Mavericks young guard proves he is essential piece of future in Finals

Despite a miraculous season that saw the Dallas Mavericks ascend past any realistic expectations that anyone had for them heading into the year, Dallas fell short of the ultimate goal of an NBA Championship, after losing 88-106 to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday evening.

Dallas' need for a third scorer and playmaker to help relieve pressure from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will be a prevalent matter to address this coming offseason, as the Celtics' dynamism on offense within their main rotation was unrivaled by Dallas' offense throughout most of the series. However, there are still many things to be encouraged about in regards to how the Mavericks closed out their long playoff run, as many of Dallas' young role players stepped up on the biggest stages throughout the course of Dallas' playoff run that concluded on Monday night.

One role player who undoubtedly blossomed the most in Dallas' Game 5 season-ending loss was 23-year-old Josh Green, as Green had his highest scoring performance in the 2024 Playoffs, finishing with 14 points on an efficient 5-8 shooting from the field.

Josh Green proves he is essential piece of future in Finals

This performance from Green was arguably the most impressive of his career, as he proved that Dallas can trust him in the most high-intensity of moments.

Green shot the ball with great confidence in Game 5, and he was adapt at relocating to open pockets on the perimeter to shoot and screen when Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were pestered at the point-of-attack. This performance comes off the heels of Green's confidence on offense having wavered throughout certain points of this past regular season and playoffs, as Green has struggled to string together consistency on offense as a multifaceted 3-and-D wing throughout the course of his fourth season in the league.

One thing that has been consistent throughout Green's playoff run though has been his defense, as he's proven that he can use his quickness and athleticism to guard some of the top larger wings in the NBA. This is especially impressive when you take into consideration how shaky Green's defense was throughout portions of the regular season because of leaving too much space between his man on-ball as well as taking unwarranted gambles, so after having quietly proven to have been one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Green is poised to uphold this defensive intensity heading into his fifth season for the Mavericks next year.

Green has made Dallas' front office look extremely smart for handing him a three-year $41 million contract extension ahead of the start of the last season, as he's found a new level of consistency as a defender, transition threat, and driver toward the tail end of this Mavericks postseason run. Green has stepped up in big moments offensively in this postseason and has hesitated less on his shot recently as well, definitively proving that he's no longer afraid of the moment in clutch-time scenarios like he was earlier in his career.

Heading into his fifth season, becoming more dynamic as a playmaker and shot creator will be at the top of Green's offseason improvement list, but it's without doubt that he has solidified himself as one of the premiere under 6-foot-6 and 3-and-D wings in the league throughout this playoff run.

Green projects to be a consistent valve in Dallas' rotation next year despite being injury-riddled and in trade rumors last offseason, and he's certainly a candidate to become a consistent starter at some point for Dallas as well when you take into consideration that he's on a favorable contract and is only getting better at 23-years-old.

For more on Josh Green and rest of the Dallas Mavericks as we trek into the offseason in heart-throbbing fashion, stay tuned as we'll have you covered.