Dallas Mavericks: Who is the third-best player on the team?

It’s been debated as to who the Dallas Mavericks third-best player is, but look no further as it gets broken down as to who that is with in-depth analysis.

The Dallas Mavericks have two clear cut stars of their team, Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, but now it’s time to recognize the third up and comer, and that’s Dorian Finney-Smith.

Finney-Smith, 26, has been with the Mavericks since the 2016-2017 season. He has been one of the most important players on this team this season in 2019-2020 and after signing a new three-year contract with Dallas last summer, he’s averaging career-highs across the board.

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In his first year, he started in 35 of the 81 games he played in with Dallas and posted averages of 4.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists with a 37 percent field goal percentage and just a 29 percent 3-point percentage. Ever since year one, he’s been working on his game.

Finney-Smith has been the best defender on the Mavericks since his arrival on the team and has never shied away from guarding the team’s best player.

A year after appearing in 81 games as a rookie, Finney-Smith played in just 21 games for the Mavericks in 2017-18 as he dealt with tendinitis in his left knee. Though he had limited time on court due to injury, Finney-Smith improved statistically in those 21 games.

Fast forward to year three after fully recovering from injury and Finney-Smith played in 81 games in 2018-2019, starting in 26 of those. In his first full season since 2016-2017, he improved drastically.

Finney-Smith’s field goal percentage jumped from 37 percent to 43 percent. His 3-point percentage increased from 29 percent to 31 percent. From 2.7 rebounds a game to 4.8 rebounds. From scoring 4.3 points per game to scoring 7.5 per game.

“We thought he was a guy who could be a very good 3-and-D guy in this league,” Head Coach Rick Carlisle said to Dallas Sports Fanatic before a game earlier this season. “We noticed in his draft workout that he had a feel for the game that was unique for a guy that played 4 years in college. His shooting needed work and he didn’t shoot a lot of threes in college, but he’s worked extremely hard on that. He’s been a guy that has fought his way to where he is now. He takes nothing for granted. That’s just who he is.”

Carlisle hit the nail on the head with this description. He is a guy who fought his way to where he’s at and he continues to keep fighting to stay to this day.

“I remember a lot of times with me not playing down the stretch… I feel good that my teammates trust me now and they pass me the ball in those types of situations,” Finney-Smith said to Dallas Sports Fanatic after a game where he hit a clutch shot earlier this season. “I’m just happy I earned that trust. I worked hard this summer, so I’m glad I’m seeing some results.”

The biggest site of improvement from my point of view is his ability to shoot the basketball. Making the most substantial improvement going from just 37 percent from the field in year one, to 47 percent in year four.

Especially on a team like the Mavericks, the ability to shoot the ball well is very necessary. This team is loaded with shooters and play-makers so Finney-Smith knows he has to be at the top of his game constantly to keep his playing time and he has been according to the numbers and the eye test.

The biggest plus side for him is that he is already a solid defender and not a lot of players on the roster can say the same. With him now being considered a two-way player in this league and his substantial improvement, I think it’s no question that he’s the third-best player on this team.

Finney-Smith will more than likely get to taste his first bit of playoff action this season once the season starts again on July 30 and the team has its first game on July 31 against the Houston Rockets. The Mavericks have eight games to get back into real playing shape to solidify their spot in the playoffs come mid-August.