Offensive performance is at the bottom of the league, and the Mavericks abstract start has become a laughing stock

So far this season, the Dallas Mavericks' performance can be called the most confusing team in the league. In just a few days, they "sent warmth" to the Pelicans, allowed the Grizzlies to win happily, and even the Wizards' only victory this season was thanks to them. Although the schedule is extremely favorable - five consecutive home games in the beginning, 13 home games in the first 18 games, and the opponents are generally weak - the Mavericks had a disastrous start of 2 wins and 7 losses. From the joke of "fighting for the top pick" at the beginning of the season, they quickly became an actual contender in the lottery.

The offensive system of this team has completely collapsed. After the game against the Grizzlies, their score per 100 possessions was fixed at 103.2 points, trailing the entire league by a huge margin. The gap from the average created the worst record of relative offensive efficiency since statistics were compiled. Irving's absence is certainly one of the factors, but the extent of the offensive collapse is still far beyond expectations. A closer look at their offensive performance shows that they have almost perfectly avoided all the offensive gain factors of modern basketball: they only made 10.1 three-point field goals (30th in the league), and their shooting percentage was 30.7% (29th in the league). Even their wide-open three-point shooting percentage was as low as 27.8%, firmly ranking at the bottom of the league. For comparison, historical shooter Klay Thompson's three-point shooting percentage this season is less than 27%, and his wide-open three-point shooting percentage is as dismal as 12.5%.

In terms of positional warfare development, the Mavericks can only score 0.68 points per round with ball pick-and-rolls. Whether Russell or Brandon Williams are point guards, they only have sporadic flashes. When Flagg appears at the point guard position, the scene is an offensive disaster. What's even more worrying is that this team has made no achievements in the chaos: the offensive rebound rate is 23.5% (29th in the league), the second offense score is 11.9 points per game (29th in the league), and the points made from turnovers rank 26th in the league. All these data point to a cruel fact: When a team needs P.J. Washington to carry offensive production, its offensive system has completely failed.

However, the Mavericks' dilemma goes far beyond offense. The defensive end was also riddled with holes after losing Big Eyebrow and Lively. Especially when Gafford was not on the court, Coach Kidd had to try a five-small lineup. However, this lineup lacked space support and was unable to form effective defensive pressure, eventually falling into a vicious cycle of losing both offense and defense. Even if the injured players return in the future, the team's offensive dilemma will be difficult to fundamentally improve, especially when Doncic is on the rise next door, Dallas' season is galloping in the completely opposite direction than expected.

(Text/Ji Mengnian)