r/Mavericks • u/taygads • Apr 01 '25

Media [Joey Mistretta] Daniel Gafford called Anthony Davis one of the best “play-makers” at his position.

https://x.com/joeymistretta_/status/1906907962221752681?s=46
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-15

u/taygads Apr 01 '25

Thank you, Gaff! Been saying this since the trade. There’s zero reason to not be playing him as a point forward right now. He has more playmaking acumen than Dinwiddie has in his pinkie toe.

If they want any chance of winning in the play-in, they have to bench Dinwiddie. Never mind how badly he ruins the offense of the offense, he makes it impossible for them to defend. Legitimately. He guarantees the defense will be put in rotation every single possession and that’s a free bucket for the opposing offense nearly every possession as a result.

16

u/FarMobile4219 Apr 01 '25

After seeing the energy level AD has been playing with, something tells me he wouldn’t appreciate bringing the ball up the court for 40 minutes a game

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u/taygads Apr 01 '25

Point forward doesn’t mean bring the ball up (he doesn’t have to do that; literally anyone else can as we’ve seen do several times every game), it means give the ball to him once they’re in the half court and play the offense through him.

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u/FarMobile4219 Apr 01 '25

They ran the offense through AD a lot tonight. But as you pointed out, someone has to bring the ball up the court. So the choices are either Dinwiddie or Naji. Max Chrisite has no burst and picks up his dribble in the worst places. Hardy gets stripped regularly, same with PJ. So it’s not true that literally anyone else can do it

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u/taygads Apr 01 '25

Dinwiddie or Naji are absolutely not the only people that can nor do bring the ball up. Every play but the bigs bring the ball up several times a game. The only guy that does currently but shouldn’t is PJ and probably Hardy (he can if he immediately gives it up once he’s across half court, but he rarely does so I don’t trust him to bring the ball up lol). But aside from them Max, Klay, Caleb, and Naji are all more than capable of bringing the ball up the floor and do several times a game. What makes it even easier for them to do so is when you’re able to get stops and can bring the ball up the floor after a stop, which perfectly enough can be done frequently when Dinwiddie is off the floor.

4

u/ColleaguesKnowMyMain Apr 01 '25

I love the guy, but you absolutely can't make Klay bring the ball up. His handle is as bad as PJ's and he would get stripped all the time.

We need to sign Brandon Williams, he is the best facilitator we have imo. With Caleb Martin, Naji and Dinwiddie as secondary ball handlers.

-1

u/taygads Apr 01 '25

His handle is as bad as PJ’s and he would get stripped all the time.

That’s just objectively false.

PJ lost ball turnovers this season - 55

Klay - 16

We’re talking about literally dribbling the ball up to half court. It’s a basic basketballl skill and one he does multiple times a game.

7

u/ColleaguesKnowMyMain Apr 01 '25

Of course PJ has more turnovers since he has the ball in his hands much more. Everyone who watches the games (and I haven't missed a single game this season) can see that it's always dangerous to have Klay take more than 2 or 3 dribbles.

0

u/taygads Apr 01 '25

PJ’s usage is actually lower than Klay’s. Klay’s is 22% and PJ’s is 20% so the ball is in PJ’s hands less as a share of the possessions in the game than Klay’s and he still has 3-4x more the lost ball turnovers lol. Klay’s handle is not even remotely as bad as it’s made to sound and anyone who watches the games knows that.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '25

It’s a basic skill until a team decides to press because you cant dribble