Just a couple of weeks ago, the Dallas Mavericks succumbed in the 2024 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.
Dallas slipped into a 0-3 hole, and despite them winning Game 4 in dominant fashion, the Celtics won Game 5 and closed out the series.
Despite a fantastic Finals performance from Luka Doncic, his co-star Kyrie Irving struggled early in this series. He wound up turning it around in Games 3 and 4, but the Mavs desperately needed more from Irving as well as all the role players.
Dallas Mavericks looking to acquire another shooter after poor shooting in Finals
One of the greatest weakness for the Mavs during the NBA Finals was 3-point shooting.
As a team, Dallas shot 31.6 percent from afar for the series, and the only players who knocked down eight or more threes were Irving and Doncic. None of the role players were stepping up and hitting open shots, and the Mavericks are looking to solve their shooting problem this summer.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, “improving their outside shooting (subscription required), meanwhile, is one of the Mavericks’ offseason priorities.”
While the Mavericks’ primary priority remains re-signing Derrick Jones Jr., improving their outside shooting seems to be something Nico Harrison and company are focussing on this summer. They need players who can consistently knock down open shots, particularly how many good looks that Doncic and Irving create, and this is a huge area of need for the team this summer.
With Tim Hardaway Jr. being essentially unplayable for Dallas in the playoffs, they didn’t have a true sharpshooter in their rotation. Sure, P.J. Washington had a terrific shooting series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he couldn’t keep it up.
Derrick Jones Jr. and Jaden Hardy also had spurts where they were shooting the ball well, but in order to succeed in the playoffs, you have to have a player who is always ready to let it fly with confidence.
The Mavs didn’t have that, and it wound up hurting them in the end.
While Dallas will likely work hard to find another shooter in free agency or on the trade market, the Mavs are working with Washington to rework his stroke to become a more effective shooter. Washington had highs and lows as a shooter last season, and him turning into an efficient shooter combined with the Mavs finding a savant elsewhere could be the key for them to becoming unstoppable.
For all the latest on P.J. Washington and the Dallas Mavericks this offseason, stay tuned.
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