A Few Thoughts on Mavs 130, Kings 111

[haveitall]

One thing that was very noticeable was team chemistry.  DFS was rooting for luka. By the way DFS has been quite awesome lately.  It’s crazy how he went from a hair away from being waived to being a full time starter.

[DanSchwartzgan]

It pains me to say this, but part of KP’s improved play is probably tied to Powell’s injury.

I had not put that together yet.....but, yes, you are absolutely correct I think. 

If Powell's injury forces Luka and KP to learn how to do pick and roll together, then in a strange way his injury may be one of the best things to happen to their careers.

Yeah,  There were quite a few times early in the season that Luka was solely focused on either getting to the basket or hitting Powell on a roll.  Both are among the most efficient outcomes in the entire NBA.  What I noticed though was KP was often wide open and was ignored.  Luka would occasionally hit someone in the corner, but rarely threw it out above the break to KP.  

It made sense.  KP’s only month above 36% on 3’s is the current one.  He had one month of 35%, two of 33% and one of 31%. But between Luka’s injuries and Powell being out, KP has been forced into the deep end.  The good news is he’s come through.  This kind of ball movement combined with two unstoppable offensive players (at least recently) makes this a REALLY fun offense to watch.  I’ve complained about running one system (Luka ball) when Luka is in and a beautiful ball movement O when he’s out.  If last night is a foreshadowing of a shift, it is an awesome shift.

[Dahlsim]

It pains me to say this, but part of KP’s improved play is probably tied to Powell’s injury.

I had not put that together yet.....but, yes, you are absolutely correct I think. 

If Powell's injury forces Luka and KP to learn how to do pick and roll together, then in a strange way his injury may be one of the best things to happen to their careers.

Hard to think of DP's injury as a 'good thing' in any way but yes, the next man up oddly enough here means KP who was already the #2 player officially in the pecking order actually plays out that way more in reality. 

That brings up the DP future which will impact the Mavs quite significantly given his cap hit. 
I would hope that Dwight Powell is thinking heavily about sharpening his 3 point prowess.  It just doesn't seem realistic to think he can return as the same player he was, certainly not in his first season back. 

Can he do the Brook Lopez thing and become a sharp shooting big while still being the energizer bunny?

[fifteenth]

If last night is a foreshadowing of a shift, it is an awesome shift.

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That brings up the DP future which will impact the Mavs quite significantly given his cap hit. 

Maxi's partner in our bench death lineup

[ClutchDirk]

https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1227970935606542338

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https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/harri...ck-to-500/

[michaeltex]

https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1227970935606542338

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https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/harri...ck-to-500/

 His beard is going to look like this before they get back to .500.

[ItsGoTime]

KP was always getting shots, he's just hitting them now. Shaking off the rust and patience for that to happen was always the thing IMO. He still gets knocked out of the way and his shot easily disrupted from every bump, but hopefully they see that and are working on it, esp in the off season (to bulk up even more).

[Davevoid]

Maxi for block of the year!

That is all, hehe...

[StepBackJay]

I'm going with Seth is our third best player.  THJ is doing much better than I expected but he is fourth.

It's definitely possible. He hasn't been consistent all year but lately he has been a bigger contributor. Hardaway has been good as well. They might be tied for the 3rd most important Mav.

I think you have KP + Luka, THJ + Seth as next tier then DFS + Maxi as the solid third tier glue guys. We are missing a true lockdown, long athletic wing. Maybe MKG can be that guy. My guess is that this summer will be our chance to fill that role.

[jesusshuttlesworth82]

I feel bad for Barnes.  But man, he's not good.  I remember the top 10-15 small forward in the NBA arguments.

[Davevoid]

THJ is a way better defender than Seth, tho, not only because of his size, but I'm honestly surprised by his effort on that side of the court.

[Reunion Mav Old]

When I posted the question about Seth as the #4 player, I sure didn't expect such good points supporting him as the 3rd best player. I loved reading this whole thread. I was one of several who agreed with Seth as potentially our 3rd best players, but then I watched the first half of the season. I have been hoping for a Luka/KP pick and roll or perhaps a pick and pop but it had not occurred to me that it was the success of Luka/Powell in the pick and roll that delayed that. 

For us to do well in this after all star break playoff run, we need our two superstars to get better and better together while keeping the successful versions of THJ, Curry, DFS, Kleber and others going. It would be great if our two new top 5 draft picks, who are still young enough to resurrect their careers with Luka/KP leadership, earned their spots on this team going forward.

[omahen]

I feel bad for Barnes.  But man, he's not good.  I remember the top 10-15 small forward in the NBA arguments.

Barnes is just fine. I feel bad for Sac giving him that contract

[Jym]

It would be great if our two new top 5 draft picks, who are still young enough to resurrect their careers with Luka/KP leadership, earned their spots on this team going forward.

Crazy that MKG is still only 26. Feels like he's been around forever 
More than enough time to turn it around and find a niche if he's right physically

[DanSchwartzgan]

It would be great if our two new top 5 draft picks, who are still young enough to resurrect their careers with Luka/KP leadership, earned their spots on this team going forward.

There is a bit of an issue if they play too well.  They are only eligible for non-Bird status.  That is 120% of current salary or 120% of the minimum salary for their level of service.  Outside of that, we have to use up MLE to retain them.  Is it possible that they would both get bids higher than $4.7mm-ish?  Certainly if they were key contributors to a long playoff run.

[embellisher]

And that’s why a healthy Seth is almost as important as a healthy Luka.

I'm a Sethite, but settle down there partner

Hey, I did say "almost".

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I feel bad for Barnes.  But man, he's not good.  I remember the top 10-15 small forward in the NBA arguments.

Barnes is just fine. I feel bad for Sac giving him that contract

Vlade.

[DanSchwartzgan]

It pains me to say this, but part of KP’s improved play is probably tied to Powell’s injury.

I had not put that together yet.....but, yes, you are absolutely correct I think. 

If Powell's injury forces Luka and KP to learn how to do pick and roll together, then in a strange way his injury may be one of the best things to happen to their careers.

Some more data on this...KP is scoring 20.2 per game since December 15th on 58% TS% (he was at 50% before December 15th).  In Tim Cato's story today he describes the difference in KP's PnR opportunities post Powell:


"With Dwight Powell’s Achilles rupture in January, Porzingis is now turning into more of a pick-and-roll screen setter than he was used before his injury. Before Powell’s injury, he was setting about 15 picks per 36 minutes for Doncic while Porzingis was down around seven per 36 minutes, according to Second Spectrum data. Since then, Porzingis has actually topped Powell’s peak: He’s setting about 16 picks for Doncic per 36 minutes, while Maxi Kleber has gone from about eight per 36 minutes to 14. (Before Powell’s injury, Kleber was actually setting more picks per 36 minutes for Doncic than even Porzingis.)"

[michaeltex]

In the last few games, at least since Luka's injury, KP seems to be more comfortable using his movement skills and reacting to who he's matched with, driving on bigs and shooting over smalls. Early in the season he seemed more of a spot up shooter, possibly as a reaction to the knee injury. That left a lot of PnR activity to Powell and Kleber. As noted above that's different now and I think the freedom to operate with Luka out has unlocked his game. 

I'm hopeful the "unicorn" we thought we were getting finally arrives. If KP has more gravity, then that makes Luka's job even easier. That's got to give oppo coaches heartburn. Especially if you can count on THJ/Seth to chip in a combined 25-35 ppg.

Buckle up and get you popcorn ready, the last 1/4 season could be fun.

[Kammrath]

In the last few games, at least since Luka's injury, KP seems to be more comfortable using his movement skills and reacting to who he's matched with, driving on bigs and shooting over smalls. Early in the season he seemed more of a spot up shooter, possibly as a reaction to the knee injury. That left a lot of PnR activity to Powell and Kleber. As noted above that's different now and I think the freedom to operate with Luka out has unlocked his game. 

He made a comment recently about actually "feeling good." I am curious how bad he felt leading up to that long stint of rest.

[Fuerza1]

"With Dwight Powell’s Achilles rupture in January, Porzingis is now turning into more of a pick-and-roll screen setter than he was used before his injury. Before Powell’s injury, he was setting about 15 picks per 36 minutes for Doncic while Porzingis was down around seven per 36 minutes, according to Second Spectrum data. Since then, Porzingis has actually topped Powell’s peak: He’s setting about 16 picks for Doncic per 36 minutes, while Maxi Kleber has gone from about eight per 36 minutes to 14. (Before Powell’s injury, Kleber was actually setting more picks per 36 minutes for Doncic than even Porzingis.)"

So how do we get rid of Powell?