Dallas Mavericks Struggle To Score From 3P Range
Last year, the Dallas Mavericks were a really good three-point shooting team, averaging 15.1 three’s made per game and shooting 36.7% from deep over the course of the season, ranking them Top 10 in the league in both categories. This season though, they do not have Seth Curry, who shot 45.2% from three-point range last year and is second on the NBA’s All-Time Three-Point Percentage (Career) List.
Losing Seth Curry really hurts this team because he averaged just above two made three-pointers per game and has been one of the most reliable three-point shooters in the league over the course of his career. Josh Richardson, the player they traded Curry for, is a career 36.3% three-point shooter, but is more known for his defensive efforts rather than his contributions on offense.
Dorian Finney-Smith improved drastically as a three-point threat last season, shooting 37.% from beyond-the-arc, but after hanging around 30% from deep in his first three years in the league, he will likely take a step back this season and see his three-point production come back down a little bit. Getting three-point production from their wing players was huge last season, but the Mavericks may see their production decrease this year after losing Curry.
The three-pointer has always been a focal point of the Mavs offense and Rick Carlisle is likely not to change his coaching philosophy for something that has worked over the years. Even though they will still take a lot of three’s this season, expect to see the Mavs three-point percentage decrease from last season and their overall production from deep decrease.