Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki’s Quietly Efficient Season
By Greg Chin
The Dallas Mavericks are fourth in the West, and it’s all thanks to a sharpshooting Dirk Nowitzki.
During the offseason, many analysts started to theorize that we would see the beginning of Dirk Nowitzki’s decline this season. It wasn’t rocket science – he was entering his 17th season in the NBA, and his EuroBasket performance was the worst of his career. Perhaps, much like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, this could be Nowitzki’s final season in the league.
If this is true, Nowitzki isn’t going down without a fight.
Despite the failed courtship of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews’ torn Achilles injury, the Dallas Mavericks are sitting in fourth spot in the Western Conference after 16 games. Mind you, their 9-7 record isn’t one you expect to be good enough for fourth in the usually competitive West, but this should be seen as an achievement for what many thought would be a vastly inferior team.
Dirk’s numbers this season may seem similar to last season’s, but there are significant improvements in a few particular categories. For starters, his three-point shooting percentage is at a career high 51 percent, while still attempting his career average in three-point attempts per game. His rebounding numbers have also increased by 1.2 rebounds per game, and his field goal percentage has shot up by almost seven percent.
In essence, Dirk is putting up the same number of points as last season, albeit in a much more efficient manner. In fact, if he continues at this rate, he will join the 50-40-90 club for the second time in his career.
The Mavericks have been able to elicit these performances from Dirk due to their revamped offense. Previously, Dirk thrived playing alongside an athletic big man that would draw defensive attention by rolling to the hoop.
This time, the Mavs have chosen to pair Dirk alongside Zaza Pachulia – a player comfortable knocking down shots in the midrange. The additional spacing has allowed Dirk to drift towards the three-point line, and is allowing him to shoot at a better accuracy.
It also helps that all of the starters are accurate shooters, which results in more spacing on the offensive end. Deron Williams, while not quite the same Deron Williams the Mavericks wanted back in 2010, has been an important cog for their offense.
His shooting splits are much better than what he recorded with the Brooklyn Nets last season, but there is still room for more improvement. The major difference with Williams in Dallas is that there is an offensive system in place here, while he had to create offense on his own in Brooklyn.
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Dirk’s renaissance this season has been a joy to watch. While old names like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett are struggling, it is refreshing to see a member of the old guard flourishing and establishing himself as one of the top players in his conference. With Kobe, Garnett, Tim Duncan, and (presumably) Nowitzki on the cusp of retiring from the NBA, there is no better time than now to appreciate their final gift to us.