Boban watch. was 2020 playoff Mavericks 1 Chance has almost No Chance to be Used

[dirkfansince1998]

In other words there are specific situations where it can be very advantageous having a guy on the floor that is very, very difficult for the defense to stop 1 on 1 even if its for 2 points and free throws.

I don´t think anyone disagrees with this take. But isn´t that exactly what RC is doing? It´s not like Boban is in a Reeves or Cleveland role. He played in every single playoff game and adjusted for the shortened season played the 2nd most games and minutes of his career.

Your Zubac arguments are at least reasonable but not as strong as you seem to think.  For one thing, you missed all the details of my argument.  When Boban is in the game, he should have his offense leveraged against the opposing big man.  Rick Carlisle's offense completely fails to do this for a player like Boban.  Burke, or Seth, THJ, even KP, those guys have games that Coach's offense can allow to shine, IF they are hitting. 

RCs offense was the best in the entire history of the league. He seems to know what he is doing. Still not perfect because the Mavs struggled in the clutch but that is more about sloppy execution. Don´t see a reason to change the entire scheme for Boban.
Do you think a post heavy offense with Boban as the center piece would be more efficient than the 5-out flow offense that RC was running all season long?
What you describe can make sense in limited minutes. Mainly when Luka and/or KP are on the bench. Thing is that one of them is on the floor most of the time. No one in his right mind would take the ball out of Lukas hands to run a post heavy offense for 20 minutes a game.

Let's look at the Actual Facts: 

I really don´t get why people aren´t able or willing to use the available tracking data. We don´t have to rely on the boxscore. We can directly compare what Boban did when he was sharing the floor with Zubac.
The overall boxscore numbers aren´t really helping in this case. Of course Boban scored more. He had a way higher usage (just like you want it). Zubac won´t get any touches over PG, Kawhi, Lou Will or Morris. On offense they used him as a screen setter and roll man.
Do you want to know how many points Boban scored when he was defended by Zubac? 2. That´s it. 1/5 from the floor. When both shared the floor Bobans did nothing on offense. Zubac wasn´t on the floor for his scoring. He was the most important defender of the series and lead all players with an incredible +78 on court rating. Boban on the other hand is a defensive liability and it makes zero sense to keep him on the floor when he isn´t able to produce on offense.
Overall both shared the floor for 15 minutes. Boban scored 7pts and had 5 reb. He also had 3 fouls. Clippers outscored the Mavs by 7.

I actually agree that Zubac was not only a problem for Boban. He had the best on court rating for a reason and played good pick and roll defense against Luka. Doesn´t change the fact that RC saw a matchup that did not favor the Mavs and tried to avoid it. We can talk about more minutes in the matchup vs Harrell but I am not sure if that would have helped either. In certain situations it just makes sense to bench the biggest defensive liability. For example when the opposing team is having a hot shooting night. No need to give them even more open shots.


On a side note: Relax...multiple emots, bolded parts and even a different color. This is a family friendly board

[Dahlsim]

In other words there are specific situations where it can be very advantageous having a guy on the floor that is very, very difficult for the defense to stop 1 on 1 even if its for 2 points and free throws.

I don´t think anyone disagrees with this take. But isn´t that exactly what RC is doing?... 

No its not exactly what RC is doing.   There are simply times where 2 points, a strong rebound, sprinkled in with a free throw here and there can win you a game or help you hold a lead during a run. 
Boban being one of the best players on the roster to help Luka and company get that 2, simply isn't on the floor to help. The simple box score proves that.  

RCs offense was the best in the entire history of the league. He seems to know what he is doing. Still not perfect because the Mavs struggled in the clutch but that is more about sloppy execution. Don´t see a reason to change the entire scheme for Boban.

Kenny Smith during this recent playoffs on the Mavs post game analysis shot down the 'best offense' stat purely cleanly.  You can't be the best offense in the league, let alone in history, if you can's score when you need to score to get wins. 

You just said they can't score in clutch, but it's not only in the clutch. When your team gets blown out, when you consistently blow leads in historically short time frames, you cannot be the best offense in history. 

Attributing it purely to sloppy execution every time the offense fails is just another way to say it's all on the players and completely excuse the coaching strategies. But then if the players are scoring at the 'best in history' pace, that's a credit to the coaching strategy. 

Do you think a post heavy offense with Boban as the center piece ...

No. I never called for that.  You play off the post sometimes, you roll the big man to rim sometimes, sometimes you position him to draw the defense and force them to stay home while Luka drives to the hole, scores or finds the wide open 3 point shooter.  

Its' about using the threat of a player that is very, very difficult to guard offensively to open up the floor and lanes for your offense. 

Do you want to know how many points Boban scored when he was defended by Zubac?

That's a decent point you're making.  I'm not sure really how well Zubac could guard Boban if the Mavericks were really using him well on offense. He may be pretty good, but your sample size is tiny when you say 1 of 5 obviously and we would need to even look at those scoring cases. 

I'm with you here, I like Zubac as a player and we both said, he really hurt the Mavs.  I doubt very seriously Zubac could guard Boban any better than he could guard Shaq if he were repeatedly left to guard him one on one, but what the boxscore does tell me is that he really didn't have to try.  Boban had a big game, really helped the Mavs win then came back to play 9 minutes. 

9 Minutes.  Seriously. Lebron could get smoked by someone if you based it on a particular 9 minutes and that's not saying Boban was even against Zubac for 9 minutes.  Zubac got a free pass and Harrell who you acknowledge Boban was killing, also got a free pass because based on minute disparity he didn't have defend Boban much even when he was destroying Dallas. 

In certain situations it just makes sense to bench the biggest defensive liability

The defensive liability issue is exaggerated.  Boban's defense annoys me at the rim because he's not aggressive as he should be, especially in his short minutes but overall, his rebounding and his big body in my view generally hold their own on defense or at times help the Mavs who were absolutely horrible without KP inside.   

You downplay the boxscore but the productivity and the consistently high +/1 demonstrate that Boban was usually giving you more than he was costing you on the floor, period.  At the end of day the goal is not defense, its to score more points than the other guy whatever that takes.  

On a side note: Relax...multiple emots, bolded parts and even a different color. This is a family friendly board

Since when did emoticons become not "family friendly"?  Seriously?   
It think its more group think.  People use them to a certain amount on this board or type of board and I don't conform to the norm. 

Not sure why some people out here are annoyed by emots but I like them so I use them, glad the board has some.  I've run and contributed on some big forums by the way so it's more of a general community style and expectation I think. 

Anyway, I could flip that and say "relax, emots, a little bold text and color never hurt anyone".

[dirkfansince1998]

Well I am done. I am actually investing time. Doing some research to back up my case with tracking and matchup data and the response is basically a simple I don´t care combined with the same things you have already stated in your initial post. As long as you are comparing Boban to Jokic or Shaq we simply won´t reach a common ground.

Anyway, I could flip that and say "relax, emots, a little bold text and color never hurt anyone".

Last part from me was more of a joke. Felt like the entire post had some kind of angry vibe.

[Dahlsim]

Well I am done. I am actually investing time. Doing some research to back up my case with tracking and matchup data and the response is basically a simple I don´t care combined with the same things you have already stated in your initial post. As long as you are comparing Boban to Jokic or Shaq we simply won´t reach a common ground.

Anyway, I could flip that and say "relax, emots, a little bold text and color never hurt anyone".

Last part from me was more of a joke. Felt like the entire post had some kind of angry vibe.

 Not angry.  Good debate, you made some good points. 
Fortunately the world is bigger than this board and I'm not the only one that sees the comparison of Boban to other great NBA players. 

The most efficient players in modern NBA history
Leaders in career points per shot attempt, 1974-2018
PLAYER
YEARS
POINTS PER SHOT ATTEMPT
Boban Marjanovic
2016-2018
1.62
Adrian Dantley
1977-1991
1.53
Charles Barkley
1985-2000
1.52
James Harden
2010-2018
1.51
Shaquille O’Neal
1993-2011
1.47
For players with a mininmum of 30 points per 100 possessions in 100 regular-season games.
SOURCE: BASKETBALL REFERENCE 

Boban is a subject others have written and wondered about. 
Why The Most Efficient Scorer In NBA History Is Stuck On The Bench
and a more recent piece 
Boban Marjanovic is a true unstoppable force 

So yes, we can agree to disagree.  Good talkin. 

---

This is why I said the perception some have of Boban on defense is often exaggerated: 

A few numbers highlight how much Marjanovic struggles with perimeter-oriented bigs. So far this season, he is defending 14 midrange and 3-point tries per 100 shot attempts, the most in the NBA among the 365 players who’ve contested at least 30 such shots so far, according to Second Spectrum. Exacerbating the issue even more: Players are shooting about 15 effective field-goal percentage points better than expected against him from that range, according to Second Spectrum data, the worst gap of any center in the league to this point.

None of this is to suggest that Marjanovic, who signed with the Spurs as a free agent back in 2015, has no skill on defense. Coming into this season, he held opposing players to far less than their usual averages when shooting within six feet of the rim, likely the result of his disruptive 7-foot-8 wingspan and 9-foot-7 standing reach that make him one of the largest players in NBA history. And if he had played enough minutes to qualify for the leaderboard, Marjanovic’s career total rebound percentage (21.9 percent) would put him right behind former Piston Dennis Rodman, who holds the best rate of all time (23.4 percent).

But above all else, Marjanovic is a scorer. He’s very good at establishing position near the basket.
...
And once he catches the ball, either off an entry pass or after a teammate has lofted it to where only he can catch it, he has an array of moves that make him even more difficult to guard.
... 

The point is, Bobi isn't a defensive star, his biggest concern back then was against stretch bigs on the perimeter.  I've noticed he's been somewhat better against those players in the last couple of years and the biggest challenge is the ever present PnR.  In general though, his defensive impact has not been the total loss some make it out to be.  

He is at least an obstacle at the rim and his rebounding impacts defense as well.

[Dahlsim]

Watching the LA / Denver series here in terms the Size and Center battle.  I expected Jokic and let's not forget Paul Millsap to have a very different challenge against this LA vs the previous LA and he did. 
The Lakers have a more stout rotation of big men.  They roll out former Mav McGee and Howard on top of Anthony Davis, Markieff Morris and company. 
It will be interesting to see how Denver adjusts after being totally controlled in game 1. 

In a pure one on one matchup Jokic still has some size/bully ball advantage even against the Lakers but not nearly what he had against the Clippers. 
https://uproxx.com/dimemag/los-angeles-l...deo-stats/ 

Inevitably, Jokic is going to figure out a way to get into isolation situations against his defender. More often than not, he’ll find a way to beat them.

The Lakers can’t just let that happen and watch McGee and Howard get cooked. Though the Lakers’ identity all year stemmed from elite size and rim protection,

It may fall more to Denver to win other matchups on the floor now which includes now looking and hoping for the return of Will Barton. 

More impressively, they've put themselves among the final four teams while juggling a handful of injuries, including missing starting guard Will Barton, who is yet to suit up in Orlando. 

Barton has been sidelined for a month after leaving the bubble to continue rehab on his injured right knee and while there is 'no timetable' for his return as yet, according to Nuggets President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly, the team appreciates just how much they've missed him in their playoff run. 

"We’re not here without Will,” Connelly said, per The Denver Post.

“He’s such a huge part of our team. He’s working his tail off to try to get right. We thought the resources that were available outside the bubble would be better suited to get him there. There’s no timetable, but even though he’s not here physically, he’s certainly here in spirit.”

[dirkfansince1998]

Really? Looks more like the Lakers are going small again. Started Javal. Benched him. AD played center. Benched AD. Now they are playing without any bigman. LeBron and Morris defending the paint. Howard did not play a single minute so far.

[KillerLeft]

Really? Looks more like the Lakers are going small again. Started Javal. Benched him. AD played center. Benched AD. Now they are playing without any bigman. LeBron and Morris defending the paint. Howard did not play a single minute so far.

McGee was ineffective in both first quarters. In both cases, the second he was yanked, the Lakers went on a big run. I don't think this is because Denver was taking advantage of his weaknesses intelligently, I think he's just an awful, awful player.

Davis has KILLED Jokic when they're matched up in both games, so far. Him playing the 5 is their best option, by far. 

To be fair, Dwight Howard was really, really good in game 1. Way better than I would've thought. If that continues, Denver has no chance in the series. But, I didn't feel like Denver attacked him in the pick and roll game enough to make Vogel pay for having him out there, personally.

Interested to see how the rest of game 2 goes.

[Dahlsim]

Really? Looks more like the Lakers are going small again. Started Javal. Benched him. AD played center. Benched AD. Now they are playing without any bigman. LeBron and Morris defending the paint. Howard did not play a single minute so far.

I wouldn't consider the Lakers small if AD is at center, especially with Lebron in the game too. 
Its sort of a new definition of small when it can include Anthony Davis near 7 feet with a huge wingspan. 

In terms of front line size, McGee played 11 and Howard 12 so each of them played Boban-ish type minutes by themselves for 23 total.  That goes on top of AD who played 39 minutes fully countering Jokic's 38 minutes by himself.  

AD's length came directly into play when he took that last shot and Jokic fully extended to try and block or bother it but Davis's length made it a fully clean stroke for the win. 

They can go small when they want to, but the Lakers 2020 were and are a BIG team.

[KillerLeft]

For sure, the Lakers are still Big with Davis at the 5. This has been my point all along. It's not "small ball" that people are trying to play, it's "skill ball." 

I think Davis at the 5 is a problem for any team in the league, specifically because he's probably the most able to do EVERYTHING possible at that position. 

Also, the Lakers are a big team at other positions, too. Hell, even Rondo is at a size advantage against most matchups. 

Howard seems to have more juice left in his legs than I thought. He's contributing nicely for them in a crazy, reckless sort of way. 

They're scarier that I realized going into the playoffs.

[Reunion Mav Old]

I think the Lakers are playing far better than they did in the regular season. Their defense showed effort and got better during the season, but in the playoffs they have totally found their defensive chemistry. They also have found their offensive chemistry which is go to two of the best 5 players in the league a lot...and all will be fine. Even their not so great guys are contributing, a little like the Mavs only with the Laker stars being ready for this with the Mavs stars on their way to this level.

[Hypermav]

I thought the biggest obstacle for the Lakers would be the health of LeBron and AD.  AD was always banged up in NO.  Hope I didn't jinx him.    

[Dahlsim]

Nice win for the Nuggets.  The Nuggets big two came up big but Jeremy Grant played like a 3rd star on defense and offense. 

In relation to my OP I maintain that Jokic is doing what to some extent Boban could have done for Dallas even in less minutes. Jokic 22pts/10reb/5 asts on offense with a very efficient 9/14 shooting in 37 minutes. 
The key to his offensive efficiency is the gravity he demands from the Lakers who tried to defend him with some 1 on 1 using 42 minutes of AD with Dwight + McGee logging 22 minutes. 

Jokic forces the floor to open up even though he was only 1 of 3 from the 3. He is a threat from the paint and forced the lakers hand by hitting his midrange 2's.  His gravity on offense makes the rest of the Nuggets  scoring life much easier. 

Jokic is somewhat slimmed up, but he's still slow yet his defense is smart. Of course the Lakers might argue they just didn't hit their 3's, they shot poorly.   
AD did argue this post game as he himself was 9 of 17 but 0 of 4 from 3.  So defensively it may be that the Lakers simply missed and next game they'll make.  
I thought the defense against Lebron, including shutting off the lanes and paint was tremendous by the Nuggets.  I never really see that from Dallas.  The lanes to the bucket are just too free against these Mavs. 
If the Nuggets can do it again, then I'll start to believe that Jokic and company can actually put an elite defense against the Lakers.

---

I also have to reference this 

The Nuggets lost almost all of a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter but held on, avoiding a 3-0 hole that would have been daunting even for this never-out-of-it team.

''We feel that we should be up 2-1 right now, to be honest,'' Murray said. ''So we're just going to move on to Game 4.''

If you watch the Nuggets lead evaporate during the Lakers run that almost stole that game in the late 3rd and 4th, the Nuggets started taking 3's and low % shots.  It was very Mavericks-high-powered-offense-sputters-in-clutch-like.    

Instead of getting to the paint and rim, even though they had Jokic there to play off of, they stayed with the perimeter style offense that got them the lead.  That was a time to switch gears IMO and get inside to hold the lead longer. 
That was a time where some high % offense inside/out could have kept them from needing last 2 minute heroics to preserve their win.

[fifteenth]

Jokic is doing what to some extent Boban could have done for Dallas

Dahlsim, have some mercy on us, pal! I think you jumped the shark with the Jokic/Boban stuff, and I love me some Bobi. And I already read all the arguments to the contrary, so no need to retype it, pal. 

I knew Jack Kenedy, er, I mean Jokic. And Boban is no Jokic.

[Dahlsim]

Jokic is doing what to some extent Boban could have done for Dallas

Dahlsim, have some mercy on us, pal! I think you jumped the shark with the Jokic/Boban stuff, and I love me some Bobi. And I already read all the arguments to the contrary, so no need to retype it, pal. 

I knew Jack Kenedy, er, I mean Jokic. And Boban is no Jokic.

I know that's the common thought many fans have but Boban's elite scoring efficiency, skilled passing, inside and midrange game (be interesting to see what he might do if he got more 3's) and his rebounding are facts. 

Its at NBA historic levels.  

For example, Marjanovic has a career Player Efficiency Rating[size=small][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif] of 26.4, with 186 games and 1,819 minutes played. If he met the qualifiers, that would put him at No. 5 in NBA history, only behind Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Shaquille O'Neal.

Obviously, I'm not trying to compare Marjanovic's overall body of work to those all-time NBA greats, but it does give you a glimpse of just how efficient he is, while only playing a little under 10 minutes per game for his career to this point.

That is why Stan Van Gundy and Popovich made the comments I have cited and referenced. 

Yes, Boban is not exactly Jokic, no two players are exactly the same anyway, but That's why I beat the drum.  Boban is essentially a guy who can give you All Star performance over smaller spurts.  The facts show that even this season and in the recent playoffs.  I do not suggest he would do the same over Jokic minutes, but he certainly could have done it in more important spurts than he gets with Coach Carlisle. 
It's just something I tend to do 15th when I see common assumptions fly in the face of facts.

[Dahlsim]

FTR: Boban Watch. Mavs 108, Bulls 118 

I think we already had this conversation a few times. In the end no former team used Boban in a more featured role so we don´t know if he could be as dominant as you think. It´s  not like Boban is getting less minutes in Dallas. Looking at his career he played in about 2/3 of all games and around 10 minutes per game. Be it SA, Detroit, LA or Dallas. The only coach that tried to give him more minutes was Brown but he also is the guy that thought Simmons, Horford and Embiid could start together.

I'm not rehashing just venting as I stated, based on what I observe.  Only going to address this because you did.  Notice for example here, I'm not even about the total career or game minutes, seven min in this case.
The minutes were token, and not at a time or in a way it could really help the team. 
He was definitely used in a more impactful role in all of the prior stops.  

In terms of minutes, look at who he backed up?  Despite the fact that he played behind Allstar centers like Tim Duncan, Andre Drummond, DeAndre Jordan/Montrez Harrell and Joel Embiid.  Average backup minutes are going to be limited for anyone in those stops.  

In Philly last stop for example he helped win playoff games and a series when Embiid was out. 
In LA, behind a 2 deep center rotation he managed to get impactful minutes ( and kicked off the Tobi/Bobi show).  
In SA, even as a rookie he made a mark behind Duncan and played so well he earned a big contract with the next team. 
In Detroit the coach is on record saying he though the minutes still should have been higher, even with the strong rotation in front of him. 

Your point on total minutes is a decent one, but here in Dallas its tokenized and even when not behind any  Allstar center rotation like prior stops, his career minutes are actually trending down when he should be getting better as a veteran player.  
More importantly, as what the 6th center, I just think he's getting badly marginalized, wasted as a player and not a good fit for the Coaches system. This despite the fact the team's offense has been consistently unreliable at a key times. 

Just suggesting they might do themselves and Boban a favor if he actually cares about his career as a player by looking for a possible trade partner. He wouldn't be the first player to find new life and minutes by landing in the right spot.  Look at Trey Burke now in Dallas. 

That's my 2cents but hey as far as he and his agent they might be happy to cheerlead, towel wave and baby sit.  Maybe he'll get more movie roles, there's always that.   

[Benskix2]

I suspect there are some physical limitations that would prevent Boban from ever having the kind of impact you want him to have Dahlsim.  I think his minutes will always limited by his super crooked spine.

[Dahlsim]

I suspect there are some physical limitations that would prevent Boban from ever having the kind of impact you want him to have Dahlsim.  I think his minutes will always limited by his super crooked spine.

Someone else posted that his minutes issue may be more health related rather than purely playing ability related. 

Fans have discussed whether he has some undisclosed challenges such Marfan syndrome or issues stemming from pituitary gland and the growth.   

If he has physical issues there that are not public knowledge then that would make perfect sense of some things like his minutes that don't make as much sense on the basis of talent and playing impact alone. 

Thx. 

[F Gump]

There is no mystery with Boban's minutes. He is impactful on the offensive end. But he's a big liability on the defensive end. I'm not sure why his use is such a big thing here.

The evidence says there are no physical reasons for his limited minutes, and the issue is his overall ability. If he has some impairment that creates a danger of breaking down by playing, it seems like the doctors wouldn't clear him for play. Plus, when there are injuries to those ahead of him on the depth chart, he plays a lot, and there's no problem.

I like when he plays. He makes me smile. A big guy who can do the things he does, it's fun to watch. He is so skilled, and knows how to use his size in a way many bigs don't seem to understand.

What he's doing with the Mavs - a chemistry guy who makes life better for your superstar, and a 3rd string center who gets play at various times due to injury or game situations - feels very appropriate.

I do think the Mavs missed an opportunity to get a bit more on-court value out of him last season. Given his strengths and weaknesses, it seems to me he has extra value when you can't stop the other team anyhow - and when swapping baskets would be good enough to serve your purpose. That's certainly true in garbage time, of course, but it was also true last season when the Mavs would have big leads and then couldn't keep them as the game was nearing the end. Swapping baskets would have been a "win" in that circumstance.

Hopefully that ship has sailed. Using him in that way is just a temporary solution - you really want to improve where your defense is good and you can win the game at the end. But if the Mavs again show they can't stop the other team, possession after possession, he makes a lot of sense to use in that circumstance and help keep the margin steady.

[Dahlsim]

There is no mystery with Boban's minutes. He is impactful on the offensive end. But he's a big liability on the defensive end. I'm not sure why his use is such a big thing here.

A thoughtful post deserves a thoughtful reply Mr. Gump. 

Agree and disagree here.  Let's say his degree of liability we could define as the difference between his offensive/rebounding advantage - his defensive disadvantage.   We can use the +/- stat however that doesn't tell us anything about the players offensive usage which in my mind is part of the mystery. Still if we look how the team performs with said player on the floor I've documented games where Boban is not only the + but even at times the biggest + on the floor, yet still his usage and minutes patterns remain largely the same no matter how well or poorly he actually performs on the floor. 

I say mystery but I suspect it is simply a system bias which is reflected in the way the league plays in general, as I said Shaq or Hakeem could have usage issues in today's bias.  Its particularly pronounced here in Dallas where after all the coach famously proclaimed post play to be completely dead in today's game.  That point, is only part of the story here since Boban scoring efficiency is not from post play alone.  
Still after Shaq said once that he thought Boban was one of the top players on the entire Mavs roster he and the crew raised some public disagreement with Rick Carlisle's position.  This whole episode is discussed in some detail in my thread here: Porzingis Postup Debate - Rick Carlisle vs TNT  

The evidence says there are no physical reasons for his limited minutes, and the issue is his overall ability. If he has some impairment that creates a danger of breaking down by playing, it seems like the doctors wouldn't clear him for play. Plus, when there are injuries to those ahead of him on the depth chart, he plays a lot, and there's no problem.

Well I've thought the same thing but others have raised the idea that perhaps he can't get up and down the floor well enough and needs more frequent breathers or has some other health related issues that are undisclosed.  I actually don't see it for the reasons you state and the fact that he's often changing ends and then running around setting big giant Bobi screens at the free throw line extended area just fine. 

It looks to me like he's just doing what the offensive sets dictate he's supposed to do, nothing to do with lack of stamina or speed.  It would be easier in fact if he more often simply ran to the post and dunker's positions and stayed around the rim as a threat.  
That looks to me like a poor usage of his offensive talent even if he is on the for only 7 to 12 minutes give or take these days, if he's getting minutes at all. 

I like when he plays. He makes me smile. A big guy who can do the things he does, it's fun to watch. He is so skilled, and knows how to use his size in a way many bigs don't seem to understand.

What he's doing with the Mavs - a chemistry guy who makes life better for your superstar, and a 3rd string center who gets play at various times due to injury or game situations - feels very appropriate.

Hmm, I appreciate what you stated above but I also find it self contradictory.  He's sooo skilled as an offensive big but its only appropriate to use him as a bench and locker room towel waver for your superstar or a spotty usage 3rd string center?  Something about those statements doesn't quite jive to me.   

I do think the Mavs missed an opportunity to get a bit more on-court value out of him last season. Given his strengths and weaknesses, it seems to me he has extra value when you can't stop the other team anyhow - and when swapping baskets would be good enough to serve your purpose. That's certainly true in garbage time, of course, but it was also true last season when the Mavs would have big leads and then couldn't keep them as the game was nearing the end. Swapping baskets would have been a "win" in that circumstance.

Now you've made a point that I've made myself repeatedly.  If there has been situations that screamed out for Boban's usage it has been those situations where the Dallas 'most efficient offense in history' was shut down and could not produce baskets for often important stretches of games.  
The Mavs famously blew numerous big leads unable to score and lost big games the same way. 

I don't agree that this is only useful when you can't stop the other team anyway however.  If you can successfully swap baskets when you have a large enough margin of victory and time on the clock is against your opponent, that is a win as you said.  If you win at that point by getting stops or by outscoring your opponent what difference does that really make?  

Hopefully that ship has sailed. Using him in that way is just a temporary solution - you really want to improve where your defense is good and you can win the game at the end. But if the Mavs again show they can't stop the other team, possession after possession, he makes a lot of sense to use in that circumstance and help keep the margin steady.

 
I do agree that your way of thinking is much more in line with the way Coach Carlisle and the Mavs think probably think in that they want to win by defending more than by outscoring Mike D'Antoni style.  That idea is supported by the roster moves they made this offseason, sacrificing some offense to get more defense. 

I don't think we'll see them ever really use Boban however the way you and I both suggest in this case.  He won't be used as a scoring force to hold a lead the system bias won't allow that.  Mavs will use KP that way however so the best bet for Dallas to get the Unicorn back and hope he stays healthy when it matters because he can be as elite as Boban offensively without the defensive challenges. 

Cheers 

[Dahlsim]

Bobi Watch: 
As I continue to watch the Dallas Mavericks struggle with inefficient offense, especially from the front line, the losses pile up and an elite efficient scorers racks up DNP-CD after CD.  
Can't help but go  hmm?  The fantasy guys recognize his production per minutes, if only he actually played somewhere. 
Mavericks' Boban Marjanovic: Logs 16 minutes in win Jan 8, 2021 Jan 8, 2021 

Marjanovic posted 12 points (5-7 FG, 2-2 FT) and three rebounds across 16 minutes in Thursday's 124-117 overtime win over the Nuggets.

Marjanovic excelled in the Orlando bubble when Kristaps Porzingis was absent, but he's not being utilized as much in 2021. He's had two DNP-CD designations already this season, and it appears that his future production will remain scant. Still, his imposing 7-foot-4 frame is a size mismatch for any team, and he can stretch the floor with a decent mid-range jumper.