Dallas Mavericks: 3 big questions heading into 2018-19 NBA season

3. How will this young core fit together?

Of course, Dennis Smith Jr. and Doncic will be the two players people are observing most this year. Why worry about their fit? Smith and Doncic play a similar position. Better still, they occupy much of the same role. Smith had a usage rate of 28.9 percent last season and was the team’s primary distributor.

Doncic, a European pick-and-roll savant, has exemplary passing skills and should demand a high usage rate as well. Just how good is Doncic in the pick-and-roll? The following clip will demonstrate his patience, ball handling and vision. The ball should be in Doncic’s hands often, and for good reason.

Furthermore, the Mavericks also drafted guard Jalen Brunson from Villanova. Brunson ran the point for coach Jay Wright and it reflected in his high college usage rate of 26.4 percent. With J.J Barea and Devin Harris on this team as well, the Mavericks suddenly have a plethora of playmakers.

We cannot assume that Dallas will be in tank mode again (more on this later) and will hand out as much minutes as possible to Brunson, Smith and Doncic. But when a combination of these three do player together, how will it look?

Smith flashed potential as an off-ball player, shooting 36.7 percent on catch-and-shoot triples while taking 2.2 per game. Can Doncic mimic these numbers? How will sharing playmaking duties impact these two in terms of chemistry? Smart money would bet they’ll be just fine together. This question has the potential to have a really promising answer.