Kristaps Porziņģis activated

Imon · Post #341 » by **Imon** » Wed Nov 6, 2019 2:28 am

I was thinking about why KP hasn't really clicked so far offensively and I have a few thoughts on this issue.

1. He's still rusty from his year-and-a-half layoff.
2. Coaching staff haven't yet found a good offensive scheme to integrate KP.
3. KP's effort on the defensive end is tiring him out on the offensive end
4. Combination of all of the above.

After re-considering KP's game against the Cavs (initially I found his performance so-so) I've concluded that KP actually had a very good game. Its been awhile since the Mavs had a great rim-defender like KP and if KP can have more games where he blocks/alters a bunch of shots at the rim then I'll settle for a little less offensive production from KP in return for high-end defensive effort. In return other guys on the team have to step up in their scoring. I don't really see a third scorer on this team (THJ maybe?) so it'll have to be a team effort - Brunson, Wright, THJ, Maxi, Powell or someone else could step up any given night.

Post #342 » by **Dirk** » Sat Nov 9, 2019 1:06 pm

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Post #343 » by **Dirk** » Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:35 pm

Forbes wrote:Can someone email the Mavs and let them know KP shouldn’t be dribbling against players shorter than him please?

oldshoolballer wrote:KP was horrible so was Curry everybody else balled pretty good.Kp has looked very bad in the post.Boban would have worked tonight don't no why he didn't get minutes. The bench really stepped up.No pick and roll for Luka and KP,what's up with that.

wolfram wrote:It is brutal to watch KP going against Smart. Same thing over and over. He needs to work on his post game. Be more unpredictable. Open shots he will start making. Luka should have 15 assist tonight.

Forbes wrote:Who the hell taught KP these post moves??

I feel your pain.

Spoiler:

Bran,

please tell me how you felt watching this man yesterday against Marcus Smart.

I am not posting any video to not embarrass him. But I am sure it must be out there.

One of the biggest priorities he should have... is to fix the shambolic scenes of midgets guarding him in the post, denying him the ball and him jacking up wild shots.

Also, this:

Forbes wrote:Luka/KP pick and roll... just wanna day that I’ve noticed it hasn’t been very effective and it probably because KP barely sets a pick. No reason they can’t run that all day and cause mismatches.

bran muffin · Post #344 » by **bran muffin** » Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:04 am

Dirk wrote:please tell me how you felt watching this man yesterday against Marcus Smart.

Ugh. I think KP just had a bad game. None of his shots were falling, whether it was 3's or post ups or even chip in shots. I don't think last night's embarrassment was something that was specific to him posting up. He was just plain bad all around.

Dirk wrote:One of the biggest priorities he should have... is to fix the shambolic scenes of midgets guarding him in the post, denying him the ball and him jacking up wild shots.

KP himself agrees with you about those wild shots. In the post game interview he said he put up shots too quickly in the post, without taking the time to settle and establish himself.

But all of that may be moot point. Listen to this exchange between Zach Lowe and Rick Carlisle today...

LOWE: You're playing [Luka and KP] most of the time with a rim runner like Powell or Kleber. Luka has run many more pick and rolls with those two guys than he has with Porzingis. And Porzingis is then spotting up around those guys. Are you worried at all that marginalizes Porzingis? Or do you have ways to make [Luka and KP] work more in a 2-man game more directly?

CARLISLE: Some of this stuff is an ongoing work in progress. One of the things you'll find in these situations is that there's so much switching now in the NBA. If you set up situations that's going to lead to switches, you gotta be careful about then rolling down into a slow-moving isolation type situation because these are very inefficient situations league wide. And so when we have our spacing, we're scoring the ball at a very high rate. We're going keep working on finding ways to integrate the combination of KP and Luka both in a pick-n-roll situation, and also with some off-ball actions.

The highlighted blue part is important. Most fans want KP to exploit his height advantage, if a smaller player is switched to him. More than a few people here have derided KP for his supposed unwillingness to be more aggressive with those mismatches.

But from Rick's comments, it's clear he does NOT want KP to exploit his mismatch after a switch. Instead, Rick wants Luka to exploit his own mismatch. And that is the reason why KP hasn't posted up guards very often. It's not because KP is passive against a smaller guy. It's because Rick doesn't want KP posting up the smaller guy at all. He prefers to exploit Luka's mismatch with the bigger guy.

I believe KP wants to post up the smaller guy. He attempted to do it several times last night, and I'm guessing he did it against Rick's wishes. It looked to me like KP went off system and I bet that contributed to him getting benched. Rick has said he'll try to get him involved with more pick-n-rolls and more off-ball actions. But I don't expect Rick will post up KP much, which I think is what KP really wants. Hopefully he buys into the system. The last thing anybody wants is KP becoming disgruntled with his role in the system.

Incidentally: Lowe's comments about the marginalization of KP echoes exactly my concerns over the summer. I ranted and raved here about how a Luka+Powell pick-n-roll will reduce KP into a glorified spot up shooter like Brook Lopez. And that's exactly what's happening now. I thought back then (and still do) that Luka should be running pick-n-rolls with KP, not with Powell. KP is too talented to be a mere spot up shooter for the Luka-and-Powell show.

DJ_3_Ball · Post #345 » by **DJ_3_Ball** » Wed Nov 13, 2019 8:49 am

A lot of Mavs' fans are worried about Porzingis. I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm not too concerned.

I think Gordon Hayward is a good example. Last year was his first real season with the Celtics, coming back from a major injury with a lot of time off into a new team & system. Hayward had a down year last year, and was especially bad in the first half of the season. He didn't really get it going until March & April. Started off the season this year like his former All-Star self. Now, he's suffered an injury again, so maybe the process starts all over again; although, he's not going to miss near as much time.

My only concern for KP is that he stays healthy. KP will be back to his former self before the end of the season.

J_T · Post #346 » by **J_T** » Wed Nov 13, 2019 9:00 am

KP is shooting very quickly, even when not posting. I think at least partially he is acting so quickly because he is afraid of double team coming. I think he should embrace double team instead of fear it and if the Mavs need to get him more comfortable, they should train him being double teamed and then trying to solve the situation.

oldshoolballer · Post #347 » by **oldshoolballer** » Wed Nov 13, 2019 2:21 pm

Good stuff guys I too was curious why Luka and KP don't run more pick and roll.I envisioned it to be almost unstoppable when they acquired KP with Kp destroying smaller players with mismatches like Anthony Davis does.Some have said KP doesn't set good screens and he's not a good roll big.KP can't be just a spot up shooter.They have to find ways to get him going down hill,slip screens backdoor cuts, etc.I would like to see him attack the offensive boards more,he excels at that.RC definitely has to figure out how to get him more integrated in the offense other than just shooting 3 pointers.

Bob8 · Post #348 » by **Bob8** » Wed Nov 13, 2019 3:30 pm

bran muffin wrote:
Dirk wrote:please tell me how you felt watching this man yesterday against Marcus Smart.

Ugh. I think KP just had a bad game. None of his shots were falling, whether it was 3's or post ups or even chip in shots. I don't think last night's embarrassment was something that was specific to him posting up. He was just plain bad all around.

Dirk wrote:One of the biggest priorities he should have... is to fix the shambolic scenes of midgets guarding him in the post, denying him the ball and him jacking up wild shots.

KP himself agrees with you about those wild shots. In the post game interview he said he put up shots too quickly in the post, without taking the time to settle and establish himself.

But all of that may be moot point. Listen to this exchange between Zach Lowe and Rick Carlisle today...

LOWE: You're playing [Luka and KP] most of the time with a rim runner like Powell or Kleber. Luka has run many more pick and rolls with those two guys than he has with Porzingis. And Porzingis is then spotting up around those guys. Are you worried at all that marginalizes Porzingis? Or do you have ways to make [Luka and KP] work more in a 2-man game more directly?

CARLISLE: Some of this stuff is an ongoing work in progress. One of the things you'll find in these situations is that there's so much switching now in the NBA. If you set up situations that's going to lead to switches, you gotta be careful about then rolling down into a slow-moving isolation type situation because these are very inefficient situations league wide. And so when we have our spacing, we're scoring the ball at a very high rate. We're going keep working on finding ways to integrate the combination of KP and Luka both in a pick-n-roll situation, and also with some off-ball actions.

The highlighted blue part is important. Most fans want KP to exploit his height advantage, if a smaller player is switched to him. More than a few people here have derided KP for his supposed unwillingness to be more aggressive with those mismatches.

But from Rick's comments, it's clear he does NOT want KP to exploit his mismatch after a switch. Instead, Rick wants Luka to exploit his own mismatch. And that is the reason why KP hasn't posted up guards very often. It's not because KP is passive against a smaller guy. It's because Rick doesn't want KP posting up the smaller guy at all. He prefers to exploit Luka's mismatch with the bigger guy.

I believe KP wants to post up the smaller guy. He attempted to do it several times last night, and I'm guessing he did it against Rick's wishes. It looked to me like KP went off system and I bet that contributed to him getting benched. Rick has said he'll try to get him involved with more pick-n-rolls and more off-ball actions. But I don't expect Rick will post up KP much, which I think is what KP really wants. Hopefully he buys into the system. The last thing anybody wants is KP becoming disgruntled with his role in the system.

Incidentally: Lowe's comments about the marginalization of KP echoes exactly my concerns over the summer. I ranted and raved here about how a Luka+Powell pick-n-roll will reduce KP into a glorified spot up shooter like Brook Lopez. And that's exactly what's happening now. I thought back then (and still do) that Luka should be running pick-n-rolls with KP, not with Powell. KP is too talented to be a mere spot up shooter for the Luka-and-Powell show.

Kp doesn’t want to post anyone. He rarely posted people in New York and when playing for Latvia. He’s a small forward in a big body. But it’s obvious that he’s being afraid to attack the rim like he was before. I don’t believe he will ever play even remotely similar to classic C.

KP will be great for Mavs if,

1. Becomes elite rim protector.
2. Shots around 40% for 3.
3. Is not afraid to attack the rim, if he has opportunity.

Watch on YouTube

arkuo · Post #349 » by **arkuo** » Wed Nov 13, 2019 4:48 pm

Thing with Kristaps is he will be fine if he gets a defensive PF who can switch on guards on defense to spell him. He can play weak side shotblocker on D but the PF he is paired with needs to do the boxing out as he will be out in the perimeter exploiting his mismatch and shooting over whoever is guarding him. Said PF needs to grab rebounds.

This is where someone like Tristan Thompson comes in handy. He's not too big and bulky that he becomes slow on D. Nor is he small that he gets pushed around by the Joel Embiids of the league.

The Lakers are doing fine with Dwight Howard not spacing the floor by shooting threes opposite AD. I say Tristan Thomspon can coexist opposite KP as well.

DJ_3_Ball · Post #350 » by **DJ_3_Ball** » Thu Nov 14, 2019 2:54 am

arkuo wrote:Thing with Kristaps is he will be fine if he gets a defensive PF who can switch on guards on defense to spell him. He can play weak side shotblocker on D but the PF he is paired with needs to do the boxing out as he will be out in the perimeter exploiting his mismatch and shooting over whoever is guarding him. Said PF needs to grab rebounds.

This is where someone like Tristan Thompson comes in handy. He's not too big and bulky that he becomes slow on D. Nor is he small that he gets pushed around by the Joel Embiids of the league.

The Lakers are doing fine with Dwight Howard not spacing the floor by shooting threes opposite AD. I say Tristan Thomspon can coexist opposite KP as well.

The player you're describing is Jaren Jackson Jr. Which is why I was so high on him in the draft 2 years ago. Some NBA scouts felt in 5 years he'd be the best player in the draft. If you ask me, he's on pace to be the clear 2nd best player (behind Luka) from that class. JJJ is impressive and has a unique skill set.

I'm not a Tristian Thompson fan at all, and I don't think he does the things you listed very well. I've never seen Tristian Thompson on the perimeter and thought "Wow. He moves really well for a big out there." He's an overpaid specialist, with that overpay coming courtesy of the Cavs' taking care of LeBron's friend. I don't see the attraction, or the fit here in Dallas. Kleber is a adequate perimeter defender, or maybe a bit below average for a big, but he's better than Thompson. Yeah, Thompson is a better rebounder, but rebounding doesn't matter as much when opposing wings are slashing through your defense to the rim at will.

J_T · Post #351 » by **J_T** » Thu Nov 14, 2019 6:23 am

And then JJJ will need X player to cover for his deficiencies. And player X will need player Y to cover for his problems. And player Y will need player Z because otherwise Mavs lose every game.

I don't think that's the right way to think about constructing a team.

arkuo · Post #352 » by **arkuo** » Thu Nov 14, 2019 4:29 pm

J_T wrote:And then JJJ will need X player to cover for his deficiencies. And player X will need player Y to cover for his problems. And player Y will need player Z because otherwise Mavs lose every game.

I don't think that's the right way to think about constructing a team.

Agreed.

However it can work when player X can overcompensate by providing really good numbers on offense (i.e. Dirk the past 20 years). We've been hunting for guys like Marion and Tyson Chandler to cover for Dirk's defensive shortcomings and it only makes sense if Dirk carries majority of the work on offensive end.

Kristaps is just being put on the microscope because he also doesn't produce as much as expected on offense. But Im sure he'll get there. And he also plays defense too unlike Dirk. So there's that. The team just needs great role players and for these two stars to click.

Pg81 · Post #353 » by **Pg81** » Sun Nov 17, 2019 4:44 am

arkuo wrote:
J_T wrote:And then JJJ will need X player to cover for his deficiencies. And player X will need player Y to cover for his problems. And player Y will need player Z because otherwise Mavs lose every game.

I don't think that's the right way to think about constructing a team.

Agreed.

However it can work when player X can overcompensate by providing really good numbers on offense (i.e. Dirk the past 20 years). We've been hunting for guys like Marion and Tyson Chandler to cover for Dirk's defensive shortcomings and it only makes sense if Dirk carries majority of the work on offensive end.

Kristaps is just being put on the microscope because he also doesn't produce as much as expected on offense. But Im sure he'll get there. And he also plays defense too unlike Dirk. So there's that. The team just needs great role players and for these two stars to click.

I wonder how long this myth that Dirk "did not play defense" will continue to exist. I expect this kind of talk from non-fans, but I am surprised to read it here. To clarify, Dirk developed into a good defender during his prime, he was usually top 10 or borderline top 5 post defender even in the league and was an elite rebounder almost on par with the likes of KG and TD in that regard. The main difference between Dirk and those two in terms of rebounding came from offensive rebounds which Dirk was rarely in a position to grab.

Post #354 » by **Dirk** » Sun Nov 17, 2019 2:02 pm

ejs78 wrote:Anyone who doesn't think we couldnt use a legit center like Thompson please rewatch 34 year old Gasol just back KP down.... and no Boban isn't the answer.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

Don't think there is anyone that argues against the idea of a bigger body to bang inside.

Still have to give props to KP for holding up against Gasol in one play.

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Turnaround that looked good for once

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Good passing, but.. should he look to score when that close to the rim?

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

By the way, I enjoyed his game in NY after a terrible start. He is hustling. I give him that.

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Bluelabel24 · Post #355 » by **Bluelabel24** » Mon Nov 18, 2019 8:55 am

^^ agree with this sir.. for the past 2-3 games he has been showing a lot of effort and not letting missed shots bother him going forward. That is the type of mental fortitude mavs need from him. Next step right now for the FO is help him set better screens for luka. really liking this so far dont treat anyone on the roster with kid gloves. Much more solid screens from him and the Luka kp pnr would be available most of the time.

dirkules_41 · Post #356 » by **dirkules_41** » Mon Nov 18, 2019 12:32 pm

Bluelabel24 wrote:^^ agree with this sir.. for the past 2-3 games he has been showing a lot of effort and not letting missed shots bother him going forward. That is the type of mental fortitude mavs need from him. Next step right now for the FO is help him set better screens for luka. really liking this so far dont treat anyone on the roster with kid gloves. Much more solid screens from him and the Luka kp pnr would be available most of the time.

Fully agree, the last couple of games I feel like he's also made a more conscious effort to stay closer to the basket which is doing wonders.