Mavericks already face deadly trap that doomed them last season

When the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic on February 1, everything they had been building from an offensive stylistic perspective was completely tarnished, as Dallas' offense had long been built on Doncic's drive-and-kick ability as well as his pick-and-roll savvy. Even when Kyrie Irving joined the Mavericks in 2023, he obviously reduced Doncic's usage rate a little bit, but Dallas' core offensive principles were still contingent on Doncic being the primary initiator.

With this no longer being the case, the Mavericks had a rough go at creating perimeter looks for themselves following the trade last season, especially after Irving tore his left ACL on March 3. With Dallas' best player in Anthony Davis, being more of a play-finisher, Dallas could have a really rough go at creating outside looks again next season, especially since they were last in the league in 3-point attempts per game last season, following the All-Star break at only 32.0 per game.

Dallas was also only 23rd in the league in team 3-point percentage following the All-Star break, as the lack of dynamic playmaking and shot creation on the roster can be directly attributed to Irving getting hurt and Doncic getting traded. The Mavericks must get more perimeter looks created next season, and they also need to do a better job with cashing in on those looks. How Dallas fares in this area will be tied to their guard play.

Mavericks can't afford another 3-point collapse

The Mavericks brought in D'Angelo Russell to be their lead guard with Irving out of the lineup until late next season, and Russell shot a career-low 29.7 percent from outside in 29 games to end the season with the Brooklyn Nets last season. Russell is going to need to be more consistent from outside, like he was practically every season before this last, because his shooting woes last season got to the point where he was no longer considered a three-level scorer by many analysts, and this is a narrative he needs to change, being in the ultimate prove-it scenario in Dallas.

Brandon Williams shot 40.0 percent from downtown in 33 games for the Mavericks last season, as he's also a likely candidate to assume a heavy workload in Dallas' rotation until Irving returns from injury. Williams is the polar opposite in the sense of his shooting compared to Russell, though, as Williams had struggled in limited NBA minutes and even in the G League to turn into a solid shooter from outside until last season, where he completely flipped the script.

Dallas will need both Russell and Williams to create at a high level to serve their wings open looks from outside, and both of them will need to shoot at least better than league average from outside, as they'll be taking nearly all of Dallas' off-the-dribble 3-pointers barring Klay Thompson. Thompson is another swing factor in how Dallas' shooting from outside could fare next season as well, as he'll need to continue his good summer and look for his shot way more often compared to last year, especially in lineups where he's the second-best ball handler.

Overall, it will be a group effort for the Mavericks to escape this fate that plagued them toward the end of last season, and the Mavericks will have some nights where they'll simply be too physically dominant for opposing teams to stack up against. However, good teams have to be able to win multiple ways, and the Mavericks must prove they can get to at least middle-of-the-pack territory when it comes to 3-pointers attempted and 3-point percentage by the time Irving returns next season, as they may not have enough aggregate shooting to make a legitimate run next season if this isn't the case.