The Dallas Mavericks may only be in the early stages of the preseason, but it already looks like their younger players will heavily impact bench production.
As the 2016-17 season approaches, the Dallas Mavericks will be welcoming in some new players while continuing to implement their younger players into the rotation. As the preseason progresses, we’ll get a better look at how each of these players will impact the flow of the game for Rick Carlisle’s newest plan of action.
However, through two preseason games, there are a few things that stand out.
First of all, the Mavs look to have an improved defense as we saw more so in their second game against the Charlotte Hornets than in their first game.
Second, we can tell that the team will have an edge that they’ve lacked in the past few seasons as players like Quincy Acy and Wesley Matthews will provide the grit and grind that they need to succeed.
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Finally, the younger players on the team will look to take a larger role in games, but specifically through their impact coming off the bench. As I mentioned, Acy is certainly set to be a valuable player for the Mavs as he provides physical play alongside his solid defense, but there are two other players that stand out from the rest: Justin Anderson and Seth Curry.
Anderson is entering his second season, serving as the 21st pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Last season, he received increased minutes late in the year and made an impact offensively and defensively in the team’s clinching of a playoff spot and its five-game playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Coming into this season, the Mavs are expecting more form the athletic guard/forward combo. At 6’6″, Anderson provides flexibility on both ends of the floor with his ability to drive the lane and create turnovers.
In the first preseason game of the year, Anderson dropped 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal on 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. And, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com, he managed to capture the attention of Anthony Davis, who seemed to to like what he saw from Anderson in the first half of play.
Anthony Davis seems impressed with Justin Anderson. AD call to the Mavs' bench at halftime and said, "What are y'all feeding him?"
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) October 2, 2016
Anderson’s second game saw him struggle from the floor a bit as he scored just nine points on 4-for-11 shooting, but he still showed us his ability to use his crazy athleticism to impact the team and stay involved in all facets of the game.
According to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Anderson caught the attention of the team and Dirk Nowitzki even stated that he “has been one of the stars of training camp for the Mavs.”
Dirk said F Justin Anderson has been one of the stars of training camp for the #Mavs. He likes the progress the 2nd-yr pro has made.
— Dwain Price (@DwainPrice) October 6, 2016
But we all expected improvement from him. There’s a sense that he’s on the verge of breaking out and becoming a very important player for the Mavs. What we didn’t know was what to expect out of Seth Curry–one of the team’s newest guards.
As a member of the Sacramento Kings in 2015-16, Curry had a season similar to Anderson since he received most of his playing time at the the end of the year.
He showed signs of play that almost mimicked that of his All-Star brother, Steph Curry, as he averaged 15.2 points and 3.8 assists in the final 11 games of 2015-16. But before the preseason began, Rick Carlisle made it clear that Seth was set for his own path (via SportsDay):
"“Let’s leave that alone,” he said. “This kid is a terrific player in his own right. To me, it’s a disservice to get into all that stuff. Let this kid be himself. He’s unique in his own right.”"
In the first game of the preseason, Curry did a little bit of everything. He recorded 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in his debut.
However, once the second game of the preseason rolled around, you couldn’t help but think about Steph every now and then. Seth recorded 20 points on 5-for-6 shooting from three and he went off in the third quarter, dropping 13 points.
https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/783131366695116800
It wasn’t just the way he shot the ball either. He was making effective passes and serving as a legitimate weapon any time he was playing offense. After the game, Wesley Matthews–intrigued with what he had seen–said that the shooting display Curry put on was “in his blood” because of his other sharpshooting family members.
While we’re still only two games into the preseason, Curry hasn’t let up from what he accomplished late last season and could prove to be one of the biggest pickups of the offseason for the Mavs, should his play translate to the regular season.
It definitely is important to stay focused on what is happening right now, including the fact that some players tend to be better in the preseason, but the Mavs have a glimpse of what they could be receiving nightly from their bench.
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While they’ll still have key players like Devin Harris, J.J. Barea, Dwight Powell and Salah Mejri coming in as relief, both Justin Anderson and Seth Curry could take over as co-sixth men on the team with their offensive and defensive skills.
The rest of the preseason will give us a better idea of how these players will work together with the rest of the team as guys like Deron Williams, Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut haven’t played yet. But it’s clear that players like Anderson and Matthews have picked up from where they left off last season and players like Curry and Acy–who both played in Sacramento–will use their previous time together as an advantage.
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There’s still a lot to sort out between now and the first regular season game of the year on Oct. 26, but the Dallas Mavericks are definitely onto something with their young guards and they could receive significant bench production from them in the upcoming season.