05-23-2024, 01:57 PM
(05-23-2024, 01:50 PM)Smitty Wrote: Like you, I wasn't so much worried about Gobert. I thought he'd eventually get played off the floor against Dallas. It's the KAT/Reid frontcourt that gave me nightmares (still does). It means Gafford becomes unplayable and if PJ gets in any kind of foul trouble then you're left with only DJJ at the 4. IF the Wolves go to that almost exclusively, I think they can win. If Gobert continues to play 38 minutes the rest of the way, I like the Mavs chances.
A KAT/Reid/Anderson big rotation would make them a scarier team, imo (again, from the perspective of a heavy pick and roll team like Dallas), but the issue is that they just traded like 87 first round picks for Gobert. To their minds, their team is being BUILT around him, at least defensively.
I also think Reid is pretty overrated around here. Extremely quick off the dribble for his size? Yes, but only with his right hand, and only in a straight line. Scary as hell as a perimeter catch and shoot spacer? Yes, for sure. Big and strong? Absolutely, but does that translate into good defense? To a point, yes. He's great as a big body coming in to help (on both ends, really), throwing his weight around. But in a 1-on-1 situation, I've observed that he's not all that scary, defensively. I think Bill Simmons said it best the other day. It was something like "if you catch Naz Reid for the exact, right five minutes, you'll think he's an All-NBA second teamer." The point was, and I agree, that he doesn't really make that type of impact if you watch him consistently, although he does have spurts of carnage.
KAT is EASILY the scariest of the bunch, but I'm sorry, I think he's SOFT. And kind of dumb, sometimes. He commits so, so many dumb fouls.