MKG

[fifteenth]

I made it over to the AAC for the first time since the free practice formally known as Fan Jam. I watched the Mavs plaster almost 140 on the T-Pups without Luka and KP playing their best, cheered for wolves to miss free throws so I could have some free Chik-fil-a, AND thoroughly enjoyed watching MKG play defense. 

There is nothing like watching defense live. The camera just doesn't allow you the freedom to follow a guy around the court since it just follows the ball. 

The dude smothers people. He just swallows players whole. One on one, a ball handler squares him up, probes in a couple different directions, notes that the dude in front of him isn't letting him go anywhere, and passes the ball along. 

And he was moving and engaged the whole the shot clock. What a fun watch!

[Kammrath]

He has all the pedigree and potential. And I also LOVED what I saw last night, even with him starting to set screens on offense. I just hope he finds himself into the rotation because I thoroughly believe he will make this team better if he does.

[omahen]

I made it over to the AAC for the first time since the free practice formally known as Fan Jam. I watched the Mavs plaster almost 140 on the T-Pups without Luka and KP playing their best, cheered for wolves to miss free throws so I could have some free Chik-fil-a, AND thoroughly enjoyed watching MKG play defense. 

There is nothing like watching defense live. The camera just doesn't allow you the freedom to follow a guy around the court since it just follows the ball. 

The dude smothers people. He just swallows players whole. One on one, a ball handler squares him up, probes in a couple different directions, notes that the dude in front of him isn't letting him go anywhere, and passes the ball along. 

And he was moving and engaged the whole the shot clock. What a fun watch!

I am jealus

As far as MKG goes, I have to say I noticed more his negative sides. His offense is just non existent. Defense can simply move away from him and opposing center would have absolutely no problem guarding him. He is too small for a PnR. As long as this is as it is, he can only be used as a specialist who is thrown in to cool down an exceptionally hot player.

Besides, defense is a team play and Mavs one remains horrible until further notice  Atomic offense was saving the day since the all star break. Mavs are just switching everything, which I don't think is smart with their 5 out strategy. They can't allow KP to be switched on a shooter, as no one else can help under the rim. Transition defense is really bad. A lot of misscomunication, with players just taking opponent closest to them, ignoring miss matches. I saw it gazillion times a center taking best opposing shooter (who promptly scores a three), despite our guard standing near to do the job. Lack of defensive communication seems to be a problem too. 

While our offense is really a thing of beauty, playoffs will show limits of this team. Can they step it up a couple of notches?

[SleepingHero]

MKG was a terror on defense last night. Really was active, to the point where he looked out of control at times (not like it was a bad thing!)

On offense though, he really isn't gelling. To be fair, he's normally paired with 4 other good offensive players, so it doesn't really matter much. And we saw last night that the Mavs were more than fine on offense with MKG barely getting any looks.

As much of what I liked to see on defense, MKG on offense has left a lot to be desired so far. Thankfully the Mavs really only brought him in for his elite defense and I wasn't expecting MKG to be much of anything on offense.

[fifteenth]

As far as MKG goes, I have to say I noticed more his negative sides.

Of course you did.

Way to early to judge whether Rick can carve out an offensive role. He is 8 lbs lighter than DP and super long. I'd give the pnr possibilities more than a half hour of total game time.

[bin610]

The thing I was most impressed about with his defense last night was there were several possessions where he had to switch multiple times in a row and he did it very quickly and seamlessly.

[matt6715]

If Seth and one of THJ/Maxi have it going from range, it's really easy to find minutes for MKG as a Dorian replacement when he needs a breather. If the 3 pointers aren't falling, I'm not sure MKG is viable enough offensively. Love his hustle and intensity though, and he already seems to be gelling with the locker room.

Speaking of gelling in the locker room - Should we be worried about WCS missing these games for personal reasons? I haven't seen any news on it.

[fifteenth]

The thing I was most impressed about with his defense last night was there were several possessions where he had to switch multiple times in a row and he did it very quickly and seamlessly.

AGREE

He showed great individual and team defensive qualities

[Fuerza1]

MKG, much like WCS, can play defense but it's something Carlisle hasn't really leaned on recently. He hasn't balanced offense/defense well since a strong personality like Dwane Casey was whispering in his ear. 

Carlisle is all in on offense a la Moreyball. Whenever the Mavs are down 7 pts in crunch time he goes with an all out offensive attack but forgets you need stops to get back in the game. My personal theory is that is why we suck so much in the clutch this season but I digress . . .

Back to MKG, he deserves more minutes but don't hold your breath. He will likely just be used in late game, dead ball situations to hopefully prevent stuff like Beal's wide open layup. 

Mavs are an offensive heavy team, they will continue to play to their strengths for better or for worse.

[michaeltex]

MKG, much like WCS, can play defense but it's something Carlisle hasn't really leaned on recently. He hasn't balanced offense/defense well since a strong personality like Dwane Casey was whispering in his ear. 

Carlisle is all in on offense a la Moreyball. Whenever the Mavs are down 7 pts in crunch time he goes with an all out offensive attack but forgets you need stops to get back in the game. My personal theory is that is why we suck so much in the clutch this season but I digress . . .

Back to MKG, he deserves more minutes but don't hold your breath. He will likely just be used in late game, dead ball situations to hopefully prevent stuff like Beal's wide open layup. 

Mavs are an offensive heavy team, they will continue to play to their strengths for better or for worse.

Defense has not seemed a priority, that's obvious. That doesn't mean it can't become MORE of a priority, although I agree that offense will still be the identity of this team.

That said, comments from before the MKG signing didn't seem to expect much on offense, so I'm not sure why expectations would be higher now that he's in DAL. Obviously, his immediate contribution is going to be on the defensive side and it looks like he's bringing it. Offensively, there are a truckload of comments about how it is difficult for players to understand and integrate into RC's movement offense. Some take longer than others (THJ?) and some never do (Rondo?). I think MKG is here to shore up defense for the late season/playoffs, to rebound and to make opportunistic scores (like the dunk last night). IF he sticks into next season, he'll have the summer+training camp to better understand what he needs to do and where he needs to go offensively. Defensively, just point to a target and say "Sic 'em".

[StepBackJay]

Let's see if uncle Ricky can fix MKG's offense by putting him in the right situations which is what Rick does. I too really like his defense. On offense yes it's an issue as you can basically ignore him when he's on the perimeter so I like seeing Mavs try to use him in PnR even if it doesn't look amazing yet. I would give it time. I think you can live with one guy that has no offense if you know how to use him. We see this all the time. How many times did we get dunked on by Dwight Howard the last time the Lakers played the Mavs? He would just line up in the dunker's spot and get wide open looks at the basket thanks to the amount of gravity Lebron absorbs. Maybe MKG is such a zero on offense that it can't be fixed but I like that the Mavs are at least trying to work him in for half a season. I think you should have a couple of those types at the end of the bench if nothing else to have some kind of answer if someone is killing you on the other end.

[fifteenth]

On offense though, he really isn't gelling.

He's played 30 minutes

Maybe he'll never gel, but he's played 30 minutes

[ClutchDirk]

On offense though, he really isn't gelling.

He's played 30 minutes

Maybe he'll never gel, but he's played 30 minutes

Sample size matters...

[SleepingHero]

On offense though, he really isn't gelling.

He's played 30 minutes

Maybe he'll never gel, but he's played 30 minutes

Sample size matters...

If we want to talk about sample size, MKG's has been an underwhelming player on the offensive end his entire career. So....

---

On offense though, he really isn't gelling.

He's played 30 minutes

Maybe he'll never gel, but he's played 30 minutes

And that's a fair point. He's in a completely new system and he's just learning the ropes. I'm not trying to admonish MKG's play, just pointing out what I'm seeing. I never expected him to be a positive on the end however, so I'm not disappointed in what I've seen. Quite the opposite. I think his defense is exactly what we need, but its an obvious fact that his offensive limitations are going to limit the situations in which we can throw MKG out there.

[Kammrath]

If we want to talk about sample size, MKG's has been an underwhelming player on the offensive end his entire career.

His offensive on/off was +2.2 in 17-18, +4.4 in 15-16, +3.1 in 14-15. So in 3 of the last five full seasons he was a POSITIVE to his team's offense. He is not a good individual offensive player, but he can absolutely be a good team offensive player.

[SleepingHero]

His offensive on/off was +2.2 in 17-18, +4.4 in 15-16, +3.1 in 14-15. So in 3 of the last five full seasons he was a POSITIVE to his team's offense. He is not a good individual offensive player, but he can absolutely be a good team offensive player.

Just because MKG was on the floor with other players that could actually score doesn't mean anything regarding his own individual talent of putting the ball in the hoop, which is what you said. So we agree that MKG is a BAD offensive player, and there's no other way to slice that cake. Regarding "team" offensive player, I don't understand what you mean by that. It's a vague statement that doesn't tell anyone of how MKG affects the offensive side of the game. 

Is he good at creating space? Setting picks? What is something specific that MKG does on the offensive side of the floor that lends credence to his on/off numbers? 

On/Off is a flawed stat that paints a narrow picture of what is actually going on, and this is a perfect example of how On/Off is a flawed stat. It allows you to come away with the conclusion that MKG is a positive on offense, which he isn't. 2 points in 3 games isn't a positive. His picks n rolls have led to practically nothing. He hasn't been able to get off a single clean drive. He cannot spot up. Can you point to me and tell me 1 thing that MKG has done on ANY offensive possession that directly led to a score?  He's had 1 layup that JJ spoon fed him off a slip of a pick in 3 games in limited minutes.

You keep citing these On/Off numbers and MKG's minute sample size of 3pt shooting to try and paint some sort of picture that the Mavs signed a somewhat competent offensive player.

However, I'm totally okay that MKG hasn't produced much of anything on the offensive floor so far. I understand that that's not why the Mavs brought him in and his elite defense that he's been displaying in limited minutes has been quite promising. But it's foolish to suggest that MKG is good on offense.

[Kammrath]

But it's foolish to suggest that MKG is good on offense.

No it isn't. It is not foolish to suggest that he CAN be good on offense and that he HAS been good at fitting in to a team offense. 

Look, I will try one more time.

Basketball is a TEAM game. MKG may not be able to win one-on-one offensive matchups, but if he is really bad at team offense then his team will essentially be playing 4 on 5 and this WILL be reflected in the on/off numbers over the course of 1000s of minutes and hundreds of games. A player WILL have a on/off that is very negative over those sample sizes if they bring nothing to the table offensively and are simply a "liability." You cannot successfully hide for thousands of minutes over the course of years.  

The fact that he has three full seasons in the last five full seasons of being positive in offense from an on/off perspective means that he CAN be a solid to good TEAM offensive player (it is POSSIBLE). Meaning he is capable of taking advantage if a defense tries to ignore him. Meaning he is capable of not getting in the way of a team trying to execute its offense. 

Again, if you take a random dude off the street and stick him on an NBA team for five seasons and thousands of minutes he WILL have an on/off that is negative.

[solidsnakeMav]

As long as he can do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqKTV5c7WUg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQY6KzkMIeA, I don't care if he scores 0 points tbh. This team has enough firepower to mask his weaknesses.

To me he's also a underrated ball handler. He has good enough handles to attack space if the D sags way off and he had a few drives that probably should have ended up with fts if the refs were half way decent.


Really want him back next year.

[omahen]

I don't care if he scores 0 points tbh

I also don't. i am affraid the team will have a hard time scoring with him on the floor. 

This team has enough firepower to mask his weaknesses

Not sure about that. Even with only Wright in, offense dies a lot of times.

As long as he can do this

Defense is a team thing. Despite MKG being good at it, Mavs as a team were still awful against Minny. As I said before - unless he shows much more on offense, I am affraid his role will be limited to a defensive specialist coming in to cool down an opponent on a hot streak.

[Lucky Luciano]

I don't care if he scores 0 points tbh

I also don't. i am affraid the team will have a hard time scoring with him on the floor. 

This team has enough firepower to mask his weaknesses

Not sure about that. Even with only Wright in, offense dies a lot of times.

As long as he can do this

Defense is a team thing. Despite MKG being good at it, Mavs as a team were still awful against Minny. As I said before - unless he shows much more on offense, I am affraid his role will be limited to a defensive specialist coming in to cool down an opponent on a hot streak.

But we have the most efficient offense in NBA history and you were concerned with our offense "Dying" when Wright was in?

I'm just kind of curious what you are looking at bud...