Dallas Mavericks: Two guys that need a strong game tonight

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PHOENIX, AZ – OCTOBER 17: Dennis Smith Jr. #1 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball against the Phoenix Suns during a game on October 17, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Dennis Smith Jr.

Surprise, surprise. The biggest disappointment of game one was definitely the youngster from North Carolina State who struggled to get into any sort of flow with the offense. It was especially disappointing to see J.J. Barea and Luka Doncic running the offense successfully, but DSJ was not doing what he needed to in order to find an opening.

There are definitely some contributing factors to Junior’s lack of success. Firstly, the team just got back from a long trip to China that definitely did a number on the squad. Normally I wouldn’t buy into this jet-lag theory too much, but there is a pretty clear history of it happening to most of the teams that travel overseas for preseason action.

Secondly, Dennis Smith is learning his new role on the offense alongside rookie phenom, Luka Doncic. Coach Carlisle is going to want plays designed for each of these guys to have the ball and it is going to take time and action, especially live action, to get used to working off of each other as opposed to in spite of each other.

Lastly, Dennis looked extra sluggish, giving me the impression he wasn’t fully invested in the game. I watched DSJ closely last year and hardly ever saw any time where he was maybe taking off plays. Don’t expect this one to continue on at all.

In order to correct some of these things, here is what Dennis needs to do.

First off, attack the basket. Junior has a decent jump shot that is serviceable in most cases, but his strength as a player is attacking the rim. If he can do this well tonight, it will shake him free of whatever is going on in his head and give him some more confidence, which is what we need to see.

Second, find comfort zone in shooting range. I put this one second because for Dennis it is nowhere near as important as the first one. That said, the Mavs run a lot of plays through Luka right now and if DSJ still wants to be a useful player on the court, he will need to be ready to catch and shoot. If he can do one or both of these things, tonight’s game should look a lot better than Thursday.

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