Dallas Mavericks: 5 biggest disappointments from 2017-18 NBA season

3. The Mavericks were a mess on the court

Dallas was a mess on offense in 2017-18. They showed a lot of promise this summer with Dennis Smith Jr. and Yogi Ferrell running things in Las Vegas Summer League, but it didn’t quite translate to the regular season.

Smith still averaged 15.2 points per game and Ferrell put up 10.2 points a night, but there were way too many moving parts on offense. They finished 28th in the league in points per game (102.3) and were 11-35 against playoff teams and 13-23 against lottery teams in 2017-18.

Regardless of the opponent, winning this season was a struggle for the Dallas Mavericks. They did finish fourth in the NBA in 3-point percentage (32.8 percent) but it spoke more to their high-volume of guards than efficiency. Also, it helps when Dirk Nowitzki shoots 40.1 percent from the 3-point arc.

Defensively, the Mavericks allowed their opponent to average 105.4 points per contest while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from behind the arc. The results didn’t work much in Dallas’ favor in 2017-18, but they certainly got the experience.