Dallas Mavericks final month stock watch: 5 risers, 5 fallers

7. Falling: P.J. Washington

When the Dallas Mavericks traded for P.J. Washington at the trade deadline, every Mavs fan was excited about his potential. Washington quickly became the Mavs' best defender, but his struggles offensively have been evident recently.

So far in Dallas, Washington is averaging 11.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 26.5 percent from three. As shown in his stats, Washington is a monster defensively, but his offense hasn't come along as quickly as some may have expected.

Washington looks great when getting downhill and finishing in the paint at the rim or with a floater, but his 3-point shot has been a big concern lately. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, Washington shot 0-7 from downtown, and if he could have knocked down a few of those open looks, that game could have gone differently.

All of the blame shouldn't fall on Washington from that game, but he must be better as a shooter if he wants to succeed in Dallas. With the way the Mavs play, the players on the wings have to be able to knock down open looks. That is why players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock (at times) were so great in Dallas.

Their bread and butter was playing tough-nosed defense, but they could also knock down open threes. Washington's ceiling is much higher than Finney-Smith's, but if he can't consistently knock down open looks, his stock could continue to fall.