2023 DRAFT: Mavs take Lively, OMP, sign Mike Miles to 2-way, sign Jordan Walker

[juanc]

I don't see it with Lively either. 

Not only does he not pop in highlights, the dude couldn't really produce at all in the college level. 5ppg 5rpg 20mpg. Good block stats, but high foul rate. 

I think he'll make maybe a solid backup. 

Dick looks great (ha!). I'm sure the Mavs would get absolutely roasted for picking him, but he might be the BPA.

Let me add to the Lively dillema.

First of all, yes, the stats sans blocks aren't great to look at. But there are some levels to those stats. First of all he played with Filipowski who is also a big(who shoots threes but likes to play near the basket more). Lively was an afterthought on ofense and even when they were playing PnR, he had Kyle lurking near the basket.
The second thing is that the playmakers that Duke had were... Not that great...  When I imagine Lively in the PnR with Luka or Ky, well thats a whole different level.

Ok now let me share my thoughts on him, and why I like him as a prospect. He is a top3/4 defensive prospect in this draft IMO, together with Wembinator, Walker and Black Ant. The first thing that pops out is the rim protection. He is big, long and has great instincts around the rim, and that is his most translatable skill IMO. THe second thing that poped out to me when watching Duke play whas how mobile/agile he was. Comparing him to last years prospects he is lighter on his feet than any of those bigs. THat's huge for a big prospect IMO. To be able to defend in different coverages like drop, hedge and recover,... and also showing some switchability. Duke was a much better defensive team when he was on the floor. His main weakness was his strenght, the stronger guys gave him some problems, but I think that's the least of a problem to add once you're in the league.