The Dallas Mavericks are not far from being back at the top of the standings. Here are five roster moves they must make this offseason.
In his first full season with the Dallas Mavericks, Kristaps Porzingis had fantastic chemistry with superstar and 2018-19 Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic. The incredible offensive threat of these two players alone is tough to stop.
The Mavericks also have Tim Hardaway jr. and Seth Curry who they use to space the floor which allowed Doncic the room to set up the offense. At different parts of the season, the Mavericks were one of the toughest teams to play. Unfortunately, there was not the consistency required.
They pushed the LA Clippers hard in their playoff series, riding the play of Doncic. However, how the early 2020-21 season looks is hard to tell as Porzingis had surgery on his knee on October 9th and there is no timetable for his return.
The plan for the Dallas Mavericks is to simply score more to win
While this may seem a fairly obvious statement, the Mavericks are focusing their game around the talents of Luka Doncic. Given that he almost averaged a triple-double last season, this is a smart move. He averaged 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
The Mavericks were second in the league with 15.1 made 3-point shots and second in attempts with 41.3 per game. They also were second in the league in turnovers with only 12.7 per game. Opposition teams had to find a way to beat the Mavericks other than by turning them over.
There were two areas that the Mavericks need to improve on. The first is ball movement. Doncic is an amazing talent and as shown by his averages above is the heart of the team. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they were 14th in the league in assists. For the team to rise in the standings, this needs to improve.
The second is shooting inside the 3-point arc. The Mavericks were fourth in the league in 2-point field goal percentage last season. They were 28th in attempts and 26th in makes in this category. The Mavericks have the 16th and 31st pick in the upcoming NBA draft. With all this in mind here are five roster moves they need to make.