Post#306 » by ImNotMcDiSwear » Sun Nov 4, 2018 6:16 pm
Tl; dr: Not an update or news, but a take that doesn't seem to fit in any other thread. Booker's not a point. Don't make him one just because we don't have one. Right now and going forward, Devin needs to play less like Mike and more like Klay. This is true even if we don't acquire a starting caliber PG this year - which we shouldn't.
I think a huge problem with this team is Booker's slow drive. He's good going to the basket as a scorer - don't get me wrong. But he's at best an okay passer, and at worst a nightmare. He's not fast enough to create a ton of offense for others when he drives to the basket out of the P&R. And on the drive, when he doesn't find passing lanes available, he often gives up and either forces a tough shot (which he's great at, relatively) or feints a pass: just gives the defense the ball. He doesn't try to extend the possession, because he's not a natural creator. Like TJ, he's a natural scorer, just of a different variety. But he drives too much and it's exactly what the defense wants.
What the defense doesn't want, Devin, is for you to pull up for that three at the top of the arc. They hate that. If you're getting a pick at the top of the key for the fourth straight possession and even if you had missed the last three straight, they'd still prefer that you go to the cup rather than pull up from 3. That three is what makes you dangerous.
So take it. Even if you miss a bunch. Shoot it. Don't drive unless they make you. Eventually, they'll have to trap you up top. Then you dump off to Ayton to work secondary action and then maybe swing the ball around for you to get an open three - or even better - an Ayton dunk or TJ rolling to the rim.
Now I wonder if the issue is: Devin doesn't want to be just a shooter. He cares about his perception, and this is his weakness. He wants to be Kobe. Michael. Wade. That's fine depending on the situation, but those guys played in different eras and were different players. You know what none of those guys had? Your shot. That weapon distinguishes you. Don't try to prove you're just as skilled or versatile or athletic as those guys because WGAF shoot the F'ing three dude and stop throwing the ball away.
.... Now. Because this is how Booker should be used - that is, because Booker isn't a creator - this team could stand to have a ball-dominant pass-first PG like Rubio, Wall, Kemba, Young, Dragic, Fox, Fultz(?), Conley, Paul, Teodosic, Rondo or Dinwiddie. But even though that is the case Booker shouldn't be used as our stand-in PG. It wears him down by making him responsible for too much of the offense, and it calls upon him to do what he is not best at - driving to create opportunities for others - rather than what he is best at: shoot the ******* three. If we want him to be a better defender, we need to let him rest more on offense. And that means Devin being a bit less vain, playing the way he's made to play.
Moving this direction will make this team better this year even if it calls on others to make plays who may not be ready. Start with the expectation that Devin will take that three EVERY TIME. Force the defense to react to that, and you'll have half your offense when he's on the floor. It'll be easier for him and it'll create space for his teammates more than Point Book ever will.
Unless a player is gifted to us, let's figure out the PG situation over the summer. Surely, some player's agent is going to eye that starting PG spot in Phoenix as one of the most attractive opportunities in the league. I'm very curious to see what players might shake loose in free agency. If 2019 is anything like 2004, we won't get Kobe (Durant), but we may end up doing even better by signing a player who is an even better fit. Kobe:Durant::Nash:____?
So to me, this season has become about (1) enjoying the development of Ayton, Booker and Bridges, (2) figuring out what JJ and TJ are to this team and the league, (3) figuring out what we have in our young PGs, (4) preserving and creating 2019 cap space, and (5) conducting auditions for the backup 4/5 spot. Auditioning possible starting PGs isn't on there because we need to preserve cap space to acquire our actual future starting PG, and I'm extremely wary of investing in yet another RFA-to-be. I prefer to root for Canaan, Okobo, Melton and now Jawun Evans, even.
