Mavericks poised to steal perfect blueprint to make Anthony Davis unstoppable

One under-talked-about aspect of the Dallas Mavericks' offseason was the fact that they brought on almost an entirely new coaching staff alongside Jason Kidd, and one of their newest assistants, Jay Triano, is already trying to revolutionize Dallas' offense around Anthony Davis heading into next season.

After being the associate head coach for the Sacramento Kings last season, Triano has been talking with Kidd about using Davis in a similar fashion to how Sacramento uses Domantas Sabonis, and while Davis hasn't necessarily played like that throughout his career, he's arguably equally or even more skilled than Sabonis offensively, so this is something that may have some credence to it.

This isn't to say Davis has resembled the same level of playmaking that Sabonis has throughout his career, but with Davis' jump shot has notoriously wavered from game to game, and Triano's offensive philosophy in this instance could mitigate some of Davis' inconsistent shooting, as Davis will likely be operating more at the nail area as an offensive hub.

Anthony Davis has the skill to mirror Domantas Sabonis' game

Davis will be able to operate as a screener if Dallas decides to run curl actions off him at the nail, as the Kings run a hefty amount of DHO's (dribble handoffs) through Sabonis in that area, and this will give him a lot more optionality in terms of getting downhill or cutting, compared to Dallas simply through him the ball in the mid to high post and expecting him to create his own shot.

This isn't to say Davis still won't have his fair share of isolation possessions, but with him being more equipped to be a play finisher compared to a shot creator, Triano's methodology would implement some of his more underrated skills, such as his passing, at a more effective rate.

Dallas can also implement some big-to-big pick-and-roll actions with Davis as the initiator alongside one of Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford, as Davis already saw him success with this a little bit last season in Dallas, as he averaged 4.4 assists per game in his nine games with the Mavericks last season, which would be the highest mark of his career if it was a full season.

Ever since it was reported that Triano wanted to instill this in Dallas' offense yesterday, it has been a point of contention amongst some fans on social media. Davis' jump-shooting will undoubtedly have huge implications for how much Dallas will be able to withstand the tide of elite defenses with Irving out of the lineup until some point next year, likely, but if Davis can truly buy in from a playmaking perspective, Triano's offensive philosophy could seriously bolster Davis' offensive efficiency.

As aforementioned, Davis is a very solid passer for a big, and while he's no Luka Doncic from a playmaking perspective, skilled bigs have been able to wreck opposing defenses in this league throughout recent seasons.

In the same vein as the Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokic and the Kings to a lesser extent with Sabonis, the Mavericks have elite cutters and bigger-bodied wings like P.J. Washington and Cooper Flagg to be able to run a similar type of action as the Nuggets do with Jokic, but with Davis as the initiator instead. While this philosophy from Triano isn't guaranteed to work by any means, fans should be hopeful that Davis' skill and acumen will give him the ability to thrive in this new role for Dallas next season.