Naji Marshall's declining scoring hides his growing Mavericks impact

Naji Marshall's stats don't always tell the entire story. He finished with six points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in a win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday, and while these numbers may not jump off the page, his impact on winning was undeniable.

Naji Marshall makes winning plays

Naji secured a crucial offensive rebound after his own miss at the free-throw line with less than a minute remaining, and this led to Cooper Flagg draining a tough mid-range jumper over Andrew Nembhard later that possession to give the Dallas Mavericks a four-point lead. Without Marshall following his own shot and crashing the glass here, Indiana would've had a great chance to tie the game up or even take the lead.

Marshall just makes winning plays, regardless of how he's shooting from downtown, and his ability to get to the rim has been one of Dallas' staples over the last few seasons. His floater is extremely effective, and he is easily one of the Mavericks' best scorers inside the arc. He gets to his spots with ease, even against tight defense, and he finishes strong through contact.

His new role is bringing out other strengths in his game

Marshall is averaging 11.1 points per game, a significant decrease from the 15.2 points he averaged last season, but he is taking his game to another level in other, less flashy, areas.

He's averaging a career-high 4.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game. His elevated role as a playmaker rather than being heavily relied upon as a scorer has naturally helped lead to this increase in assists per game, and his defense has benefited from this as well.

Marshall's defense is a weapon again

Naji is no longer forced to exert all of his energy on offense as one of the Mavericks' primary scoring options. Instead, he can put more energy toward playing strong defense and being more engaged. His defensive rating is 107.0 through eight appearances, and this is a significant improvement from the 114.3 defensive rating he posted last season.

Dallas being a competitive team contributes to this, obviously, and he is a strong team defender. While he can sit down and guard on the perimeter when needed and is a great competitor and enforcer, his defense in the passing lanes has been strong as well.

He loves to get out and run in transition after forcing a turnover, and his playmaking in the open floor has quietly been one of his best traits since he joined the team in 2024.

Marshall is an underrated playmaker

Marshall is a great alley-oop thrower and has a good feel for when to attack the rim himself or dish the ball off to a teammate.

He made one of his best plays of the year earlier this week against the Brooklyn Nets, as he threaded the needle and threw a one-handed bounce pass from the opposite free-throw line to the other end of the floor to Kyrie Irving for an and-one layup. These plays aren't typical of a 6-foot-6 player listed as a forward, but they're the type of plays that make "The Knife" unique.

His scoring doesn't always reflect his impact

Marshall has now scored fewer than 10 points in three straight games after scoring at least 10 points in four of the first five games. This included three games scoring at least 15 points and a 22-point game against the San Antonio Spurs.

He gives the team whatever it needs when he's called upon, and he has been one of the biggest X-factors for the third season in a row.

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