Are offenses centered around mid-range maestros viable in the current nba?

[OhayoKD]

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You'd think a defense centered around Jokic would be prime-pickings for this type of team yet the Suns offense has tanked against a not-great Nuggets defense. Is there a ceiling for mid-range specialists with merely good passing chops?

[MyUniBroDavis]

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You'd think a defense centered around Jokic would be prime-pickings for this type of team yet the Suns offense has tanked against a not-great Nuggets defense. Is there a ceiling for mid-range specialists with merely good passing chops?

Bro has a red siren with a picture of KD on it rn

[tsherkin]

Is there a ceiling for mid-range specialists with merely good passing chops?

Is there not ultimately a ceiling for anyone with "merely good passing chops?"

At some point, you're just an individual scorer. If you aren't meaningfully drawing the defense and just getting Rondo assists and basic kickouts, then your overall impact isn't as strong as it might otherwise be. We have seen decades and decades of good to great scorers doing only so much because they weren't pressuring the defense with high-end passing. Is it really a surprise then that a team which relies heavily on a guy who is a volume scorer but doesn't really push the issue with the way he passes is struggling some? Particularly with their PG out and their other main guy a heavy off-ball dude and also a mid-range maestro?