Porzingis Postup Debate - Rick Carlisle vs TNT

[StepBackJay]

Y'all stop messing with KP. He is just fine. Creates a ton of space on offense and gives you great defense at the rim. Luka had all kinds of trouble last night as he'd have 4 Lakers collapsed in the lane.

[Dahlsim]

Y'all stop messing with KP. He is just fine. Creates a ton of space on offense and gives you great defense at the rim. Luka had all kinds of trouble last night as he'd have 4 Lakers collapsed in the lane.

I'm with you this point actually. Let KP be KP as far as being a 3 point shooter and spacer.  His defense also is sorely missed. 

Part of the thread is though is about the Post Up offense and the lack thereof in Coach Carlisle's mind and in his offensive schemes in general. 

Against the Lakers for example, King James used set Post Up plays in the mix with his other offensive arsenal and was very effective against Dallas, in Post Ups.  Overall trying to guard James driving, dishing, shooting 3's AND Posting Up makes him totally unstoppable because defenses can't load up on a limited range of scoring options. 

Dallas on the other hand can have the #1 overall offense but then be loaded up on and shut down at key stretches of games resulting on loss of big leads and loss of games at the end.  Missing offensive options. 

Props to Coach for mixing in some Big man bully ball against the Sixers yesterday and once again our man Boban rewarded him with big production including in the post in just a few minutes.
Here lifting my own post from ML's game thread on the Philly game:  

Powell (35 min). It was a good night for the big man, ... 
...

Maxi (31 min) had 10 points and 8 boards in his starting role, and helped carry the defensive load in the front court

Even though I'm probably the captain of team Boban for increased usage I've said before the development of Powell and Kleber is great for Mavs and deserves big props to the entire MBT.  Those 2 guys deserve to get the lion share of the minutes supporting and backing up KP. 

Speaking of Bobi! 

Boban (8 min) put up 12 points in short minutes, and was featured on the promotional materials in this game against his former team. Rick said he made some huge plays, and commended him for staying ready. A favorite among teammates, fans, and even the opponent, he drew cheers whenever he scored, and his game-ending three had the bench and crowd going wild, lol. Powell said seeing Bobi make the sixth three of his career was "sheer elation" and "utter joy." Even KP was jumping up and cheering from the bench, and Luka was celebrating like they had won the game of the century. Fun times!

Great stuff as always ML.  
Wow.  So when do I get to say "I told ya so." Mavsluvr when it comes to making the case Boban could help this team more?  Was it last game or so I commented on how others including even you were talking about the need for help at backup Big but mentioning names as if Marjonovic wasn't even on the roster? 

He's too gentle yes, but the Mavs don't have another guy that can put BEEF in the paint and force the opposing centers to stay occupied around the boards just fighting off his monster presence and avoiding fouls.  Here it was Sixers but the same would work for Lakers and others. 

This guy gets put and in and 9 times out of 10 produces at the very least on offense and the boards for Dallas in a way that Dallas simply has no other post presence to do.  Yes Luka is great but he's never going to be 7 foot + which at times just matters (Hello Jokic). 

One last point on this, I heard a bit of Carlisle interviewing on radio with Coop and he as asked about Boban and if he could / should be used more.  Carlisle essentially said there's no question Boban has always been an NBA ++ on offense.  His concern and limiting factor according to Rick is as we all know what happens on defense and most specifically on the PnR.  It sounds like its not even the 5-out stretch five that worries Carlisle but its Boban getting picked on in the Pick in Roll.  

So yeah, Carlisle is of course thinking about Boban's offense but he evidently just can't live with getting eaten up in the pervasive NBA pick in roll.  I give Coach credit there, defense can't be neglected in the NBA.  
At the same time my pet peeve is when the Mavs need to hold a lead over a short time and just scoring a few buckets could be enough to save a game.  
In the those situations its the other team has to get stops more than the Mavericks and that's when a devastating inside option can be the difference between an 'L' and a 'W'.

[hakeemfan]

I was watching the Lakers/Magic highlights. Looks like at least 3 buckets in crunch time against a very good defense, in a tight game, came with Markelle Fultz of all people going to work in the low post.

Trends will come and go. However you always need a mixture of set plays inside and outside to keep defenses honest.

[Dahlsim]

I was watching the Lakers/Magic highlights. Looks like at least 3 buckets in crunch time against a very good defense, in a tight game, came with Markelle Fultz of all people going to work in the low post.

Trends will come and go. However you always need a mixture of set plays inside and outside to keep defenses honest.

Saw that too.  Yeah, 3's overall are most efficient over the course of most of a game.   On the other hand when it comes down to it in certain game situations, you just need to get the highest % shots period.  When you only need to score a bucket or a few to win a game, to hold on to a lead late in a game and in general to close games where the margin doesn't demand the most points, a shot at the rim is better than a 3.  

Markelle is exceptional at getting to rim and he has a very high bbiq.  He's slowly getting back to health now that they finally figured out what was wrong with him but he doesn't have his outside shot back yet so yeah, he forced his way to the rim because he's good enough to do that. 

What he also has that reminds of what Luka can do, is he remains a constant threat to make a great pass.