I still don’t think having kier and green on the court at the same time always helps us. I’ve said there’s no point to play them at the same time until one of them starts hitting shots because defenses can just sag on us and double Otis. Kier finding the 3 ball is the big difference at this point and makes the tandem work better. As we saw tonight, even though green didn’t light it up on offense, Kier being an inside and outside threat allows Green to be on the court defensively and contribute where he can on offense and also frees up Otis.
However when the 3s aren’t falling for both of them and because driving is each of their strengths, you’ll notice that the offense can get stagnant and they occasionally run into each other trying to make similar moves. That’s when I’d like to see Boyd or another sub for one of them.
If javon can also find his shot (it looks like he’s not getting enough arc) then I’d have no of problem with it. Javon is a good defender which is why he’s getting playing time and as long as Kier is a threat from 3 there’ll be less issues with them playing at the same time.
Also, I thought that Dave used his subs better in the second half (more what I thought we’d be doing all year once we saw that Reuter is a non factor) and rotated javon and kier on and off at different times.
Probably the most underrated thing from this evening is how they went after rebounds. This also goes for Boyd and Mar. Reminded me of how marquise and grayer started having little rebounding competitions.
If they could play like this regularly Javon and Kier plus our wings Boyd and Mar could be reoccurring figures in other teams nightmares. It’s quite an athletic and high potential quartet. And as someone mentioned we are only losing Otis and that may be a non factor if this core lives up to potential. Oh and dare I say watch out if AJ starts playing under control and in position consistently.
Alas, it’s only one game. They haven’t done it consistently and we’ve all seen the flashes followed by regression. BUT it’s nice to dream about it and these types of wins have been hard to come by the last few years. So I’ll savor it. Jury is still out on the rest, we have to wait and see.
Agree with your assessment that there can be a downside of a Greene/Kier duo on the court when 3s aren't falling.
However, they aren’t the same player. One is left handed and one is right handed. Both do have the dribble drive slashing mentality, but I can understand why Paulsen might prefer that from two sides after Marquise Moore put this team on his back in so many games. How many teams sagged on defense on Moore?
Give me a couple dynamic guards that can get to the lane, drive and score, drive and dish, and at least last night splash the 3, and it creates so much more for everyone else. It certainly helps free Otis, Boyd, Mar when two or three defenders are crashing the lane or like last night frees our front court ala Calixite.
That is just the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, the duos recent play recently speaks for itself as they are bringing intensity and playmaking.
So, while I agree there can be a downside to playing both at the same time it is outweighed by a much higher ceiling upside.
