"We need to keep an open mind about the 'Rental Kia vs Lexus' debate. We've got time."
Look, I know the Lexus has leather seats and a V6 and a reputation for reliability and performance. I know it's got all the bells and whistles and it's really the Platonic ideal of a grown up luxury sedan.
But the Kia has gotten us through some tough commutes and honestly, it's a lot peppier than I expected. They really get a lot of giddy-up out of the four banger, and it gets GREAT gas mileage!
Let's not jump to any conclusions about whether we want to consider trading in the Lexus and using the money to buy, like, a nice new ride lawn mower, maybe pay down some of the mortgage. The Kia could be all the car we need!
Rofl.
Points like "scoring becomes more balanced" aren't really positive to me, as it's simply just worse offensive talents getting more shots than they should be. I'm definitely team Lexus
The car analogy isn't really fair because Rozier is arguably more than a Kia in this debate.
I'm trying to create a reasonable discussion here by looking at things like the Bucks series, and tying in the possibility that Rozier gets even better as a player with another offseason under his belt.
eg Bucks series.
Rozier scored 18 points, 6.7 assists, 1.5 turnovers, 4 rebounds with a usage rate of 21%.
He also held Bledsoe to 13.6 ppg (from his usual 18 ppg) and 3.8 assist pg (from his usual 5 per game).
His help defense and rotational defense was also light years ahead of what we could have hoped for from Kyrie.
I think the usage rate is important though, because with a 10% less usage rate (than Kyrie's average of 31%), it means his team mates are getting more shots, more ball, and being rewarded for their defensive efforts more.
My point is, that if Rozier continues to get better on the offensive end, and maintains his defensive prowess, then his contribution to the team's overall success vs Kyrie's needs to be looked at.
Now if Kyrie (at only age 26), can improve his defensive impact, and move the ball more so his team mates can be more involved, then the argument becomes less viable.
Would we have seen how good Jason Tatum and Brown can be if Kyrie were playing for us this playoffs? I'm not so sure. They're going to get even less of the ball with Hayward AND Irving coming back. I'm not worried about Hayward passing and moving the ball, sacrificing stats for the good of the team. But I am slightly concerned about Kyrie.
I am being unreasonable here? I don't think so.