Behind the numbers: Life after Doncic trade for the Mavericks

Contributing Writer

The dismissal of Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday signaled an end to a tumultuous run – which saw star player Luka Doncic traded unexpectedly to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2. AllSportsPeople takes a dive inside the numbers of the Dallas Mavericks post-Doncic over the last nine months.

16-28 record

To say the Mavericks are a shell of their former selves would be a huge understatement, but a 16-28 record over the last 44 regular-season games – this season and last season combined since the trade has dampened the outlook for the franchise long-term.

In the 28 losses, Dallas managed to string together three separate losing streaks of at least four games and to make matters worse – 18 of those defeats came by at least 10 points.

“Offensive” efficiency

The Mavericks have failed to find a true identity on offense as it ranks dead last in the league with 107.2 points per game and second to last in the offensive rating category with 104.3 per Basketball Reference.

The up and down play on offense has proven to be the main catalyst to a 3-8 start and second to last in the current NBA Western Conference standings for Dallas.

Lack of three-point precision

Klay Thompson came in to the fold for the Mavericks last season with expectations of maintaining a consistent three-point game – which produced nine of 11 seasons of shooting over at least 40 percent from long range for the Golden State Warriors.

After the Doncic trade, the steep fall from grace occurred at a rapid pace as Thompson sits at a career-low 26.7 percent (16-of-60) from long range this season and being benched in the last three games for the Mavericks.

Lack of assists

The struggle to find a consistent pass-first player in the post-Doncic era continues to be exposed as the Mavericks rank 27th in the NBA with 23.9 assists per game this season.

No player has established an identity as a primary ballhandler since Kyrie Irving’s ACL injury on March 3. Six different Maverick players have recorded team-highs in assists so far – highlighted by D’Angelo Russell going for at least 10 assists twice this season.

Despite the showings, Russell has only averaged four assists per game over the last four coming off the bench or as a starter.

Free throw struggles

Lack of free throw shooting has played a vital part in the Mavericks’ struggles early this season with a 75.4 percentage from the charity stripe (25th in the league). Eight Dallas players hover as of this writing within 50 to 77.8 percent – highlighted by Anthony Davis’ 74.2 percent.

Defense wins championships

Harrison made constant emphasis on defense winning championships – which proved to be one of many reasons for dealing Doncic.

While still early in the season, Doncic has proven Harrison wrong and then some with two key metrics – 1.7 steals and 8.6 defensive rebounds per game through seven contests played.

Doncic looks to be in the best shape of his career and motivated by last season’s trade as the Lakers are at 8-3 – while the Mavericks are on the opposite end of the maze at 3-8 with a possible bleak future ahead with Irving, Davis and Dereck Lively II missing significant chunks of action over the last nine months.