11-07-2023, 03:26 PM
(11-07-2023, 02:48 PM)StrandedOnBeauboisHill Wrote: Kyrie's defense has been really good over the last two games. The narrative on him has not matched what I've seen on the court. He gets his hands on everything and creates a ton of extra possessions for us.
Not a narrative. Just a look at the lineup numbers. For whatever reason (I would assume playing too many mediocre and undersized perimeter defenders at the same time) Kyrie's minutes are hurting the Mavs on defense. Same for THJ.
Kyrie as the smallest guy on the floor is getting the easiest matchup (basically took Luka's spot) but that creates bad machups for his teammates. Against the Hornets for example he was defending Miller. Meaning that THJ/Green had to defend Ball. Luka on Hayward. Next game against the Nuggets he was defending KCP.
It's not really about Kyrie as a bad individual defender. It's about the amount of mediocre/undersized defenders you can get away with. Right now the Mavs are a pipe dream matchup for teams that want to switch hunt. So many weaknesses to exploit on the defensive end.
Leading to the big picture questions. What is the ceiling of a Luka/Kyrie duo? Can the Mavs put enough defense around them to make it work?