MAVS NEWS: Luka Is Hurt, But is Trudging On | DLive's Mom Passes Away| Maxi OUT

[DanSchwartzgan]

It DID work, it's just that by that point all of the defenses are great at seeing the first option (roller) coming and taking it away. That's how Luka ends up making people look so silly in the playoffs, because the defense is taking the screener (not only Powell, but certainly Powell when he's in there) away. It's also how Kleber got those 8 3's to drop from the corner against Utah, because Gobert had to make a choice on those plays.

Thus, in the playoffs the team was +6.8 points per 100 possessions with Powell in there.  Defense wasn’t good and Powell personally didn’t put a thing in the bucket.  But, the TEAM won the battle during those minutes.  Last I checked, that is the most important thing.

Now we have the same thing offensively in a limited minutes role in McGee with much MUCH better rim protection and rebounding.  We’ll be fine during the McGee minutes with Reggie, Dorian and Dinwiddie.  What people are sleeping on is how good this bench is going to be.  Maxi, Wood and Hardaway are the core of a fantastic group.  Yes, Dinwiddie moved to the starting lineup to replace Brunson.  If Tim replaces SD’s bench production, then Wood is a pure addition to what we already had in the playoffs.  Powell is still here if you need more than 15 minutes of rim running for some reason (but, against bench units).  Bertans has proven he can carve out a highly effective and net positive role in limited minutes and we will hopefully see some growth from Green and Frank.  Absent injury issues, I still have this as a home court in the first round playoff team.