(01-04-2020, 11:52 AM)Dundalis Wrote: This year, particularly recently, you might be right. Defenders are sagging off him. And his rim rolling hasn't been as good as it's been in the past. But the guy is willing to sacrifice his game, and he WILL allow us to play 5 out by sitting on that 3 point line, even if the defender doesn't stick right with him, it's not like they are sagging so far off they are sitting in the paint.This year is the year he's started basically from the beginning. Playing against the best players the NBA has to offer when they are the most fresh and ready to play. That will start to taper off soon as we get into the doldrums of the season and then pick back up close to playoff time, and hit a high in the playoffs.
I'm glad he's willing to sacrifice his game for the team, I just think he should do that off the bench where he has proven to be a big time difference maker and has great chemistry with his running mate big in Maxi.
I have seen some teams sagging off him to the paint, but that isn't as big a part of the point as I am trying to make. I don't think there are degrees of sagging off a guy. It's more about the attention a player is putting on knowing where their guy is, that is the degree of which I make my point. If Powell is sitting at the top of the key as a "decoy" to space the floor, his defender will not pay attention to him very much and be ready to close in on a guy driving to the basket. I realize this is the point where he can rim run, but as you have said, that is not happening as effectively so far this year.
Like with hack-a-Shaq, when teams game plan for the Mavs, there is a 3P% they are willing to give up from a player so as to avoid the much higher % drive to the basket. I don't know what that % is, and I'm sure every coach probably has a different % in their head, point is, to not have that guy with a green light. If the ball goes to him, he should either pass it off or drive to get a shot at the rim (he has been doing that recently which is a pleasant surprise, I don't think the result is all that great, but it is a step in the right direction), unless it is an end of clock situation.
(01-04-2020, 11:52 AM)Dundalis Wrote: The question is not how much better does the 1# offense in the history of the game need to be. Wrong question. The question is how easily can that #1 offense fall apart. The answer is very, very easily. We've already done this before. Number 1 offense in the league, all it took was bringing in one player who was the wrong fit for that to fall on its ass. You might remember December 2014 when it happened. Different type of player, but the point is that it's much easier to break an already great offense, than make it much better. The goal should be to maintain it, while improving the defense. And playing 5 out is the key to it. It's certainly not talent. This team isn't in the same stratosphere in terms of offensive talent compared to the GSW the last 5 years. It's much more system based, and that absolutely requires the right mix of players, and those players willing to absolutely stick to their roles.You're right, the question is more about, how much offense can we lose to make the defense that much better. Having that balanced attack on offense and defense would give us a much stronger case for contention (we don't need to maintain the best offense in the history of the game, esp if it is as fragile as you said). As it is, I really don't see us being much different than the Rockets. Sure, they're in the contention conversation, but no one is gonna say they'll win it all. If we were to get that balance, I don't think the necessity of "system based" is in the discussion.
Also, to answer your Rondo trade fear, trading for a PG who will run the offense is much different than trading for a big that plays off the ball handler (you touched on this, just believe it needs to be more of a factor in the discussion). That, and there are probably very few players out there that would react like Rondo did. Getting Drummond (he's not really on my personal wish list) could blow up on us, it could also make us tremendously better. I think anything short of blowing up on us probably makes us a better team though. It for sure gives the possibility of having better assets for upgrade (again, as long as there is no blow up).
(01-04-2020, 11:52 AM)Dundalis Wrote: I agree about bringing in someone that can play good defense though. I'd much prefer someone that can guard the perimeter well, and or protect the rim, than someone who can keep post up players honest. I don't think that's remotely our biggest need. I don't care that much about defending the post up guys. I think people are just overrating how much that is hurting us. Not that Drummond is a guy that's a particularly great defender anyway. Priority defensively IMO is to get better at defending the 3 point line. We have good rim protection. The mid range, post up stuff I don't care about nearly as much. As Rick said. Low value shots. And we have Boban for the bully's that sit under the rim. None of this is worth potentially messing up the offensive efficiency that people seem to think we have pulled out of our ass and will be easily maintained regardless of how any player we bring in fits. We clearly don't learn our lesson.I think a player who brings more defense and a bigger size to be able to match up with the bigger guys we will face in the playoffs (well heck, even the regular season, cause the effort needed to do so with our current bigs wears them down, which can lead to unnecessary injuries) improves our team a lot. Add the ability to set a good pick, that improvement becomes even better. Add to that the ability to rim run, and the improvement goes through the roof. To that point, and on topic, I don't think Drummond is that guy currently.
I don't think Boban is getting the burn to this point on the guys we're talking about to really be a factor in this conversation. There is a lot of basketball to be played, so that can change, but for now and this discussion, he is a non-factor IMO. If the guy we bring in (like Favors) is also a rim protecting big, you have that much more rim protection, so the guys on the perimeter can comfortably close out knowing they don't have to worry all that much if their guy beats them, they just corral the guy to the closest big. Of course, I'd love to have more perimeter defense too, but I view that as a secondary need (still a need though).