[Grades] Grades v. Mavs 11/30/2015
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
I live in Dallas. Wes Matthews has been fine this year. He would have been good for the Kings. Perhaps overpaid short term but not when the cap baloons. I was sceptical about his health but he's come back pretty well.
He was always a better fit for the Kings than the Mavs. He's been a 3 and d guy this year same as always. He'll never jump off the page at you. But how good would we be if we had a full sized 2 guard who generally makes open looks and keeps his defender from collapsing on Cuz who also plaus solid d? (Instead we have Ben who is full sized but cant shoot or a collection of scorers who can't defend)
He was always a better fit for the Kings than the Mavs. He's been a 3 and d guy this year same as always. He'll never jump off the page at you. But how good would we be if we had a full sized 2 guard who generally makes open looks and keeps his defender from collapsing on Cuz who also plaus solid d? (Instead we have Ben who is full sized but cant shoot or a collection of scorers who can't defend)
Sort of. He tries on defense and hits open shots, but he's still a shrimp for the position and teams will eventually start posting him up if he pmays 2 for major minutes.
The more intreesting question is can he be the backup pg. The sample size is too small right now. But if he keeps looking like a polished pro who can run an nba offense make open shots and be ok defensively we might have to start thinking is Collison a luxory asset that would be better used getting us a full sized 3 and d sg? ( im not advocating this ... yet, but with Rondo being a major minute guy it might be smarter to limit Karl's ability and excuses to play 2 and 3 pg lineups for long stretches)
The more intreesting question is can he be the backup pg. The sample size is too small right now. But if he keeps looking like a polished pro who can run an nba offense make open shots and be ok defensively we might have to start thinking is Collison a luxory asset that would be better used getting us a full sized 3 and d sg? ( im not advocating this ... yet, but with Rondo being a major minute guy it might be smarter to limit Karl's ability and excuses to play 2 and 3 pg lineups for long stretches)
I think you're criticizing the wrong guard. Karl had to go to a 5th guard in Seth because our two SGs were making almost no impact (6 points between Ben and Marco in 31 minutes). DC was using his speed to attack and hit shots. Seth brought intensity on both ends and hit shots. Ben and Marco were invisible by comparison.
Taj Gibson?
Bulls still have a solid 3 big rotation with Gasol, Mirotic, & Noah with Portis picking up spot minutes. On the plus side, they get a solid backup PG to help keep their hopes alive if Rose goes down with another injury.
Meanwhile, we get a solid PF who could even start next to Cousins and push Cauley-Stein to the bench. Not to mention, it might help us be more competitive when Cousins isn't playing considering we would still have a 3 big rotation of Gibson, Koufos, & Cauley-Stein
PG - Rondo (37 min)/Curry (11 min)
SG - McLemore (24 min)/Belinelli (24 min)/Anderson
SF - Gay (34 min)/Casspi (14 min)/Butler
PF - Gibson (22 min)/Cousins (9 min)/Cauley-Stein (12 min)/Casspi (5 min)/Acy
C - Cousins (28 min)/Koufos (20 min)
Cousins - 37 min (#1 option/defensive anchor)
Rondo - 37 min (floor general)
Gay - 34 min (#2 option)
McLemore - 24 min (3 and D)
Belinelli - 24 min (6th man/floor spreader)
Gibson - 22 min (defensive roleplayer)
Koufos - 20 min (2nd team defensive anchor/post option)
Casspi - 19 min (bench scorer/floor spreader)
Cauley-Stein - 12 min (defensive roleplayer)
Curry - 11 min (bench scorer/floor spreader)
PG depth would be a concern. Wouldn't mind trying to snatch Hinrich as well, but you'll have to make salaries match.
Bulls still have a solid 3 big rotation with Gasol, Mirotic, & Noah with Portis picking up spot minutes. On the plus side, they get a solid backup PG to help keep their hopes alive if Rose goes down with another injury.
Meanwhile, we get a solid PF who could even start next to Cousins and push Cauley-Stein to the bench. Not to mention, it might help us be more competitive when Cousins isn't playing considering we would still have a 3 big rotation of Gibson, Koufos, & Cauley-Stein
PG - Rondo (37 min)/Curry (11 min)
SG - McLemore (24 min)/Belinelli (24 min)/Anderson
SF - Gay (34 min)/Casspi (14 min)/Butler
PF - Gibson (22 min)/Cousins (9 min)/Cauley-Stein (12 min)/Casspi (5 min)/Acy
C - Cousins (28 min)/Koufos (20 min)
Cousins - 37 min (#1 option/defensive anchor)
Rondo - 37 min (floor general)
Gay - 34 min (#2 option)
McLemore - 24 min (3 and D)
Belinelli - 24 min (6th man/floor spreader)
Gibson - 22 min (defensive roleplayer)
Koufos - 20 min (2nd team defensive anchor/post option)
Casspi - 19 min (bench scorer/floor spreader)
Cauley-Stein - 12 min (defensive roleplayer)
Curry - 11 min (bench scorer/floor spreader)
PG depth would be a concern. Wouldn't mind trying to snatch Hinrich as well, but you'll have to make salaries match.
I've said it a couple times, but some of our more attractive bench options collide with our core. Let's look at each position.
PG:
Collison plays the same position as Rondo (and he isn't big enough to be a SG). He's the right type of change of pace PG you want behind Rondo, but the amount of minutes a player of his caliber deserves (20-28 min) would take away minutes that should be going to Rondo.
SG:
If McLemore continues to develop into a 3 and D player, I don't really have an issue with a McLemore/Belinelli SG rotation. Their skill sets compliment each other well.
SF:
Casspi should be getting around 20-24 min a game, but he plays the same position as our 2nd option (Gay). Neither can play SG effectively and playing either at PF leaves us small with a disadvantage on the glass and defensive side of the ball. Not to mention, you probably want a defensive roleplayer behind Gay (rather than a scorer) considering Gay isn't a very good defender and we don't have any SGs who are known as solid wing defenders.
PF & C:
Cousins is our franchise player and this team should be built around him. Cousins best position is C which means he should be logging all of his minutes at C. However, our 2nd best big on the roster is a 270lb, 7'0" C. Koufos is good enough to where he deserves around 20-24 min. That means Cousins is playing only 24-28 min at his best position. Ideally, you'd like to have a defensive minded C who can anchor the defense when Cousins is off the floor (like Koufos), but you invest in better bigs who can play PF (to compliment Cousins at C). Having a C like Ajinca behind Cousins makes sense because he's a big body who can clean the glass and protect the rim while Cousins is out (however, he's a guy who would be satisfied with 10-15 min thus not pushing Cousins out of his best position).
PG:
Collison plays the same position as Rondo (and he isn't big enough to be a SG). He's the right type of change of pace PG you want behind Rondo, but the amount of minutes a player of his caliber deserves (20-28 min) would take away minutes that should be going to Rondo.
SG:
If McLemore continues to develop into a 3 and D player, I don't really have an issue with a McLemore/Belinelli SG rotation. Their skill sets compliment each other well.
SF:
Casspi should be getting around 20-24 min a game, but he plays the same position as our 2nd option (Gay). Neither can play SG effectively and playing either at PF leaves us small with a disadvantage on the glass and defensive side of the ball. Not to mention, you probably want a defensive roleplayer behind Gay (rather than a scorer) considering Gay isn't a very good defender and we don't have any SGs who are known as solid wing defenders.
PF & C:
Cousins is our franchise player and this team should be built around him. Cousins best position is C which means he should be logging all of his minutes at C. However, our 2nd best big on the roster is a 270lb, 7'0" C. Koufos is good enough to where he deserves around 20-24 min. That means Cousins is playing only 24-28 min at his best position. Ideally, you'd like to have a defensive minded C who can anchor the defense when Cousins is off the floor (like Koufos), but you invest in better bigs who can play PF (to compliment Cousins at C). Having a C like Ajinca behind Cousins makes sense because he's a big body who can clean the glass and protect the rim while Cousins is out (however, he's a guy who would be satisfied with 10-15 min thus not pushing Cousins out of his best position).
If Curry pans out as a reliable NBA PG, a Rondo/Curry pairing makes more sense. At this point in Curry's career, you don't have to worry about playing him big minutes. Meaning Rondo can log 35-38 min a night with Curry picking up around 10-13 min behind. If Curry shows he deserves more than that, I think his ability to play off the ball pairs better with Rondo than Collison's off the ball ability (and Curry has an inch in length on Collison).
I'm not trying to say Curry is better, but I'm saying that Curry might be a better fit with the current core. For instance, if Curry could give us 10 solid minutes a night where he plays average defense, runs the offense, spreads the floor, and knocks down open threes, I think you look to move Collison in an effort to upgrade our starting SG or our starting PF. Freeing up Collison's minutes all of a sudden gives us no excuse to play 2 PG lineups or to play McLemore/Belinelli at SF.
I'm not trying to say Curry is better, but I'm saying that Curry might be a better fit with the current core. For instance, if Curry could give us 10 solid minutes a night where he plays average defense, runs the offense, spreads the floor, and knocks down open threes, I think you look to move Collison in an effort to upgrade our starting SG or our starting PF. Freeing up Collison's minutes all of a sudden gives us no excuse to play 2 PG lineups or to play McLemore/Belinelli at SF.
