On Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Mavericks played perhaps their most exciting game of the season, as Kyrie Irving hit an incredible 61-foot left-handed runner over the outstretched arm of Nikola Jokic against the reigning NBA champions. This ensured the Mavericks' victory. Denver Nuggets.
The Mavericks have won five of their last six games since Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd opted to put Derrick Jones Jr. and Daniel Gafford in the starting lineup. Throughout this recent period, he has continued to impress with his physicality and coordination on the defensive end. line up.
But Jones Jr. and Gafford clearly don't add much to the Mavericks' 3-point shooting when they're on the court, even though Jones Jr. is finally making it from long range on a few attempts.
The Mavericks have also had poor shooting from most of their role players lately as Maxi Kleber and P.J. Washington continue to struggle tremendously at the 3-point line as well. The Mavericks have made more than 15 3-pointers just once in the past six contests, and in two of those games, the Mavericks have made fewer than 10 3-pointers.
The Dallas Mavericks continue to compete with elite teams despite their poor shooting.
Dallas defeated the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets today by shooting 8-for-33 (24.2%) from downtown.
Imagine what would happen if Dallas started shooting.
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) March 17, 2024
In addition to reliable 3-point shooter Josh Green being out with an injury, there's also the fact that most of Dallas' role players have struggled from the outside lately, with the exception of Irving and Luka Doncic. I can't seem to find a solution to the shooting problem anywhere. .
But Mavericks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is one of the NBA's best shooters when fully locked in, and is the type of player Dallas can utilize to generate offense from beyond the arc. That's for sure. Unfortunately, Hardaway Jr. is currently in the worst shooting slump of his career, which has lasted a month and a half, with Hardaway Jr. shooting 35.9 percent per game. His scoring has dropped to 15.7 points. Outside.
I asked Mavs guard Tim Hardaway Jr. whether his mindset had changed during his shooting slump.
“That hasn’t changed… If it had changed, I wouldn’t have gone out and taken the shot. I would have just gone out and passed the ball and put on a show… My teammates He always had confidence in me.” pic.twitter.com/oq6MXntCME
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) March 16, 2024
Hardaway Jr. remains positive amid slump, but given the team's still success, that's all Mavericks fans can hope for at this point. It's about getting back the microwave scorer and 3-point marksman that we were looking at early on. This season will be transcendent for the Mavericks considering how well they are playing on defense right now.
Hopefully Hardaway Jr. can make it to the playoffs, but if Hardaway Jr. has a string of games where he only scores one point per 15 minutes, like he did, the Mavericks will explore other options in the rotation. Because you may have to. They will play against Denver on Sunday afternoon.
Stay tuned for more on Tim Hardaway Jr. and the Dallas Mavericks heading into the playoffs.
