Game 55: San Antonio Spurs (11-43) vs. Dallas Mavericks (31-23)

[Chicagojk]

One of the things I said when Exum was starting was it would be hard to dislodge him because starter Exum was dramatically better than off-the-bench Exum.  As a reminder, starter Exum in 14 games was 14.5, 3.6 and 4.4 with a TS% of .720 and a 3% of .533.  Off the bench the shooting is .565 and .350.

Well, starter Green is looking pretty good too.  For the full season he's 10.6/4/2.5 with a .630 TS% and a .436% from three when he starts.  Those last 2 numbers are .561, .389.  If you isolate the 20 starts since he returned from injury, the scoring goes up to 12 and the 3% goes up to .454.  For his last 16 games he's averaging 4.5 three attempts per game (hitting 48% of them).  

I heard someone (maybe Dameris) describe PJ as a 'Swiss Army knife' because he has a variety of skills offensively and can guard multiple positions well.  I think you can apply that label to Josh, Exum (and maybe Maxi) also.  In fact, the roster kind of looks like this if you think in terms of stars, SAK's and specialists:

Star:  Luka, Kyrie (I think we'll put Lively here eventually)
S.A.K.:  PJ, Green, Exum and Maxi
Specialist:  THJ, DJJ and Gafford

THJ and DJJ are two sides of the same coin.  I don't know that we need another star, we just need to turn 'the Juniors' into a single player with the skills possessed by both (another Swiss Army Knife).  I really wonder how much run either of them will get in the playoffs when rotations tighten.

A word about Gafford...there was some hand-wringing in the game thread about his +/- compared to Lively.  The team got off to a disastrous start (-13 before Gafford subbed out).  Wemby went nuts and Ky-Luka went 1/7 during that time.  I didn't see anyone point out that Gafford was +13 to start the second half.  Wemby was 0/3 and Ky-Luka went 6/9.  I'm sure the reason no one mentioned it was that it was all Gafford's fault that we got off to a slow start and he had nothing to do with the good team play to start the second half.  Could we please give it a couple weeks before we try to anoint him as the new Powell here that everyone is supposed to hate.  He ended up +2 with a double double and .714 from the field.  Just two more weeks.  That's all I'm asking.  Our bench is going to crush people when everyone is healthy.

Pj hasn't hit his shots yet, but it looks like he has more variety than just waiting at the three point line.  He has has some nice drives and cuts.   Maybe he will get some putbacks as well.   I think the team needs guys who can put pressure at the rim.  Luka likes people to stay in spots, but I think Gafford and PJ can add some versatility here.   There will be rough spots until they get more comfortable together.

I was thinking of next year lineups.  Luka, Kyrie are your starting guards.   Exum is your third guard.  Hardy finds 15-20 minutes that could lead to a better role if he is capable of it.   5th guard is an important spot though...especially with injuries.   

Josh is the SF.  Exum can play some minutes here too.  I think another SF needs to be added.  As you mention, maybe that isn't a star.   DFS is more of a PF now, but maybe he fits.   Bruce Brown?  Thybule?   I think one of those guys could be the target.

PF is PJ and Maxi.  Behind that it is a little tough.  Is DJJ brought back?  Will Omax be ready?   

Center is Lively & Gafford with Maxi getting some minutes.  Dwight is your guy right out of the rotation who will be ready to fill in.    

Maxi and Exum's injuries are the main concerns.  If either is hurt it leads us really short at both positions.   Exum is concerning because we really need him as a third ball handler.

So this offseason, I would look for a player at SF at or near Josh's level, add a young 5th guard who can run the offense if there are injuries and really work hard on Omax to get him ready to at least get some rotation minutes.  If Omax is not ready, then we may need to look for a low priced veteran as insurance.

My two way guys next year are all guys in the 6'6 to 6'10 range who may be missing something but someone I would want to try to develop.