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By the Numbers: Zaza Pachulia

By Jay Knodell

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The Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of the more underrated moves of the offseason by sending the Milwaukee Bucks a second round pick for veteran big man Zaza Pachulia.

The move came on the heels of DeAndre Jordan making his decision to stay in Los Angeles so it didn’t exactly make waves, but it was a shrewd acquisition nonetheless for Mark Cuban and co.

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It’s a little unclear if Pachulia, 31, will start or not now that the Mavs have signed JaVale McGee, but either way he should see a substantial role for the Mavericks.

Get to know a little more about what he brings to the table with some key numbers from his 2014-15 campaign.

2.4: Pachulia’s 2.4 assists last season trailed only Joakim Noah and Al Harford in the Eastern Conference and was a good enough figure for 7th best in the league among centers.

He isn’t the threat that Chandler was – or Jordan would have been – as a finisher in traffic as the roll man but Pachulia’s ability to find open teammates out of the high post, and elsewhere, is a valuable asset to have.

Here he catches a pass around the free throw line after “setting” a pick, puts the ball on the ground to make a controlled move into the paint, and finds a cutting Giannis Antetokounmpo with a nifty no-looker.

49.3%: As previously mentioned, Pachulia isn’t the above the rim finisher that the Mavericks had in Tyson Chandler. But he is comfortable stepping out and shooting mid-range jumpers, something that couldn’t be said for the now Phoenix Sun.

According to Basketball-Reference, Pachulia hit 49.3% of his shots from 10-16 feet last season with over a fifth of his attempts coming from that range. Chandler did make it a point to keep the defense honest last season with some scattered jumpers but he isn’t on the same level as Pachulia in this category.

The threat of Pachulia as both a passer and the occasional scorer from the high post area should open some things up for the Mavericks in their flowing, motion offense.

0: This number pertains to the amount of, um, fecal matter that Pachulia took from anyone in 2014-15. Or any season prior. His tough, physical play has gotten him involved in plenty of altercations over the years with guys like Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Jason Richardson, and most recently Nikola Mirotic.

Pachulia does a good job getting under the skin of opponents, and when they retaliate you can be sure he isn’t backing down. The toughness that Pachulia – and Wesley Matthews – brings to Dallas is something the roster sorely needed.

Next: Where Does D-Will Fall on List of Top 10 PGs in the West?

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