GQ03 wrote:cupcakesnake wrote:The things that Mavs fans are going to soon get really sick of is: D'Lo doesn't throw many lob passes. Despite spending time playing with centers like Jarrett Allen and Rudy Gobert, D'Lo just always seems to want to bounce it.
Unless he's somehow finally unlocked with skill, he's not going to be a fun pick & roll partner for AD (we already seen how unpotent that one was, Davis shot 43% on D'Lo passes), but even more so Gafford and Lively. The Mavs are set up to be a lob machine with all those bigs + Flagg, but they don't have a lob passer on the roster. Kyrie also is not amazing at them.
The Mavs are desperate for a ball handler, so this still feels like a win, but this is unfortunately a garbage fit outside of simply filling a hole.
D'Lo is a good fit for the mavs not just for the price but because he helps fill their ballhandling, playmaker, and shooting needs all in one guy. Many Laker fans have said the Lakers looked really good when D'Lo was actually playing PG and running the show while he struggled when moved off ball for LeBron. With Dallas, he gets to run the show for 3-4 months and then if they make the playoffs he gets to slide into a 6th/7th/8th/9th man role.
As for there being no good lob throwers on the team, Kyrie is solid at them and Flagg may actually be the best one on the team with that ability as he was really good at Duke throwing lobs to Maluach.
The thing is, if you like him on ball, he has to be the one throwing those passes.
For a long time, I used to defend D'Lo, and I liked his utility as a skilled guard who can toggle on and off the ball. In reality, his decision making on the ball is way too erratic (guy's brain is set to random), so his main offensive value comes and goes with his shooting. He's been unlucky to go ice cold at all the wrong times. He's basically a guard who has to play above the foul line and sneak in for the occasional floater. That should be fine in Dallas, where the paint will be crowded anyways. In Minnesota, it was the exact opposite of what you say Lakers fans have been saying. Our offense was busted until we got him off ball (we put the ball in the hands of Kyle Anderson and things improved over night). Most Lakers fans I knew had a similar experience: defending him when he was shooting well, and calling for his head the rest of the time.
I agree it's great value. Functional ball handler who can shoot for very little money.
