Finney-Smith at the SF, Improvement in Rebounding

[ItsGoTime]

DFS is good, but not great nor amazing. He is not a championship level starter. Where it comes down to is simply lack of multitude of offensive skills. He fits Luka scheme and all of that, fantastic value and teamplayer, able to contribute two ways, and physical. But when it comes down to WCF, the difference in his offensive skills to those of the opponent is going to make the difference. Its really irrespective where he plays. We need more players with offensive bbIQ to make things run smooth. If we cant score, we just cant come back on defense and defend, and we have seen that against GSW. We need better players than DFS to go all the way. Wiggins is clearly a far better player for instance.

I used to think DFS was not a starter on a championship team. I don’t anymore. Other teams have better offensive players at his role than we do, sure, it just makes roster building a bit harder, but not impossible (his position/role has some of the best 2 way players in the game).

[KillerLeft]

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See, I see it the opposite.  Dinwiddie has 5" on Brunson and isn't a drop off in any respect.  I think he'll get at least Brunson's minutes and role.

I disagree a little about “isn’t a drop off in any respect.” I think there are similarities between the players, but that each does some things way better than the other. 

But that’s not even the point. The comparison isn’t Brunson vs Dinwiddie. It’s Luka and Dinwiddie (or even Brunson, for that matter) with a dinosaur in the dunker’s spot vs. THEMSELVES last year after the Porzingis trade when they each feasted on the space Dallas had that other teams couldn’t match. THAT is why they got to the conference finals. 

If McGee is on the floor, his man will be near the paint at all times. This makes it soooooo much easier for the guy guarding Luka or Dinwiddie to handle them. NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENT. Thats why “negative asset” Dinwiddie looked like a 6MOTY candidate pretty much right after coming here, because the system made his life so much easier. 

Further, if McGee is on the floor and you’re not using him as a screener, what DO you do with him? Nothing. He can’t stand in the corner - his man will clog the paint anyway and the ball will find him pointlessly. He can’t be a cutter, because his man will be in the paint already. Point being: it’s going to be Luka and new second option Javale McGee running pick and roll with hopeful star addition Wood standing above the break or in the corner getting bored, just like Porzingis did under Carlisle. Or, even worse - Luka/Wood running pnr with Wood at the extended free throw area with his hand up, literally blocking their path to the basket like Porzingis did for the first month of Kidd’s tenure. 

I’m getting more depressed the longer I type.

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Btw, if this is really the direction they’re going, the Kokoskov exit is starting to make more sense to me.

[StepBackJay]

I am not that worried ab the McGee thing, he is going to average 15 mpg which is even less than Powell averaged last year. I would prefer him be a bench guy bc I like to have a lone big but I am not going to lose sleep over it knowing that he isn't going to play a lot of minutes.

[BigDirk41]

DFS is good, but not great nor amazing. He is not a championship level starter. Where it comes down to is simply lack of multitude of offensive skills. He fits Luka scheme and all of that, fantastic value and teamplayer, able to contribute two ways, and physical. But when it comes down to WCF, the difference in his offensive skills to those of the opponent is going to make the difference. Its really irrespective where he plays. We need more players with offensive bbIQ to make things run smooth. If we cant score, we just cant come back on defense and defend, and we have seen that against GSW. We need better players than DFS to go all the way. Wiggins is clearly a far better player for instance.

I couldn't possibly disagree with you anymore. DFS is an absolutely great role player that is the glue to the defense and is a good shooter. He can even attack the basket now. He is absolutely a starter on a championship level team. He was not the problem versus Golden State. He's not a star player, but you definitely need a energy/defensive/shooter like him in the starting lineup to win a championship. I don't understand your thinking on this at all. I'm not against upgrading DFS if possible, but he's not the problem.

[Jakeospikez]

Guy says you can't win a championship with DFS as a starter when the Mavs team had 3 DFS style starters and beat the 1 seed and lost to the eventual champs in the WCF with a huge gaping hole at center and a ton of dead cap with THJ/Bertans. Comparing DFS to Wiggins is really dumb. Wiggins is on a max contract and was also a 1st overall pick, he better be a 2 way wing for those cap dollars and how limited his playmaking is. You need 1 or 2 DFS type starters on your team that give full effort on defense with minimal movement on offense just spacing the floor while the main guys go to work. DFS is a perfect offball compliment, does the clean up work, hustle plays, etc, all around full MLE cost.

If they get it so that DFS is the only 3&D wing starter then that's probably ideal. There's always room for at least 1 if not 2 depending on the quality of the others. 3 is bad.

[F Gump]

I really like that this is now our starting lineup:
PG - Luka
SG - Dinwiddie
SF - Finney-Smith
PF - Wood
C - Mcgee

Why are we talking about a position change for DFS. Is that something they announced? I thought they said THIS (essentially):

Last year (end of year)         Change in new starting lineup
BIG - Powell                           Powell      McGee                                         
WING - DFS                            DFS
  Bullock                                 Bullock
CREATOR - Luke                      Luka
  Brunson                               Brunson     Dinwiddie                  

I didn't hear any additional changes. Did I miss something?

[StepBackJay]

Why are we talking about a position change for DFS. Is that something they announced? I thought they said THIS (essentially):

Last year (end of year)         Change in new starting lineup
BIG - Powell                           Powell      McGee                                         
WING - DFS                            DFS
  Bullock                                 Bullock
CREATOR - Luke                      Luka
  Brunson                               Brunson     Dinwiddie                  

I didn't hear any additional changes. Did I miss something?

I thought it was confirmed somewhere that Wood would be starting or maybe we just assumed he would I dunno? So far people are reporting the starting lineup including Wood but maybe that is incorrect?

[Branduil]

Why are we talking about a position change for DFS. Is that something they announced? I thought they said THIS (essentially):

Last year (end of year)         Change in new starting lineup
BIG - Powell                           Powell      McGee                                         
WING - DFS                            DFS
  Bullock                                 Bullock
CREATOR - Luke                      Luka
  Brunson                               Brunson     Dinwiddie                  

I didn't hear any additional changes. Did I miss something?

You don't think they're starting Wood? That would be a good way to make sure he leaves next year.

[StepBackJay]

@"F Gump" this made me think it was already done and dusted that Wood would start despite the obvious inference that when you trade a 1st for a 18/10 guy you are probably starting him.

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status...5699352581

[DanSchwartzgan]

Why are we talking about a position change for DFS. Is that something they announced? I thought they said THIS (essentially):

Change in new starting lineup

BIG -         McGee                                         
WING -      DFS                            
                 Bullock                       
CREATOR - Luke                      
                 Dinwiddie                  

I didn't hear any additional changes. Did I miss something?

Interesting take.  That would explain Kidd's comment about having a lot of offense coming off the bench.  So Wood is the PnR big who doesn't start but gets more minutes than the starter.  Maxi is a big wing standing in the corner.  THJ can play the third wing and we are still a little shy on bench creation.  10-15 Powell/Bertans/Green/Frank/Pinson/Hardy

[BigDirk41]

Wood is our starting 4. He's not coming off the bench. Not happening. Bullock is the odd man out in Kidd's rotation.

[Branduil]

Trading for Wood and then benching him would be an insane move IMO. We have to convince this guy he's a major piece here to get him to buy in and also re-sign, you don't do that by putting him behind McGee.

[F Gump]

Interesting take.  That would explain Kidd's comment about having a lot of offense coming off the bench.  So Wood is the PnR big who doesn't start but gets more minutes than the starter.  Maxi is a big wing standing in the corner.  THJ can play the third wing and we are still a little shy on bench creation.  10-15 Powell/Bertans/Green/Frank/Pinson/Hardy

I would think Kidd's bias is to start where he left off. But it's been decided that Powell fell too short and must be replaced due to lack of rebounding and defense - hence all the post-playoff clarity of how they see their biggest need - and McGee is being added to address that need. Dinwiddie starts because they want 2 creators at a time on the floor, Brunson left, and that's that.

Plus, the DFS-Bullock pairing was incredibly effective, they need that defensive core, so many other changes already, it wasn't broke, so leave it alone -- I think that's how a coach would think.

Re Wood, he's being told defense and winning, both have been aired to the public as being emphasized to him quite a bit already. We are also hearing that Wood is going to be penciled in for a lighter load to save him for the playoffs. In that vein, I think there's a bit of goal-setting here for Wood, where he has to play in a way to help the defense and to win, and then he gets more minutes and maybe even a starting job ...just the same as if he's a draft pick with promising traits coming on board.

And yes, all of that fits very easily with the idea that there's a lot of offense coming off the bench (Wood, Maxi, Bertans, THJ, maybe more). Also notice how saying "we have a lot of offense coming off the bench" underlines the message that "offense-only" bigs and wings will have to come off the bench, since they need their wings and bigs to provide the stops that their creators aren't great at getting (and the creators are going to set up everyone to get good shots). I suspect that behind closed doors, it's more plainly said that "If you want more minutes, I need better defense -- we can play you more if you can give us excellent defense too."

"we are still a little shy on bench creation"... With the loss of JB, and wanting 2 to play at a time, I'd say they are a LOT shy. I think all 3 of Green, Franky, and Hardy are closer to getting minutes at wing than as a creator. To me, their big need seems like it would be more "3rd creator" than "3rd 2-way wing" since that sets up the rest of the roster to do what they can do best.

[Jommybone]

Amazed at this take. Wood comes off the bench? Really?

[BigDirk41]

The articles I've read about Kidd's comments have thought that Bullock is going to the bench. I've read several articles and after Kidd's comments yesterday, they claim the starting lineup to be:

Luka, Dinwiddie, DFS, Wood and McGee

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I don't think you trade a first round pick for your new 6th man personally. I guess we'll see.

[Branduil]

I think it's way more likely that McGee gets benched at some point and we go back to the 2 shot creators, 2 3&Ds, 1 big lineup that won us so many games last year, just with Wood replacing Powell.

[SwisherPrice]

I'd say the rebounding issues had more to do with KP/Powell/Kleber playing center the past 2 seasons. None of those guys were ever considered to be good rebounders. Because of their 5-out offense, they had to play Bullock-DFS-Kleber to space the floor (and because they had no other viable options at center). 

DFS is what you'd want in a modern-day forward. He can play either SF/PF because of his ability to guard multiple positions while also being a 3-pt threat. By adding a better rebounding center like McGee or Wood, we should see improvements on the boards. And even when taking into account player stats, the individual stats will always be less for the other players because they have a PG who will get 8+ rebounds a game.

[KillerLeft]

I think it's way more likely that McGee gets benched at some point and we go back to the 2 shot creators, 2 3&Ds, 1 big lineup that won us so many games last year, just with Wood replacing Powell.

[Branduil]

At the very least, I'd be shocked if that wasn't the closing lineup, regardless. With THJ or Maxi maybe replacing one of the wings, depending on the circumstances.

[KillerLeft]

At the very least, I'd be shocked if that wasn't the closing lineup, regardless. With THJ or Maxi maybe replacing one of the wings, depending on the circumstances.

Right there with you, my guy. 

WHY THEN, was a 4th big such a priority, rather than adding another guy you can PLAY in that scenario???? You know, someone who could’ve made a difference in the WCF?

I’m so depressed. I no longer have the energy for SCORCHED EARTH.