MAVS 123, SPURS 109

[mvossman]

Thx for the superstar recaps, mavsluvr!

I really liked how they used KP. He was mainly in the positions and situations where he is most effective, and this showed up:

- KP is deadly when he cuts into the paint, and gets the ball on the run. We saw numerous plays where Luka could find him cutting to the basket.

- KP was used as a type of pivot or outlet in many situations. Sort of like Webber/Divac were used in Sacramento. Easy to throw the ball up KP the ball in many situations and then he could move the ball and the offense forward much quicker this way back to Luka and others. Luka would throw it up to KP that secured the point of attack and the ball could move forward like that away from KP. Its a very effective way to use KP, and basically we have never used him like that and I always thought this was a shame, as its a "free" pass to the offense. I feel the same about Bobi, he could be used more in this sense. Talking about this pivot/outlet, Luka would, in practically every single out of bounds pass, close to the basket, look ONLY for KP. I loved to see this It was super effective. KP is in each of these situations ball passed inbounds would be close to basket or in position high up to pass the ball further.

- Pick and roll with KP and Luka really worked well. There was far less clogging of paint today.

- KP is really back into shape, this shows up defensively, he has started contesting and blocking shots, protecting the paint. It looks like the KP two seasons ago. This is very encouraging.

- We got KP the ball under the basket. Here he is unstoppable. Just some distance further away if he gets it posting up, he is extremely inneficient. But close to the basket when he gets it, he cant be stopped.

Basically this is how to use KP. i) Avoid posting up. ii) Use him as an important/pivot in many situations to move the offense and create flow, iii) design plays where he can cut in the paint and get the ball on the move, iv) get him the ball as close to basket as possible

I missed the game last night but I noticed KP only played 12 minutes with Powell on the court (and none with WCS).  That means he spent 22 minutes as the single big.  I assume most/all of this KP goodness occurred during that time?