with the offense, arriving on time -- and sometimes before the defense expects him: I get the Bane and Bey envy. Green is miles behind them as a shooter. But don't give up on him yet.
The enigma of Dwight Powell
It's no surprise how wildly Powell's role has fluctuated in Dallas. He's a tricky fit. He's a rim-runner -- the most dangerous screen-and-dive threat for Luka Doncic -- but he can't protect the rim on defense. Opponents are shooting 70% at the basket with Powell nearby, one of the fattest figures among big men. Ball handlers go right through Powell as if he isn't there. He's a (way) below-average rebounder; lineups with Powell as the only big have been squishy on defense for years. Pairing him with another non-shooting big man is mostly a no-go. His ideal frontcourt partner can block shots and shoot 3s. The Mavs have two such players in Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber. Dallas outscored opponents by about 12 points per 100 possessions last season with those two combinations on the floor. The Kleber version has been good this season; the Porzingis version has hemorrhaged points on defense in limited minutes. Powell is not super well equipped to chase stretchy power forwards on defense either, and he has to do that next to Porzingis because Porzingis is too slow. Kleber is more versatile. Playing two bigs alongside Doncic squeezes the Mavs' perimeter rotation, and in some cases makes Dallas a little plodding. Most of the Mavs' role players have been up and down, so having options is nice. The Mavs are 30-15 since an 8-13 start in which they were upended by the virus, so they have clearly figured some things out. But night to night, you never know quite what you are getting. There have been clunkers where it feels like they just can't find themselves. Powell -- even amid a strong recent run -- epitomes that haziness.
5. Keep an eye on Josh Green
Green has drawn angst from Mavs fans. He has played only 364 minutes. He's 3-of-21 on 3s. Meanwhile, Saddiq Bey -- taken one spot after Green -- and Desmond Bane are thriving as 3-and-maybe-D prototypes with some off-the-bounce juice. But count me as at least a mild Green optimist. The fastest way to tell if a seldom-used rookie has any chance is to look for glimpses of advanced feel -- the ability to read the game in real time, or even from one step ahead. For deep bench rookies, that reveals itself in small things -- extra passes, on-time rotations, the occasional canny drive-and-kick. Green has flashed those signs. A lot of his extra passes -- even some from midair, in heavy traffic -- are touch passes, indicating Green knows where he wants to go before he gets the ball. He understands how defenses shift, and manipulates them with look-away passes: He rotates in sync with the offense, arriving on time -- and sometimes before the defense expects him: I get the Bane and Bey envy. Green is miles behind them as a shooter. But don't give up on him yet.