3 Studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' crucial Game 2 win over Thunder

2. Dud - Dante Exum

The disappearing act of Dante Exum in the 2024 NBA Playoffs has been one of the craziest storylines for the Dallas Mavericks, and his struggles continued into the second round against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Exum finished with just five points in Game 1, and he was even worse in Game 2. He finished with zero points while shooting 0-2 from downtown. His shooting struggles have been unbelievable in the playoffs, and he is starting to enter unplayable territory.

Exum has lost all confidence in his jumper from behind the arc in these playoffs, and he is not the deadly shooter that he once was during the regular season. He is shooting 12.5 percent from downtown in these playoffs, and that has been a complete downfall for him as he shot 49.1 percent from 3-point range during the regular season.

Exum has not been bad defensively in this series due to his length and versatility, but he can't continue to be a non-factor on offense. The Mavs relied so heavily upon Exum during the regular season and he even had a great stretch as a starter, but the playoffs have been a completely different story for him.

Exum's game doing a complete 180 wasn't something that Mavs fans had on their playoffs bingo card, and gaining some confidence and seeing some shots fall will be crucial for him if Jason Kidd plans on continuing to play him.