Dallas Mavericks: 2018-19 NBA season preview

Storyline 2: Can Dennis Smith Jr. control himself?

This sounds much harsher than it is, so read on before you fire off any incendiary tweets.

Smith’s strength is being an explosive athlete with incredible confidence. He always thinks he’s the best player on the court, and he often plays like it. He attacks the rim relentlessly, and his ability can take your breath away.

Of course, that’s also his weakness: he occasionally believes in himself a little too much. His shooting percentages last year were 39.5 percent from the field, 31.3 from deep, and 69.4 percent from the free throw line. All of those numbers are far, far below league average, which of course includes unskilled bigs who can’t shoot a lick. He also averaged 2.8 turnovers on only 5.2 assists a game, which is not the best either.

Honestly, though, that was okay last year. The Dallas Mavericks weren’t that good, so it made sense to let Smith chuck and learn from his mistakes. Now though, they should be better, which means he has to play within himself a bit more, and defer to other players when necessary. Organic improvement and better shot selection should help those poor percentages.

There are other guards that go full-force all the time. Russell Westbrook is perhaps the best comparison, and he won an MVP by giving 110 percent and never slowing down, always attacking. Of course, many people criticize his relentless chucking and stat-hunting, claiming that it’s not winning basketball. To wit, despite all of Westbrook’s talent and having had great supporting casts at points in his career, he’s never won a title.

Even if you’re a Westbrook truther and think Smith would be lucky to be nearly as good as him, consider this: If Smith isn’t as talented as Westbrook and tries to play the same way, it’ll be disastrous.

Another bouncy guard who shoots a lot is Zach LaVine. He may have gotten paid a lot, but LaVine is close to a worst-case scenario outcome for Smith. Keep the mentality and take a little more talent away, and what do you get? Current Gerald Green? Not a player to shoot for.

If Smith wants to play like Westbrook, he’ll marginalize the rest of the team, including Luka Doncic. If he can harness his athleticism, find a middle ground and play within himself like John Wall or Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose, then he can be a great long-term piece for the team.