I know some here (not you RR) are trying to bury Klay like he's a worthless player with nothing left, but there is no doubt he makes the Mavs better. Sure his defense has fallen off, but the change of scenery will get his mind right. For the first time in ages, he has something to prove. I expect him to shoot 40-45% from long range playing off Luka. Does this make the Mavs the favorite in the WC? No, but it keeps them within striking distance. That is all you can ask for. Just look at what happened last year.
Klay makes them worse defensively. I don't think he moves the needle very much, mainly because I feel the Mavs were fortunate with who they played to get to the Finals last year and those teams have gotten better. Last year was the year to try and sneak one in. They weren't the best in the West. The bracket just aligned right for them.
Alperen and crew will be able to rep that sort of offensive rebounding pressure daily against an even better offensive rebounder. Many things worry me about OKC, Hartenstein isn’t one of them.
The main part of Hartenstein on OKC is he fills a couple of huge gaps on their team that will make it easier for their skilled players to go to another level. Same exact thing for Caruso. That said, both guys will have their moments and runs where their impact is easy to observe. It amazes me how everyone cannot see how both guys can help unlock that team.
Playing off Curry Do you seriously think he will score 60+ off 11 dribbles? https://www.nba.com/stats/player/202691/shots-dash?Season=2023-24&SeasonType=Regular+Season 68.4 % of his 3s are open to wide open 95.7% of his shots come off less than 2 dribbles. I'm sure Luka and Kyrie will get him some open shots but I'm not sold on him getting those same type of shots Rocket River
I don't think Klay is a zero, at all. But I agree with those that say the Mavs will be worse defensively if they play Klay a lot of minutes, especially with Luka on the floor the whole time. He'll definitely get some open looks and hit a good # of 3's for them. But I also think he'll have a more difficult transition than some predict. He had the world's greenest light in GS, and I'm not sure how Luka and co. are going to like that if he tries the same in Dallas.
We'll see. After watching Derrick Jones, PJ Washington and Kyrie turn into flat tires in the Finals, at least the Mavs know the moment won't be too big for Klay. You get no argument from me on Klay's defense. He's just a "3" player now because the "D" is gone.
He is not useless, just needed a change of scenery which is what happened. His shot efficiency and Defense both have fallen off though since his ligament tears. GSW also got Melton and Anderson alongside Hield..they would hold down the fort on the defensive side. If Curry is healthy and Kuminga, Podz keep improving, they are still a 44 Win team in a stacked West. Otherwise 39 W.
You could have said the same thing about Luc Mbah a Moute, or any solid role player. When it comes to the Rockets, I am absolutely THRILLED that OKC went with Hartenstein. Much easier to matchup with them on both ends.
Klay just looks and acts like a typical douche Maverick and always has. No offense to douches out there.
