Assessing where Dennis Smith needs to improve for the Dallas Mavericks

Film Room: Why Rick Carlisle gets frustrated

The question any Smith film study session raises is whether he needs to be surrounded by four shooters in order to maximize his own ability. Three of the Mavericks’ other starters have capable outside jump shots, but he simply hasn’t been able to mesh with DeAndre Jordan’s exclusively inside game. This is a huge problem moving forward, as plenty of downhill guards across the league have managed to look good offensively without a stretch-5.

The play below is one that is very common when watching Dennis Smith games.

The Mavericks reset the action on a broken possession. Dennis Smith blows by Jaylen Brown and manages to get into the paint. Brown actually shows Smith into this area knowing that Al Horford will be able to help him, with Smith having his weak hand on this play. But DeAndre Jordan is momentarily open when the help comes. Every point guard needs to be able to make this play, but Smith simply doesn’t see or feel it, and shoots a terrible layup on the inside.

The recurring theme is that Smith doesn’t make plays for others, period. This should be an easy bucket inside for Jordan after Smith does the hard part of penetrating, but he misses the opening. It almost appears that he doesn’t have a good feel with how to utilize the spacing DJ creates.

The play below is an equally frustrating one.

The Mavericks come out with a high pick-and-roll play, and get the quick switch. Smith gets Anthony Davis switched onto him and decides the best course of action is to try and shoot over him from mid-range.

Firstly, DeAndre Jordan has a guard on him, so stepping back and allowing him to get post position could result in multiple better scenarios than a contested mid-range jumper against arguably the best switching big. Julius Randle would almost certainly rotate across on this possession, which would leave Maxi Kleber open to either shoot, or kick it out to Doncic in the corner.

This play emphasizes one of the main problems with Smith. He doesn’t see things enough in the half-court, and he only plays at his own pace. This was a play where he needed to slow it down and be methodical, as there were multiple reads better than the one he took. He would either have ended up with Jordan posting up a guard or if Randle had rotated, which was likely, someone would’ve been open on the strong side.

It also emphasizes the gravity DeAndre Jordan creates, which is something Smith has really struggled to utilize. Not every play involving Jordan has to end in a lob, but there should be more open jumpers if your point guard makes the correct reads and plays methodically. To put it bluntly, Smith needed to let this play develop, but he let the Pelicans off easily.

Below is another example of Smith playing at his own speed, and failing to kick out and reset the action.

This time the play is in transition, something which is supposed to be Smith’s strong suit. Mike Conley plays this excellently, but Smith does get by him. Memphis’ plan in transition against him was clearly to clog the paint, and they do that on this play. Not only is Dorian Finney-Smith wide open in the corner, but there is going to be a numerical advantage at the top of the key eventually. Instead, Smith shoots a poor layup in triple coverage when he never really had good positional advantage.

Poor decision-making has been Carlisle’s gripe with him all along. He plays at one speed, and often fails to let plays develop, deciding to shoot quick jumpers or charge into a loaded paint repeatedly. Teams fear his speed, but sometimes allowing him to move inside is a good option, as it almost always ends with him shooting.

While there are clear reasons for Carlisle to be frustrated, there are also reasons for optimism. Smith has improved his 3-point percentage from 31.3 percent to 37.5 percent this year. His on-ball defense has been increasingly effective, and there is reason to believe he can become a defensive anchor on the perimeter.

As of now, the Mavericks’ roster is a weird mix of win-now veterans and project players. Smith is frustrating at times, and there is absolutely no doubt that so far, he has not contributed to winning basketball. He is a youthful highlight merchant in an era in which metrics are praising players for efficiency as opposed to big splashes that make the headlines.

But he is on a team-friendly rookie contract and is easily worth persisting with. As The Ringer‘s Jonathan Tjarks said, Smith’s departure would leave Dallas’ cupboard empty. He has a high ceiling, he just needs to be coached up into a different role. He is not going to be the PnR heavy game-changer that some thought he would be in the NBA, but this is fine, as there are other ways he can be a successful player.