'25 Playoff Rotation Predictions: A Collaborative Deep Dive

[audiosway]

I think it is clear the Mavs are going to need to find one more all star level caliber player this offseason (and keep Lively).  From what we have seen from the Mavs vision, that player is probably going to be at least 6'6.  I think Kyrie will be the only small player who gets minutes.    I am not sure who that player is yet, but I think it will be needed.

We probably won't see it much this year, but I am really interested to see Lively and AD on the court together.  Is it awkward or can they make it work?  If they can make it work, I envision both being able to be on the court when a team tries to go small.  In fact, they may make it really difficult for teams to go small.  Although, we traded probably the biggest chess piece when teams have an immobile big on the court.

I think we should keep Exum's minutes at around 20 per game.  He just came back after being injured all year and he has proven he cannot stay healthy.  So 20 minutes is good.  I like him though.  He pushes the pace.  He has good size and can guard pretty well.  He is also not a point A to point b player.  What I mean is he sort of does weird things.  It catches teams off guard.  I think this is the best type of player to pair with Klay.  Klay likes sort of wandering around and finding his way open.    With Exum doing his thing, he can put a lot of pressure on defenses for short stretches. 

The starting lineup with Gafford for the short term and Lively long term is tricky imo.    So that 4-5 minutes will interesting to see how they generate offense.

Also because we can't sign a buyout guy, when Powell is back I release Kelly and take a look at a young guy.   Maybe that Sidy guy who was traded by the spurs, King and then released.   Maybe Patrick Baldwin type.   Just a young kid who hasn't done anything but someone to invest on and see if you can develop.

Along the lines of what you are talking about with a young kid...I wonder if they bring Gortman back. The only reason they released him were to fill depth due to injuries. Good shooter and distributor.

I really like Exum. He's a rangy defender that can find the open man and hit shots.

The offense looked much different last night than it had been. I have a feeling that is what Kidd has wanted to run. But, that doesn't fit what Luka does. Now that they know he isn't coming back they made the change. It really flustered Boston. I think that type of offense will also look even better with Lively at the 5. He is a better passer than Gaff.

That's actually a very GS type offense they were running last night. It's hard to stop. That is why Klay hit so many shots. He was doing the curl out and cuts he used to do with GS. The more they run it the better they will get at it. Ky looked a little hesitant with it. But, he will get better. It's predicated on a lot of movement with the 5 in the high post. That allows the 5 to either screen or pin down then roll to the basket.

Ky struggled big time in the finals due to the iso sets they were running. Luka is fine with that and excels at it. Ky is just too small against Boston for that. He looked better last night and once comfortable will excel in this new offense.