04-21-2021, 05:44 PM
(04-21-2021, 04:43 PM)cow Wrote: Agreed. It's going to be a dogfight just to stay in playoff contention so the margin for error is really low.
But who says that we are a worse team for it? Surely there is a tipping point, where additional athletism, fitness and effort trumps know-how and experience in a roster configuration/rotation.
I remember, when we became a better team when Justin Anderson got major minutes as a rookie starter at the end of the 2015/2016 season. We went on that 7-2 run to clinch a play-off spot. He made the team better, because he could play with a tenacity and effort on defense, that Charlie V. and Deron W. simply were not able to. I´m sure Deron and Charlie had more pure basketball skills and the knowledge to know which way Westbrook and Durant were going to blow by them next.
The benefit of having a young starter like Simba next to old ass Pachulia, Dirk, JJB and Achilles Hood improved the starting five overall. That´s why I don´t buy into this idea, that every rookie automatically makes your team worse.
Tyler Bey could probably help a fatigued starting five, if he started in place of Kleber occasionally (against the weaker teams). His main strength is college was off-ball rim-running. Isn´t that exactly what Luka is missing (the old Powell role), when KP spreads the floor. When they drafted Bey, I thought the intention was to play him as a small-ball athletic rim-running four. I guess I put more thought into the pick than the Mavs.