Dallas Mavericks: Breaking Down the New Big 3 (Videos)

This hasn’t been a perfect preseason for the Dallas Mavericks. Injuries have, for the most part, made this exhibition stint forgettable.

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Dallas hasn’t gotten many chances in early October to showcase its roster when healthy. Only twice have the Mavericks had the luxury of having

Dirk Nowitzki

Monta Ellis

and

Chandler Parsons

on the floor at the same time.

The second time came Monday night in the 108-103 preseason win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and offensively, Dallas played its first complete game so far. Seven players scored in double figures, including all five starters. And for the second time with the Big Three in the lineup, Dirk didn’t shoot well for Dallas to win, after a 3-of-8 performance on Monday.

Again, with this new shot release Dirk is working with, it’s going to take time.

But for the time that Parsons and Ellis have been on the floor, they’ve been impressive together. They played 28 and 27 minutes, respectively, against Memphis, combining for 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting.

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

When Dirk is having an off night like he did Monday and against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, the Mavericks can finally counter that inefficiency with a potent offensive night from other players.

But what makes this Big Three so potent? It’s not just the fact that Dallas now has players who can take the scoring load off Dirk, but it’s in large part to what Parsons and Ellis can do offensively; whether that be cutting to the basket or hitting jumpers.

Take a look at this, for example, on Friday. Which turned out to be the Play of the Game against Cleveland on Friday.

Notice two things on this Parsons dunk on LeBron: First, Parsons using his downhill speed to get to the basket, to pass by James for the dunk. Second, Ellis is standing at the left wing. Normally in a situation last year, LeBron would take Monta defensively, and rightfully so.

But Parsons’ ability to get to the basket forced LeBron to make a decision, especially since Mike Miller left the left corner to come help on Jameer Nelson driving to the basket. LeBron has no help-side defense, and Parsons finishes it off with the one-handed dunk over The King.

Another noticeable trend is that there is an abundance of floor spacing for this Dallas offense. It helps that four players (maybe five, if you include Tyson Chandler‘s occasional mid-range jumper) can stretch the floor. It’s a different ballgame when seeing it live.

This was the first play of the game. Cleveland rightfully focuses its attention to Monta as he attempts to drive with the ball from the top of the key. The Cavs double him, which is a good decision. However, it leaves Tristan Thompson on an island all alone with the best shooting 7-footer that’s ever played in the NBA.

Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

One of the more under-appreciated aspects of Monta’s game that has improved every year he’s been in the NBA has been his passing. There’s a very good chance he could average a career-high in assists with this offense. That’s my bold prediction of the year.

By the way, Monta’s career-high average for assists is an even six per game.

And when those three can get it going, it makes life easier for others on the floor. The others that scored in double figures on Monday night? Jameer Nelson, Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson and Al-Farouq Aminu. It’s one thing to expect that from Jefferson, but Aminu? He even made a 3-pointer on Monday against the Grizzlies.

The possibilities for this offense are endless, and rightfully so. Especially when the Big Three of Dirk, Monta and Parsons are running the show.

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