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

[dirkfansince1998]

I don't disagree with any of this and understand that the Kyrie lineups show a negative defensive impact but the thing I would say is that it's been a super small sample size.  I would also be curious to see those on/off metrics broken into 1st and 2nd half numbers because right now what I've seen is Kyrie leading comebacks in the 3rd quarter which requires stops being made and him being a huge part of our 4th quarter minutes where we have a net rating of +27.  I also know that counting stats on defense aren't the best things to look at but 8 steals and 3 blocks over the last 3 games is nothing to scoff at, especially when we're winning so many close games.

Something that I found really interesting that Brian Windhorst brought up time and time again on the Hoop Collective last year was that while the Nuggets didn't seem like a great defensive team, their clutch time defense told a much different story and we're starting to see a similar formula play out here (not saying we're on that level obviously, just found it interesting commentary on how defense can be leveled up when needed by good teams).

Agreed. Mavs certainly have more potential on the defensive end than the first half suggests. And it is pretty obvious that some players (Luka!!!) are taking too many plays off on defense.
Looking at the rotation the main difference between the first and second half is Green's role. 11 minutes in the first half. 16 in the second half. +/- indicates that he is the glue guy that makes things work.
Interestingly the pattern you noticed also shows up. Kyrie has the worst +/- on the roster in the first half (-10.0). Best in the second half (+11.6). Luka/Kyrie minutes aren't looking as good as they could. Stretch in the late first with Kyrie/THJ is terrible. For some reason the same lineups look way better in the second half.