03-05-2021, 10:35 PM
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_...oel-embiid
The Dallas Mavericks ranked 21st in points per possession on Feb. 2. That was not shocking given how the coronavirus ravaged them. But even as Dallas started cobbling its rotation back together, things didn't look right. Something ineffable -- a certain pop -- was missing.
Not anymore.
This was the sort of improvisation that made the Mavs' offense special last season. They had a style and an identity beyond Luka Doncic running streams of pick-and-rolls. Doncic is one of the league's give-and-go geniuses. When he makes in-between plays like this, it enlivens the Dallas ecosystem with a joyful, hyperaware verve. Hell, it helped turn Kristaps Porzingis into a decent passer at times.
Josh Richardson is attacking with renewed rigor (even if his 3-pointer is still M.I.A.), and the Mavs are hunting points in semi-transition -- healthy for a slow team that prefers the predictable organization of half-court sets:
Numbers don't reveal evidence of any systematic transformation -- beyond the Mavs finding their collective 3-point stroke.
Their passing numbers -- total passes, hockey assists, assist rate -- are up a little, but there is no dramatic jump. They aren't generating more fast-break buckets, though they have been more efficient in transition, per both Cleaning The Glass and Inpredictable. They have exchanged some midrangers for 3s, and their improved 3-point accuracy is partly the product of cleaner shots. (Most of their uptick in attempts has come via catch-and-shoots.)
But sometimes you just know it when you see it. A bunch of small improvements adds up to something bigger. The Mavs look right again. They are settling into a rotation, and leaning on what we all expected would be their core lineups.
Now we have to see progress on defense. That starts with Porzingis, who has appeared livelier in the past week. If the Mavs emerge as a slightly above-average defense by the postseason -- assuming they get in -- nobody will be excited about playing them.
The Dallas Mavericks ranked 21st in points per possession on Feb. 2. That was not shocking given how the coronavirus ravaged them. But even as Dallas started cobbling its rotation back together, things didn't look right. Something ineffable -- a certain pop -- was missing.
Not anymore.
This was the sort of improvisation that made the Mavs' offense special last season. They had a style and an identity beyond Luka Doncic running streams of pick-and-rolls. Doncic is one of the league's give-and-go geniuses. When he makes in-between plays like this, it enlivens the Dallas ecosystem with a joyful, hyperaware verve. Hell, it helped turn Kristaps Porzingis into a decent passer at times.
Josh Richardson is attacking with renewed rigor (even if his 3-pointer is still M.I.A.), and the Mavs are hunting points in semi-transition -- healthy for a slow team that prefers the predictable organization of half-court sets:
Numbers don't reveal evidence of any systematic transformation -- beyond the Mavs finding their collective 3-point stroke.
Their passing numbers -- total passes, hockey assists, assist rate -- are up a little, but there is no dramatic jump. They aren't generating more fast-break buckets, though they have been more efficient in transition, per both Cleaning The Glass and Inpredictable. They have exchanged some midrangers for 3s, and their improved 3-point accuracy is partly the product of cleaner shots. (Most of their uptick in attempts has come via catch-and-shoots.)
But sometimes you just know it when you see it. A bunch of small improvements adds up to something bigger. The Mavs look right again. They are settling into a rotation, and leaning on what we all expected would be their core lineups.
Now we have to see progress on defense. That starts with Porzingis, who has appeared livelier in the past week. If the Mavs emerge as a slightly above-average defense by the postseason -- assuming they get in -- nobody will be excited about playing them.