Dallas Mavericks: What To Expect From Justin Anderson In Year 2

Justin Anderson was a bright spot for the Dallas Mavericks in 2015-16. Expect him to be even better in his sophomore season.

The Dallas Mavericks have struggled to find rookie talent since drafting Josh Howard in 2003. In fact, they have just two players on their roster that they drafted– Justin Anderson (2015) and A.J. Hammons (2016).

Hammons hasn’t seen action on the court yet, but Anderson has had a full season of play and became more and more valuable as the 2015-16 season moved along.

Last year, Anderson began his NBA career after three successful seasons in college with the Virginia Cavaliers. His first season was the typical year for a rookie in the NBA.

His minutes were inconsistent, along with his play, and many times, he entered the game after it had already been decided.

But as the season progressed and the Mavs began to deal with injuries, Anderson’s minutes began to increase.

About halfway through March, head coach Rick Carlisle increased his minutes significantly to the point where he averaged 21.6 minutes throughout the final 15 games of the regular season.

In the process, he averaged 6.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 36 percent from the field. However, those numbers didn’t represent his overall play for the team.

Anderson was making an impact on both ends of the floor with balance, both offensively and defensively. But it wasn’t just his play that was making a difference, it was his actions on the court.

He played with energy and hustled up and down the floor during each possession, often giving the team a boost when it needed one.

His play overflowed into the playoffs too as he put up 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18.8 minutes per game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He had the tough task of defending Russell Westbrook at times and ended up serving as one of the only healthy Mavs players come Game 5.

By the time the season was over, it was obvious that the Mavs had found something with the 21st overall pick in the 2015 draft. Anderson still had holes in his game, but his athleticism and overall ability to make an impact was undeniable.

With that in mind, let’s look forward and preview his 2016-17 season. What should we expect from Anderson this year?

Role: The first thing to discuss is Anderson’s role with the team. There’s a couple of reasons why it’s going to be larger next season.

The first is simply because of the skill set that he put on display late last season. Anderson’s athleticism and physical shape is a big positive. I’ve always compared him to Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls because both players can do a little bit of everything.

They can score, they can defend and they impact the flow of the game with their blocks and steals. I’m not saying Anderson is going to be as good as Butler, but I believe he is the same kind of player.

The second is because of how the roster is set up and because of the fact that Anderson can play both shooting guard and small forward.

The Mavs added options at both of those positions during the summer, with the signings of Seth Curry and Quincy Acy, but I would argue that Anderson gets more of a sixth man-type role this season because of his ability to play multiple positions.

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Offense: Anderson’s mid-range game wasn’t that bad during the regular season as he shot 41 percent from the field. His best skill came in the paint though, as he was great at driving the ball and taking contact.

The same thing goes for his free throw shooting as he hit 80 percent on the season. If there was one thing he needed to improve on, it was his three-point shooting, as he shot just 27 percent.

Luckily for him, the Mavs have plenty of great three-point shooters on the team, like Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Seth Curry, Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki.

In 2016-17, we should see a more aggressive Anderson. I believe his shooting percentages will rise because of his work over the summer and the fact that he’ll have a larger role on the team and more consistent minutes. With that, we should see him share the ball more effectively.

Defense: The defensive end of the floor is the most intriguing for Anderson. In those final 15 games of the season that I mentioned above, he averaged a block a game and nearly a steal a game.

He had some dazzling blocks at times in the season and used his length to impact shots from other players.

With the position that he played, he was occasionally on the floor against players like Klay Thompson, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, with the task of Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant at times in the playoffs.

New teammate Harrison Barnes recently spoke on Anderson and described him as “a really good defender.”

In 2016-17, I would expect to see Rick Carlisle pair Anderson with Matthews and/or Barnes to create some flexible defensive lineups.

I think the Mavs would like to see Anderson become one of their top defensive options and he can be plugged into the lineup next season in what should be an improved defensive year for the team.

Not On The Stat Sheet: One thing I mentioned earlier in this article was how energetic Anderson was when he was on the court. During the playoffs, he was yelling after big plays and bringing the team back to life at times.

Throughout the course of the 2015-16 season, that role was often left with Raymond Felton and Chandler Parsons, two players that found new homes this summer. Anderson’s energy will be key to keeping the Mavs in games and giving them a boost when they need it the most.

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In conclusion, I think the Mavs will benefit from one of their youngest players even more next season. He should get a lot more minutes than he did last year and I truly believe they have something special in him.

It won’t be a huge jump in production, but Justin Anderson will definitely become a more reliable, consistent player on the Mavs roster in 2016-17.

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