Dallas Mavericks: Can Josh Green be the 3-and-D wing the Mavs need?
By Andy Quach
Dallas Mavericks: Josh Green needs to prove his 3-point shot translates
While Josh Green’s defensive potential was his biggest draft draw, what made him the Mavericks’ selection over prospects such as Precious Achiuwa, Jaden McDaniels, and Xavier Tillman Sr. was his shooting potential.
In his lone season at Arizona, Green hit 36 percent of his threes on nearly three attempts per game. While there were prospects drafted after Green who put up better numbers, none of them match his defensive potential. There were better shut-down artists taken after Green, but those prospects cannot match his 3-point stroke.
In his early NBA career, Green hasn’t attempted a 3-pointer yet, let alone made one. In the Mavericks spacing-oriented offense, he must prove that he can hit from deep if he is to be regularly featured in the rotation.
Whether or not Green can immediately prove a reliable deep shooter, he is going to have to at least be a threat if he is going to contribute to the team’s floor-spacing.
Green needs to take advantage of the limited minutes he sees. In three preseason games, the 20-year-old took six 3-pointers and hit half of them. He has the stroke to do it, but he will need to show it in games that matter to become the 3-and-D wing the Dallas Mavericks need.
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