Gauging the panic meter on 3 struggling Mavericks ahead of regular season

2. Klay Thompson

The Mavericks completing a sign-and-trade to acquire Golden State Warriors legend Klay Thompson sent shockwaves around the entire NBA. Maverick fans couldn't wait to see Thompson in a Maverick jersey, and he ended up playing in three preseason games.

Maverick fans were excited about Thompson's debut even if it was a preseason game, but the excitement wore away some after an inefficient debut. Thompson scored 10 points on 3-9 shooting from the field, but his next game is where fans got concerned deeply and had bad flashbacks.

In the Mavericks' preseason loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Columbus Day, Thompson recorded no points in 21 minutes. Thompson shot 0-9 from the field that also included 0-of-6 from three. Thompson's zero-point game immediately brought back flashbacks of his zero-point game in his final Warriors game in the 2024 Play-In Tournament.

It's important to note that both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic weren't playing against the Clippers, but NBA Twitter still decided to run with this poor game from Thompson and doubt immediately crept back in for some fans.

Thompson finished the preseason on a high note by recording 11 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes in the final preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks last Thursday. While Thompson did shoot 3-7 from three in the win, he shot a combined 4-of-11 from the field.

His mid-range jumpers weren't falling for most of the preseason, and although it's going to be a completely different ballgame when he is playing next to Doncic, fans still saw him at his best (in stretches) and worst in a small sample size.

It's important for Maverick fans to know that it was preseason, and Thompson was learning Jason Kidd's system, but a poor preseason will draw concern from fans, especially when Thompson recorded a zero-point game. The Mavericks will need Thompson big this season to score next to his new superstar duo of Doncic and Irving.

Thompson is going to be getting plenty of good looks from three all season long, but his slow starts in all three games were a bit concerning. He turned these slow starts into productive performances in two of the three games, and he should be just fine as a complementary piece next to Doncic and Irving.

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