Dallas Mavericks: Deron Williams, Zaza Pachulia Exceeding Expectations

By Cole Mentzel | Dec 3, 2015

Nov 11, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) celebrates with center Zaza Pachulia (27) and guard Deron Williams (8) during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Deron Williams and Zaza Pachulia have turned into free agency gems for the Dallas Mavericks with their rejuvenated production.

The Dallas Mavericks made a few bold moves in the offseason. The first was attempting to sign DeAndre Jordan, which ultimately failed, but the next two were criticized heavily.

Just a day after the DeAndre Jordan saga unfolded, they decided to roll the dice and traded for big man Zaza Pachulia. His scoring average had not touched double-digits since the 2006-07 season and he had been a stuck in a cycle in Milwaukee and Atlanta with the rest of his stats not varying much throughout the years.

It was a bold move for the Mavs because they were basically expecting a backup center to come in and be a starter while effectively replacing Tyson Chandler at the same time.

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Deron Williams, who was a Mavs target back in the summer of 2012, reached a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets in July and immediately had his eyes set on the Mavs, since he went to high school in The Colony, Texas.

There were even more question marks for him as he had struggled with minor injuries over the past few seasons. To go along with that, he averaged only 13.0 points in 2014-15, which was his lowest total since his rookie year and important stats such as field goal percentage (.387%) had dipped to a disappointing level.

It was certainly going to be easy to replace Rajon Rondo, but the issue wasn’t merely replacing him, it was finding a starter that could go beyond that and help Dirk Nowitzki in his final few seasons, which obviously seemed difficult after what Williams looked like last year.

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Now, just over a month into the season, it’s safe to say that Pachulia and Williams have been exceeding the expectations set out for them before the season started. Instead of just giving enough to stay afloat in the West, these two starters have propelled the Mavs into a secure spot early on and are continuing to grow as the season moves along.

Pachulia is having the best season of his career in Dallas at the age of 31. He is currently averaging a double-double (11.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG) and is truly thriving in his role. Right now, he has 12 double-doubles, which is more than Chandler (two) and Jordan (nine) COMBINED.

He had his best game of the season on Dec. 1 against the Portland Trail Blazers when he scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting while grabbing a season-high 21 rebounds in 38 minutes of playing time.

Though his offense has been an added boost, his defense has been a real treat for the Mavs. Pachulia is patrolling the paint and has been able to block shots and take contact when he needs to.

Williams has showed no signs of age and looks right at home in Dallas. Also at the age of 31, Williams is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 assists per game. His field-goal and free-throw percentages are back up to normal levels and he is benefitting greatly from the Mavs’ A-plus training staff.

He has already had a 30-point game this season, which he only did once throughout the entire 2014-15 regular season. Just like Pachulia, Williams is providing a lot more than basic stats. He is effectively playing the two-man game with Dirk as well as finding holes in the defense for easy layups.

His best attribute so far has been his clutch plays in late-game situations. With Monta Ellis‘ departure during the summer, the Mavs were going to have to rely on Nowitzki to operate late. That obviously is never a bad thing but the Mavs were hoping he could get a little help and Williams and has been all of that and more.

He has also been a successful leader on the court during all of the Mavs close wins this season and continues to prove his importance for the team.

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Obviously it is still early in the season so things could change and injuries could come along, but right now Williams and Pachulia look like steals from the market of 2015. They have knocked down any bad reputations they had before and are all in on competing in a loaded Western Conference.

It will be important to see if they can continue to exercise their solid play in the coming months because if they are successful, the Mavs could end up with a Playoff berth and possibly home-court advantage.

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