10-17-2022, 09:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-17-2022, 09:42 PM by KillerLeft.)
(10-17-2022, 04:04 PM)mvossman Wrote: So I think of Maxi as a big in general, but to Iztok's point do you really have an issue with Wood/Maxi vs Wood/Dorian? Does Maxi presence on the floor in any way negatively impact our ability to play a switching defense? His defensive mobility and offensive play style really makes him more like big 3&D wing than a traditional big from the standpoint of lineup construction.
Do I have a problem with those lineups? No.
Do I think that because he can exist in the modern game we should call him a "wing?" No. Far, far from it. He's simply a good, playable big by today's standards. If you have multiple bigs who can play together, you do it when the situation calls for it. But, it has to be a good two-big lineup (the one you mention qualifies as long as Wood holds his end up).
Every big they employ should be expected to do the things Kleber can do. There aren't enough of them to go around, so that's easier said than done. But if I'm running a team that's my goal - to only play bigs who are in better shape and can run the floor faster than the other team's bigs in transition and move their feet in half-court defense. I keep rotating individuals who seem potentially able to find success with that style of play in and out until I find 3-4 of them I can trust, and then I start looking for younger ones who can replace the ones I've found.
It's the arms race right now, imho.
Kleber fits. Wood can be that type of player here if he accepts coaching and gets really, really serious about his career. For the 1,000th time, I thought Powell was a decent solution for most of those criteria.
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. I'm really disappointed that one of the only splashes they made was to give a three-year guarantee (and a starting job) to a dinosaur. If they could've gotten a better player of the same type they had last season to plug in I would've been thrilled!
Also, Brunson. Re-signing him would've been nice.