Shooting regression is coming for the Mavericks. Or is it?
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If you listen to Tyron Lue, Paul George or Skip Bayless you would believe that the Dallas Mavericks are an average to bad 3-point shooting team that has simply been lucky so far in the playoffs. To an extent that is true. No team is going to shoot 50 percent from three over a long sample size. That being said, the Mavericks are not due for as much regression as it might appear.
The Mavericks shot 36.2 percent from three for the regular season. This was 18th in the NBA. However of the 2,744 threes the Mavericks took during the regular season, 657 threes were taken by Josh Richardson, Dwight Powell, Trey Burke, Willie Cauley-Stein, James Johnson, Josh Green, Nicolo Melli, Wes Iwundu, Boban Marjanovic, Nate Hinton, Tyler Bey and Tyrell Terry. Those players combined to shoot just 29.8 percent on 23.9 percent of the Mavericks total threes. Those players have combined
Why do the Mavericks make people so angry?
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Looking at things from a distance, objectively, the Mavericks had a successful season. Consider the following:
Better winning percentage than last season
Higher seed from last season
Six key players posted career-high true shooting percentages (Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith and Kristaps Porzingis).
The Mavericks are entering the playoffs in significantly better health than last season.
Now that doesn’t mean there aren’t worthy criticisms of this Mavericks roster and especially their direction toward the future, but when you think about all the things listed above happening during a season where the Mavericks were decimated by a COVID outbreak and Porzingis’ recovery from offseason knee surgery, it’s somewhat remarkable the Mavericks are in as good as a position as they are.
3 thoughts as the Dallas Mavericks fall to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 136-121
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Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Mavericks fell to the Timberwolves Sunday night, 136-121. It was an ugly game, one in which Dallas didn’t look prepared to play. They fell behind early and despite repeated attempts, could never quite get back into things. The entire roster, minus Maxi Kleber, JJ Redick, and Tyrell Terry, saw time by the end of things, but it was clear the Mavericks didn’t have much interest in winning and as a result, they did not.
Instead of our more traditional format, we have here some thoughts on more than just this game but the season at large
Doncic and the Mavericks host the Pelicans theparisnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theparisnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Memphis; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Dallas is looking to build upon its four-game win streak with a victory over Memphis.
The Grizzlies are 5-6 against division opponents. Memphis is fourth in the league with 26.9 assists per game led by Ja Morant averaging 7.3.
The Mavericks have gone 20-19 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas ranks ninth in the Western Conference with 34.5 defensive rebounds per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 7.2.
The teams meet for the third time this season. The Mavericks won 114-113 in the last matchup on April 14. Doncic led Dallas with 29 points, and Grayson Allen led Memphis with 23 points.