What Luka Doncic It’s a generational talent, it’s as obvious as wet water. However, converting and translating their abilities into a winning team is not such an easy equation to solve. The Dallas Mavericks They have been testing different formulas for some time with mixed results. Of Dennis Smith Jr a Kristaps Porzingis until you get to Christian Wood, The Texans are still looking for the complement and the right way to get the most out of the Slovenian star.
The last few months have not been easy for the management of the Mavs. The decision of Jalen Brunson not renewing with them and heading to New York left them in a complicated position and without room for maneuver. By leaving without receiving anything in return, the potential salary space that he should have occupied was lost, and with it the possibilities of adding talent through the market.
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Dallas has a need to improve its current rotation and as soon as possible. The level of Luka Doncic cannot be better given the circumstancesassuming close to 37% of the team’s offensive use. A figure that, if the season ended today, would be the 10th highest of all time. The former Real Madrid player will soon begin to feel the consequences of this physical wear and tear, which will affect the performance of some Mavs who are already suffering.
Jason Kidd’s men must find a way to help Luka Doncic on the field, not only with more talent to relieve him of offensive weight, but also in other facets that improve the group. It’s time to search 3 keys that the Dallas Mavericks should attend to.
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More Confidence Shooters
The best formula to exploit a talent of the caliber of Luka Doncic, whose game is maximized through a system that prioritizes split and double, is outside shooters. By accompanying the Slovenian with figures capable of receiving and shooting from long latitudes with high percentages, an efficient and fast attack is achieved.
Dallas Mavericks, in a way, has figures that meet these objective requirements as Tim Hardaway, Dorian Finney-Smith o Reggie Bullock. The problem is that none of them is throwing over the 35% hit despite combining for 16.6 attempts per night.
If this were not enough, those called to play this role are also required to contribute in defense and to be very important as well. A function that, except for Finney-Smith, none of the other two mentioned is performing as expected.
What options does the Texan team have to surround Doncic with players to help him in this regard? One possibility would be Malik Beasley ($15M), who is pitching to 42.2% in triples in receptionalthough allowing a 49% of the success to his rivals in defense. The Utah Jazz will soon start eyeing the trade market and the young guard would be an interesting piece if they could find a way to balance the salaries and potential draft rounds involved.
A four that moves Wood to the position of five
Less than two months of the season have been enough to verify the failure that has turned out to be JaVale McGee. At 35, the veteran is not in a position to continue being a starter in a team with certain aspirations. His contribution in defense is nil and in attack he is as limited as ever. The mistake of signing McGee has forced Jason Kidd to return to the usual rotation Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powellreturning to the classics and having the same problems of yesteryear.
On the other hand, there is the question of Christian Wood, a figure with enviable physical conditions that has not yet given him the appropriate role to be able to exploit their full potential. One way to achieve this would be to move him to the position of five, which would force the Mavs to find a four to fill his role in the starting five.
Having Wood as the reference interior would give much more dynamism to the Dallas attack, opening spaces for Doncic and putting opponents in his position in trouble by playing him more on the outside.
And what options are there on the market? Once again you have to look at Salt Lake City because there is a Rudy Gay that could be extremely useful to Mavs interests. The veteran has been displaced in recent years to a role closer to that of the interior undersized, alternating the position of three, four and five. While he isn’t a long-distance specialist and doesn’t have the defensive explosiveness of the past, he is a proven veteran who would give just what Dallas needs.
A substitute point guard capable of scoring
The trio formed by Doncic, Dinwiddie y Brunson It was perfect because it allowed one of the three to always be on the bench resting or waiting for his moment. This explains how the Mavs were able to reach the Conference Finals last season. The latter’s departure destabilized the rotations and has exposed Dallas’ problems as it has moved Dinwiddie into the starting five with no natural replacement behind it. The second consequence of this has been a considerable increase in the Slovenian’s minutes, going from 35 to 37 per game.
It is fair to recognize that in the second unit Jason Kidd’s men do not have a backup point guard or secondary manager who can assume the responsibility of accompanying Doncic or Dinwiddie. Frank Ntilikina he doesn’t have Kidd’s confidence to do it. Facundo Campazzo, waived Monday, Nov. 28, he’s too limited and hasn’t shown he can play a proper executioner role (32% on receiving 3s last season). Finally, Jaden Hardy has enough talent to fit in, but he is still very green and does not have the experience for it.
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Beyond the aforementioned Malik Beasley, who might also fit into this category, Will Barton of the Wizards, or Coby White of the Bulls, They would be figures with abilities and salaries acceptable to the Mavs.
In fact, the decision to sign Kemba Walker as a free agent it serves as a testament to the nervous state of the Dallas front office. A veteran and experienced point guard, yes, but whose physical and defensive problems almost outweigh the points he can add in the second unit.
In order for Dallas to make any movement, it will be necessary to wait until December 15, the unofficial start date of the transfer period.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
