Wells

So, 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting (2 of 4 from three), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul. That's Dillon's stat line at the half, as he has been getting to shoot from the left side of the floor, which is where he does better. Is anyone else on the team going to show up in the second half?

Also, since you mentioned how vital Luke is, he has played more with Dillon than he has with Des (106 minutes with Dillon to 20 with Des, plus 23 with both). The Des Luke lineup was +64 (with Jitty, Aldama, and X), but only one Dillon Luke lineup was negative (with Ja, Santi and X for -11 in 53 minutes). All the other Dillon lineups are positive, and the Double DB and Luke lineup (with Jaren and Tyus) being +34. Kinnard's hot spots are not the same as Dillon's.

That positioning I blame on a combination of the offensive plan and where Dillon ends up on court while playing defense. Jenkins strategy is to try for as much transition play as possible, so players are supposed to "fill lanes" as they come downcourt from defending. Dillon tends to try to force his assignments left, since most are weaker going that way. That puts him on the offensive right side when he is filling his lane. There's not a lot of crossing the court to get better offensive positions. About only way Dillon ends up in his three best perimeter shooting spots is if he is used for high center pick by either Ja or Des in a half court set. That means the opponents have to have stopped the transition attempt.

Ah, but that's part of it. Bane shoots above league average in several other spots where Dillon shoots terribly. You would maximize the offense by getting Bane to go to those spots more while letting Dillon use his best spots more. For example, Dillon shoots better from the left wing than he does from the right. Banes is basically the same from either. So why not set the offense so Bane plays on the right side and put Dillon on the left? Small tweaks like that are what coaches are supposed to use in making adjustments. Also, Dillon shot over 35% from three in his first four seasons. That's roughly what Trip has shot this past season and for his career. Getting him back to that level should be a good thing I would think.

So, since some many people are so down on Dillon, I decided to try a figure out what might be the cause of his shooting woes. I mean, just three years ago, he regularly scored 20+ points a game, shooting a decent percentage. He was beloved for the most part. What happened to cause the change? I think the answer is simple - Desmond Bane. And it's not that Bane supplanted Dillon in people's hearts, but his insertion in the starting lineup changed how Dillon plays. What I did was look at Dillon's shot charts. His best spots on the floor have not significantly changed, but he is not taking as many shots from those spots anymore. If you overlay Des' shot charts, his best spots are basically the exact same places as Dillon's. And Des has been taking an increased number of shots in those locations, while Dillon's have dwindled. He has been taking more shots from places where he doesn't shoot as well. Basically, when the two DBs are in the court together, Des gets to shoot from their best spots and Dillon takes shots elsewhere. It is only when Des is on the bench that Dillon is shooting from locations where he is most comfortable. Since they start halves together, if Dillon gets forced to shoot, it is likely not from one of his better spots.

6.7 left. Stay home on Reeves and Rui.

Weird, Lakers calling a timeout immediately after ours. Wonder what scared them?

Three seconds on Davis. A miracle had occurred!

Looks like Roddy's trying to shoot us out of the game

Up two after three. Been scoring more each quarter.

Roddy with -9 while he was on the court? Dillon and Ja are +12 right now.

All the Grizzlies' starters with positive +/-. Bench are all negative. Lakers are basically the opposite.

Dillon leading the Grizzlies with four assists tonight.

You're not the last Dillon fan. The five or six posters who only care about offense are drowning out those who recognize what Dillon brings to the team. Most of the time, when Dillon is taking a lot of shots is when the players those posters want taking the shots are passing him the ball at the end of the shot clock instead of taking the shot themselves. During the first quarter of game three, when the Lakers opened the big lead, if I heard it once I heard it ten times from Eric Hasseltine why did Player X pass the ball instead of taking the shot he had. We have some players who are good shooters, but they don't like to take shots unless the conditions are perfect for them, and end of the shot clock is not perfect for them. Dillon doesn't shy away from taking those shots because he realizes somebody has to take them.