2021-2022 MAVS NEWS: 4th in West | WCF loss [ARCHIVED]

[KillerLeft]

Why is the offense scoring 112.3 pts/100 poss. when JB plays and only 101.9 pts/100 poss. when Luka plays? How would you go about highlighting the discrepancy? Do guys only suck at spacing when Luka plays? I am super curious on your thoughts.

To be clear, I'm not saying guys "suck at spacing." I'm leaning towards "the team isn't as focused on spacing as they should be." But you're right, there's some subjectivity between the two. 

To answer your question, I'd start by watching whether the offensive approach changes during those times. I think it does, but I don't know why, I admit. Is one of them playing more minutes with KP? With Powell? I think it's possible that when Brunson is in the game, the team has a specific approach where everyone knows "this is how we play with Brunson." But, while Luka is in the game, maybe there are periods where it's ambiguous. Like, the team is trying to add things to his time, knowing they don't want him running spread pnr 90% of the time, as we've seen in the past. Setting my personal feelings about whether or not that's the right move aside, I can tell you definitively that if that's the case, there's a ton of room for gaps in the players' understanding of that kind of thing. Could be ineffective teaching. Could be ineffective study/mental commitment on the part of the players (Luka included, maybe). Could be subject to the fickle buy-in of certain players as the game goes on, etc, etc, etc. 

And, again, I don't think you're nuts with the diet/conditioning thread. Or the attitude thread, when you get around to hitting that nail everyday. I think those probably are factors. But to me, it's sooooo obvious that the team just flatly hasn't played a single game during which they've seemed like everyone was ATTEMPTING to accomplish the same things on offense. To me, it's tough to pick fault with ANY individual player (accurately) until it's clear what they're being asked to do.