04-12-2021, 11:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-12-2021, 11:50 PM by dirkfansince1998.)
(04-12-2021, 11:17 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: Then there is no excuse for him to not cut and keep moving. Your teammate not doing the right thing should not stop you from that.
Again to clarify, I am not talking about thie game tonight. This was just in reference to some remarks on this thread that Luka playing off the ball a bit is not good. I look at it as a very good thing. Anyway it looks like the Mavs are playing for the long run. If that’s the case it amakes sense to have Luka grow as a player.
It actually is because the right thing (cutting/rotating to the open spot up position) is not an option when the ballhandler cannot get past his defender. More often than not the ball ends up back in his hands anyway. Richardson or THJ try to create something. Waste most of the shot clock and Luka bails them. Gets the ball with 10s left and tries to create something.
Again. Would be a different story if his teammates could actually create something. RCs offense actually encourages multiple ballhandlers. Multiple drive and kicks for the best possible shot attempt (JJB-Devin bench units).
Last seasons cast was doing a much better job. Not only because they could shoot. Better ballhandling and passing as well (Barea, Curry, Wright). They did not rely on THJ to create of the dribble. He was a spot up only guy.
Numbers are really telling the story:
289.6 passes per game last season (15th)
270.4 passes this season (27th)
24.6 ast last season (14th), 46.3 pot ast (14th)
22.4 ast this season (28th), 42.7 pot ast (27th)
Luka pass attempts per game are down by four compared to last season. Not enough to explain the overall lack of ballmovement. There is a legit case that Luka is the only player with above average passing vision on the entire roster (maybe Melli as well, not sure about the rookies). Brunson, Burke and THJ are score first guys with questionable decision making and awareness. Richardson can make easy reads but rarely creates for others. More often than not his attempts end with a drive or a mirange pull up. Maxi, DFS and the bigs can barely but the ball on the floor.
Not saying that they are bad players. Just questioning the overall roster construction. Mavs lost more than just shooting. They lost playmaking and for lack of words offensive bball IQ and awareness.