ROSTER TALK: Mavs favs for Vogel if no HC job exists. Kyrie handshake deal?

[KillerLeft]

I think most of us remember the damage done by Looney during the WCF series. Dal started last season with like 7 "big" men, C's and PF's, and by the end the only one playable, due to performance or trade, was Maxi.

Certainly wasn't the only factor in losing the series, but seemed like a glaring deficiency that needed addressing.

I understand that many feel this way. With respect, I disagree. 

McGee will be less playable against a team like GS in the playoffs than Powell, imo. He will get eviscerated by their ball movement, which is why Looney had such a good series in the first place. He wasn't out there backing Mavs guys down in the low post, he was setting screens and that team is expert in the art of making the defense run until their hearts pop during any given possession. By the time the ball found the paint (and Looney), there weren't any players there to even try to defend him, most of the time. That's because Kerr and the warriors rotated the Mavs' defense into oblivion, not because Looney somehow outmuscled anyone. I submit that literally any big would've done that to the Mavs' defense if aided by that ball movement and the fear of those shooters. The Warriors have been at this a while. Their system is amazing and they are good at it. 

Meanwhile, the real reason Looney was so important in that series was on the other end. Like they did to Gobert and Ayton before that series, the Mavs tried to make GS pay for playing Looney, but couldn't. I remember a ton of talking heads suggesting that he might not see a minute in that series beforehand, assuming that Luka and co would isolate him and light him up (again, as they had just done to Gobert and Ayton). But lo and behold, there he was, standing up to Luka, Brunson, whomever, and honestly being a plus on defense, even on the perimeter. THAT was amazing, and why he was such a force in that series, not his ability to grab easy passes and dunk (after his team ran every Mav defender around screens until none of them even knew who to guard). 

In short, the GS system (and their familiarity with it) whooped Dallas' ass. 

FWIW, if this team matches up with GS in the playoffs this year, I doubt McGee will even be playing by the end of the series. He's simply not equipped to be in a game like that, imho. So, I fail to see what help he offers, other than (as others have suggested) "eating some innings" during the regular season in hopes that (*gulp*) Kleber, Wood and Powell are fresher this time around. 

Me? I think that's a waste of time. I'd rather play the way I know I'll be forced to play in the playoffs all year round so that my team gets good at it. I flatly don't want specialists like McGee in the top 8-9 of my rotation. I want all 8-9 of those guys to be able to play multiple ways in multiple styles.