Dallas Mavericks: How Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown can help the Mavs win in the playoffs

The Dallas Mavericks are quiet at this point in the offseason. Are there rumblings? Yes. Are there rumors and whispers about players who might be and players who should’ve been? Absolutely. So what have the Mavs done so far that matters?

Other than signing Luka to his big-time $207 million rookie supermax contract extension and bringing back Tim Hardaway Jr., the Mavericks have only made two official moves that bring a positive significance to the roster right away.

The Mavericks offseason thus far has been defined by the acquisitions of Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown. Both of these players should prove to be upgrades that will make the Mavs an improved team.

How can Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown help the Dallas Mavericks?

The Mavs have not greatly improved, but they have shored up a couple of weak spots on their roster. Specifically, the ability to hit a consistent percentage of 3-point shots and their defensive potential.

Both Bullock and Brown shot above 40 percent from three last season, and both have averaged well above 35 percent from long range during their NBA careers. If both players can shoot anywhere at least close to those numbers, it has the potential to help the Mavericks massively.

Let us look back at this past Mavericks playoff appearance against the Clippers in 2021.

What’s the one thing the Mavericks needed most during that series? Their defense was not perfect, but it wasn't the problem. The issue was the desperate need for another player other than Luka Doncic to show up offensively in some way. Dorian Finney-Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. both provided that in a game or two, but it never changed the series because they could not consistently produce offense. Luka was doing all the work throughout the series.

The margin for error over the seven games was so statistically low. The fact the Mavericks lost was due to an absolute worst-case scenario.

Now imagine if Bullock and Brown had been there during the Clippers series. The Mavericks likely would have won. The duo's offensive capabilities would have filled a need and given Dallas a chance to win every night they lost.

Fans forget sometimes that the Dallas Mavericks had the chance to sweep LA with Kawhi Leonard healthy. The Mavs were a good team last season that could compete with anyone. Was it a perfect team? Not by any means, but it was a squad with a lot of fight and the ability to grind out a tough win. Both the Jazz and Suns struggled at times to get a win over that Clippers team during the playoffs, and that was with Kawhi down and out.

The Mavericks are missing a much-needed secondary ball-handler and creator that the organization hoped to fill with Kyle Lowry, which unfortunately never came to be. While that problem still definitely persists, adding Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown still makes Dallas an improved team.

At the end of the day, the one thing that matters the most is building a team that excels and wins in the playoffs. Fans can speculate as much as they want about how things will go, but remember that building a team that succeeds in the regular season and playoffs is tough. It can’t just be put on the shoulders of one, two, or even three guys at all times. It takes a team built from top to bottom of players who are ready to step up at all times, regardless of if they are starters or bench players.

That’s what the Dallas Mavericks built during the 2011 season when they went on a miracle playoff run through some of the best teams and players the NBA has ever seen on their way to the only title in franchise history. It was built upon players who were not only talented but ready to step up and into their roles at all times.

Adding Reggie Bullock and Sterlings Brown gives the Dallas Mavericks two more depth pieces. Both men are talented and should be ready to step up when called upon.