(10-17-2022, 09:17 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: I don't know how else to say it: I simply did not go into the off-season thinking the team HAD to get a new center to move to the next level. If they can get a better player of the same type they had last season to plug in, great!

(10-17-2022, 09:51 PM)mvossman Wrote: Hard disagree on this.  The Maxi/Powell tandem clearly wore down in the regular season, and Powell was completely useless in the playoffs.  I can understand wanting to go a different direction for center rotational depth, but don't see how this could be a top 10 defense with only Maxi/Powell for the entire season.

(10-17-2022, 09:40 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: My challenge for everyone here is to really think about the following statement, which I don't expect everyone to accept as gospel, but which I, personally, believe is true:

One of the main reasons Porzingis didn't work here was because he was too slow and couldn't change direction fast enough in half-court defensive situations. 

Wood is probably more up to the task, physically, but he has major motor concerns and I have a deep-seeded fear that McGee is going to be a statue out there.

The solution with KP was drop coverage and tons of it. I hope everyone is ready for another healthy dose of that this season. I just thought the basketball people in Dallas were more enlightened, so I can't help but to find all of this quite depressing.

(10-17-2022, 10:25 PM)mvossman Wrote: I would argue the biggest reasons KP didn't work here were his limited availability, chemistry issues, and unwillingness to P&R while pushing for stupid post ups. 

KP was ok defensively last season.  He did require drop coverage, but the numbers don't really point him to being some catastrophic impact on defense:

The team defensive rating was better when he was on the court than off
The team was top 5 defense when he was on it, and middle of the pack after the trade
The team was middle of the pack defense in the playoffs

McGee will require drop coverage as well, but he has been significantly better on defense the last couple of seasons than KP.  He is a much better rim protector, rebounder and post defender.  I would be willing to bet for minutes that Maxi is not on the court, the defense will be better with McGee than without.

(10-17-2022, 10:25 PM)mvossman Wrote: I would argue the biggest reasons KP didn't work here were his limited availability, chemistry issues, and unwillingness to P&R while pushing for stupid post ups. 

(10-17-2022, 10:47 PM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: The defensive rating peaked when KP was out. Was great in the first games after the trade. Went downhill in the last month.
More about fatigue and injury problems. Maxi with his usual nagging back/achilles injuries. DFS and Bullock looking tired. Luka coasting.

(10-17-2022, 09:40 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: One of the main reasons Porzingis didn't work here was because he was too slow and couldn't change direction fast enough in half-court defensive situations. 

(10-17-2022, 09:40 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: I just thought the basketball people in Dallas were more enlightened, so I can't help but to find all of this quite depressing.

(10-17-2022, 11:52 PM)Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo Wrote: I agree with this.
But the coaching staff would have devised a plan to diminish this weakness had KP been outstanding in offense.
The drop coverage center would have been a non issue if KP was reliable on the other end.
Would have justified feeding him the ball if he can consistently punish the defender. 
But he couldn't do this.
I know comparing him to Dirk is unfair, but Dirk with a small on him or a slow big spells automatic points. With KP, you just have to hold your breath.
Wood's 6'11" frame is more mobile, more agile and his skill isn't less than KP. But I think Wood's advantage over KP is that he can score on his own, specially on smaller players, and when he isn't fed the ball for an ISO, his play can be based on cuts and PNRs which enables him to score with less usage.

(10-17-2022, 09:40 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: My challenge for everyone here is to really think about the following statement, which I don't expect everyone to accept as gospel, but which I, personally, believe is true:

One of the main reasons Porzingis didn't work here was because he was too slow and couldn't change direction fast enough in half-court defensive situations. 

Wood is probably more up to the task, physically, but he has major motor concerns and I have a deep-seeded fear that McGee is going to be a statue out there.

The solution with KP was drop coverage and tons of it. I hope everyone is ready for another healthy dose of that this season. I just thought the basketball people in Dallas were more enlightened, so I can't help but to find all of this quite depressing.

(10-18-2022, 03:55 AM)cow Wrote: What's your solution though?  MBT turned chicken shit into chicken salad with the Wood trade.  Not a fancy restaurant chicken salad, but a McDonalds chicken salad.  The plus side is that he rebounds.  McGee was brought here to matchup against more traditional centers, provide more rim protection and add to the rotation so we don't wear out Maxi.   That's a decent rotation with a versatile combination of offense and defense.  Consider where we were last year and our limited resources, I'd say the MBT did okay here.

(10-17-2022, 10:47 PM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: That´s not really the full picture. Over the entire season KP´s impact was barely positive. The defensive rating peaked when KP was out. Was great in the first games after the trade. Went downhill in the last month.
More about fatigue and injury problems. Maxi with his usual nagging back/achilles injuries. DFS and Bullock looking tired. Luka coasting.

And it´s not like McGee had outstanding defensive impact numbers. In 9 out of his 10 last seasons the team defense was better without him on the floor. He was a net negative on defense. I am not sure if he is any better than KP. Would argue that he is worse. And as most of you know I really wasn´t high on KPs defense.

(10-17-2022, 10:57 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: Right. I know that because you've stated it in exactly that way about 100 times (sorry, this comment is about the rest of your post that I didn't quote, about the defense being better with KP than without). 

I agree with all of the above, but my biggest problem with him was his lack of mobility (several different types of mobility). You already know that because I've stated it in the same way about 100 times. 

I'm glad you like the team and the roster. I just don't, that's all.

(10-18-2022, 12:36 AM)ItsGoTime Wrote: People are free to disagree with you, they just aren’t as enlightened as you are.

(10-18-2022, 11:03 AM)mvossman Wrote: I would have preferred a different direction, but I don't think there were a lot of options.

(10-18-2022, 03:55 AM)cow Wrote: McGee was brought here to matchup against more traditional centers

(10-18-2022, 10:54 AM)mvossman Wrote: On/off numbers are tricky to assess.  For the last couple of seasons when McGee was not on the court it was likely AD or Ayton.  I used it in KP case because the whole argument was that he was tanking the defense (he was not).  I'm not arguing that KP was a great or necessary defender.  What I am arguing more than anything is that we clearly lacked depth at the center position after the trade (something I think even you can agree with as the team clear ran down) and needed to add rotational depth.

A big difference between KP and McGee is that we had to play one (when he could play) 30+ minutes a game.  The other is completely optional.  There are times when he will be effective and time that he wont.  We are not in any way locked into playing him a certain amount of minutes, especially in the playoffs.  I really do think he will help with the wear and tear on the big position.

(10-18-2022, 11:34 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: 2) I'm not sure I made it clear enough, but that "enlightened" comment was about "the basketball people in Dallas," which was my way of saying "the people who work for the Mavericks." It had nothing to do with the frequenters of this message board, though now that I can see some took it that way, I think we could use a little more enlightenment around here. Who couldn't?

(10-18-2022, 11:45 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: I agree that he will help with the wear and tear. Don´t agree that he is an optional player. The starter promise combined with the three year deal makes him more than just a random rotation player.