Mavericks' preseason 3-point volume will reveal if their offense is truly changing

The Dallas Mavericks ranked 29th in 3-pointers, 27th in 3-point attempts, and 26th in 3-point percentage last season. As evidenced by these three simple statistics, Dallas' offense was far too one-dimensional last year. Yet, many things changed this offseason, including the addition of Dusty May as head coach. With May bringing a new offensive identity, the preseason will be the first chance to see whether the Mavericks' offense has truly changed, and it starts with how often they shoot from beyond the arc.

Dusty May's system should change Dallas' 3-point volume

Upon landing the Mavericks' head coaching gig, May emphasized that he wanted Dallas to move the ball and play fast, two key principles of his offensive philosophy. Dallas already played at a fast pace a season ago, but didn't move the ball, ranking 28th in passes.

Perhaps not surprisingly, fewer passes correlate with fewer threes. For instance, the Golden State Warriors, who ranked second in the NBA in threes a season ago, paced the league in passes per game.

The team that led the NBA in threes, the Charlotte Hornets, ranked in the middle of the league in passes, but ran an offense that relied heavily on playmaking maestro LaMelo Ball, a role Dallas cannot replicate. Thus, without much ball movement or a high-level distributor, the Mavericks' 3-point opportunities were few and far between compared to the rest of the NBA.

Nonetheless, even without a true playmaking savant, Dallas can take and make more 3-pointers, and it all starts with a shift in offensive philosophy.

Well… wait, let's take a step back. Without the right roster configuration, it can't be done. However, the Mavericks did enough this offseason to at least improve their 3-point capabilities and are also looking within for some extra juice.

The Mavericks have more shooting at their disposal

Dallas added Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberovic, Zaccharie Risacher, and Marcus Sasser in the offseason, and will also welcome back Kyrie Irving from an ACL injury. That's plenty of added shooting right there, and with Daniel Gafford set to begin experimenting with a perimeter jumper and Cooper Flagg likely continuing to hone his perimeter shooting, the Mavericks should see a boost in 3-point volume.

Of course, it's all hypothetical at this point. Anyone can assume Dallas will take more threes than a season ago. I mean, 31.9 attempts per game were their fewest since 2016-17, when they launched 30.2 per contest, which ranked sixth league-wide. That's a pretty low bar to clear. But times have changed.

The Mavericks need more offensive variety, and that doesn't mean just surpassing last season's almost league-worst per-game average. It means generating far more looks and reaching at least league-average territory to keep defenses guessing. This preseason will be a terrific litmus test to uncover how much the Mavericks' 3-point willingness has changed.

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