Quote:
Originally Posted by SMC0007
Contributed so little? That's an unfortunate take. What exactly do you expect from him? He is never going to be a star so everyone can forget those extreme expectations, but what he does he does really well. On top of that, There isnt one guy who consistently reaches his level of hustle on our team and there are probably less than a handful in the league.
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Yeah, "contributed so little" is an unfortunate phrase on my part. I agree. He does contribute, but he contributes in areas where the Mavericks are already excelling offensively, and while he may be a bit better at rolling for lobs, it's not as if Maxi doesn't do that at all, and DP misses some because he doesn't have the best hands.
Defense is my biggest issue with him because that is where the Mavs are the weakest, and DP is a liability for the most part on the defensive end. Opposing guards drive the lane at will if Powell is in there without KP around as a shot blocking deterrent. I'm also not a fan of his rebounding either. He's too easily pushed out of position and doesn't put a body on his man and block out consistently, although he has improved a bit on that this year, but this goes back to sample size. For me, I need to see the rest of this season played solidly with regular contributions. I'm not asking for him to be a star, I just want him to be solid, and if he can become "adequate" on the defensive end on a regular basis, then that would have a greater impact on the Mavs' success than him scoring a few more points per game. Come playoff time, you don't advance by trading baskets with the other team. You have to have stops, and it's hard to get stops when the path to the hoop is an easy drive.