Mavericks found secret recipe for Klay Thompson's success, but refuse to use it

When the Dallas Mavericks signed Klay Thompson over the summer, fans were ecstatic as the Mavs had finally found a true sharpshooter to pair next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Dallas' shooting vanished during the NBA Finals last season, and they needed someone who could help them strengthen that area.

Thompson looked to be the perfect answer to that glaring hole that was exposed during the Finals, and over his first three games with Dallas, that was especially evident.

Thompson averaged 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from downtown on 14.7 field goal attempts per game, and his role in the offense was beautiful. Dallas was often running different off-ball actions to help him get open shots (and he got tons of great looks from inbounds plays), but as the season has gone on, they have gone away from using him as much as they did a little bit.

Early in the season, Jason Kidd emphasized getting Thompson early shots to help him get rolling in the offense, but since then, his volume has gone down some. After averaging 9.8 3-point attempts per game in October, that number decreased to 7.3 attempts in November and 6.8 attempts in December.

Mavericks must maximize Thompson's off-ball impact

This low number this month is likely since the Mavs eased him back into the rotation following his foot injury, and he has been getting back to playing like his old self over the last two games.

Thompson has scored 19+ points in the last two games for the first time since the beginning of the season, and while he is getting some off-ball actions run for him, he has been doing most of his damage recently by knocking down open shots off the catch.

While Thompson's nonstop ability to hit open shots within the flow of the offense combined with his constant off-ball gravity have worked wonders for spacing when it comes to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving while also helping P.J. Washington get better looks and have room to attack closeouts, they should also consider getting him more looks coming off of off-ball actions.

These types of plays were his bread and butter while playing for the Golden State Warriors, and the Mavs finding more ways to get him better looks off the ball could be the key to unlocking his full potential with Dallas.

The Mavs can do this by utilizing Thompson as a screener more, and while Kidd sometimes draws up ATO plays for Thompson to create an open shot for him from the corner, there is still so much more that they can do when it comes to helping him get more involved.

Pin downs and handoffs have worked outstandingly well for Thompson in the past since his release is so fast, and these are two simple ways that Dallas can ensure that he is consistently getting better looks that aren't just standstill threes. He's too good of a player to be parked in the corner, and he showed what he can do when he gets actions drawn up for him over the last two games. Thompson is at his best when he is moving without the ball, and defenses having to account for him at all times helps open up the game for everyone else.

Dallas did a great job of sprinkling these actions into their game plan rather than spamming them and forcing Thompson to do too much, and that's exactly what the team needs to do moving forward. Thompson's last two games have been great examples of how Dallas can use him moving forward, as he drilled standstill threes, but he also scored off the dribble some and sunk some catch-and-shoot threes off various actions that helped him get open and shoot in rhythm.

There's only one basketball, and Irving and Doncic are always going to be the priorities, but the Mavs can do a much better job at feeding Thompson the ball more and making sure that he is engaged from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Early shots and confidence from his teammates are exactly what typically get him going, and a couple of extra shots coming from off-ball actions in the first half of games could lead to 20-point performances being something Mavs fans expect from him.

He is doing an outstanding job at providing spacing, playing sound defense, and knocking down open shots, and as he gets more used to the system and his teammates, his impact will be maximized even more.