Quin's Murderface
Well-Known Member
I just don't think we can maximize DM and Ricky while they are on the court together. They can work but Ricky running the action doesn't scare the defense as much as Joe and DM in my opinion. He can initiate and help carry the load... work with the second unit more... but when he comes back I want him more offball (might do well as a spot up option in the corner)... obviously this is not his ideal use.
So does he limit the wear and tear so much on donovan that the limited offball value is worth the price to keep him? Is he a better defender than Royce?
I really like this point. This is the exact problem with Ricky/Donovan. The reason I like Dante more (even though he's not a great shooter either) is that he is probably the best Jazz player at breaking the paint consistently in PnR. He's a threat that has to be accounted for, and collapses the defense consistently. This last month or so he was making the right plays pretty much every time as well. I think DM and Exum could work pretty well sharing some of those responsibilities (Exum more often early, and Mitchell near the end of halves/quarters). This would allow Joe to spot up a bit more instead of having to carry such a huge load all the time. He looks exhausted having to handle it so much. I think as he gets older they are going to want to start tapering his minutes more.
Anyway, I'm on team move on from Ricky because I really believe he is limiting the team's ceiling. He's a good player, but not a good fit on the court.