Dallas Mavericks: Examining late game struggles and how offense changes

KP’s lack of playmaking hurts the Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs have nine players with over 25 clutch minutes this season. Jalen Brunson and Dwight Powell are two of them. Neither man is playing the restart, so let’s eliminate them from this discussion. Delon Wright is seventh on the list with 43 minutes. The other six are fairly even. It’s the starting five plus Maxi Kleber.

Those six players have produced 28 assists in 436 total minutes. Luka Doncic has 19 of those. It goes back to the point that the Mavs do not have enough playmaking behind their superstar.

Kristaps Porzingis’ clutch shot chart may be the most interesting of the group. He has made six of nine from in close. From everywhere else on the floor, he is four of 25.

The 25 attempts are a mix of catch and shoot opportunities (usually 3-pointers) and post touches. Nearly all of the post plays resemble this one.

Should Porzingis make a few more of the catch and shoot 3-pointers? Yes, bad luck plays a part there. Those post ups are not working, though. KP cannot create enough space to get a clean shot off.

The Unicorn is a fantastic scorer, but the Mavericks could use a secondary creator that takes the heat off Doncic a bit. Hardaway Jr. has filled that role some, but he is too concentrated on scoring himself and not looking for the best shot.

Next: Free throw woes