11-21-2023, 09:36 AM
(11-21-2023, 07:40 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: Last season the defense was slightly better with Powell on the floor. Don't think he has been any worse this year. Sample sizes are still really small but looking at the available lineup data the Mavs aren't doing him any favors. Lineup with the most minutes (20) features Irving/THJ/Exum/Green next to him. Resulting in a 135.7 defensive rating. In contrast Powell + starters (Doncic/Irving/DJJ/Williams) results in the best defensive rating (96.3) among all 5-man combinations that played more than 10 minutes.
In general playing next to DJJ and to a lesser degree Williams leads to better defensive numbers for most Mavs.
The bench unit is playing without a single SF/PF sized player (not named Luka...who rarely shows enough effort to count). Ignoring trade options the only hope is Kleber returning from his injury and staying healthy enough to play 20+ minutes. A story that is repeating itself year after year.
It's one of the consequences of starting DJJ over Green. The defense would be better with DJJ playing next to Powell as he provides some rim protection and is a pretty good defender. I also think Luka and Powell need to be paired more. They work well together on offense and Luka's elite rebounding covers DP's below-average rebounding. Coaching counts and I think it's an issue on this team.