(04-03-2023, 10:24 PM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: We have gone full circle. People are asking for McGee and have already forgotten that him being on the floor lead to instant double digit runs for the opponent all season long.
McGee -9.2 on court -10.7 on/off
Powell +5.9 on court +8.5 on/off
And I am not saying that Powell should be a starter. Mavs front court is easily the worst in the entire league. No matter who plays it is going to be a weak spot.
I get that with McGee. My point was Kidd and company tried to get McGee to fit into the style and scheme they wanted to play. Javale himself actually commented on this early in the season and as I recall even before the season. He was slotted to play a major role but he wasn't at all confident that the way they wanted him to play was something he would be able to adapt to. Bottom line is he was never the center for the system they wanted to play so the Coach/System/Player fit was not there from day one.
What we saw in ATL was a motivated McGee + a motivated Wood being used playing to their strengths was a different look that brought the team back and gave them every legit chance to win with Luka/Kyrie. If Luka was even healthy and shooting on par they win that game.
I'm not suggesting now that McGee was great for the Mavs this year, of course he wasn't, but the fact is he has been good, very good to the tune of championship level for teams that figured out how to play to his strengths which are significant.
McGee was effective playing rim protection, rebounding and giving the Mavs a high percentage lob and inside scoring option. With age he may be slowing down some playing mobile defense in space though.
Wood is a big that can play effective offense like a big wing and IF motivated (still a concern after a signed contract) can play some defense too.
My larger point is about Coaching that can win with a hand that is dealt them vs. requiring just the right pieces to be acquired in making their desired style work. Cap space and other realities make the latter road dicey even to just keep a winning roster together such as we saw with Brunson.
Mav's coach, Kidd or whoever right now has to figure out how to play to a roster with a cast built to support Luka/Kyrie.
DFS is gone, that has to be filled but what does the championship contender roster look like after that?
Is it feasible with Luka/Kyrie?
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