'25 Playoff Rotation Predictions: A Collaborative Deep Dive

[Smitty]

C'mon, you're being deliberately obtuse. That's non-responsive. (You ripped my words out of context that Naji wasn't playing the 4 from the obvious and explicit qualifier that said "as long as Maxi and PJW are healthy.") Now overlay the search with the parameter "when the Mavs Cs and PFs are healthy." Or listen to Kidd talk about his lineups when they are short-handed and Naji has to play minutes at the 4. Or take the time to look at recent box scores when they have had a full complement of 4s and 5s.

I have not said Naji hasn't played at the 4. He has, but not instead of Maxi, but rather when Maxi is not available for some reason (whether injured, or filling in elsewhere because a different 4 or 5 is out). Naji has been their 3rd string PF and used accordingly. 

In addition, be careful of the B-R "position minutes" stats, as they only offer a rough guesstimate. With a few tweaks for players who are missized for their usual position (such as Luka being PG at 6-7), they simply take the height of each player on the floor and allocate minutes accordingly to positions 1-5.

Kidd wants size (leading to better defense, rim protection, rebounding, etc) at both the 4 and 5. Maxi provides that, and Naji does not. It's that simple.

Naji is a splendid fellow for playing other backup roles. But he's not in the mold of what Kidd wants for his bigs (4s and 5s).

"C'mon, you're being deliberately obtuse."

Sorry you feel that way but was not my intention. It's clear we see this subject differently, so I'll leave it alone. I appreciate and respect your opinion; I just disagree with what you think Kidd wants or what you think Kidd should/will do going forward.