Klay Thompson somehow manages to overcome the Mavericks' “stagnant” offense

The most memorable moment from Klay Thompson's Mavericks debut against the Spurs last week was hard to miss. It was Thompson who did what he had done many times – splashed a wide-open three-pointer – but new teammate Luka Doncic started celebrating before Thompson had even shot the ball out of his hands.

Thompson had all day to shoot, even being so open that he had time for a quick rhythm dribble to prepare. It was one of six three-pointers Thompson made, the most of any Maverick debut on the team.

While Thompson was a fairly new experience in a Mavericks jersey, the way he nailed that wide-open three-pointer was anything but. Even though the Mavericks put up an impressive performance in the NBA Finals a season ago, one thing is The biggest disadvantage for the Mavericks from a national, broader perspective is that their offense is too reliant on Luka Doncic and his ball-stopping tendencies. These attitudes aren't entirely unfounded, as the Mavericks have relied too heavily on Doncic in the past. When it came to Thompson joining the Mavericks last summer, the reason for the madness was the fact that the Mavericks' supposedly stagnant offense was already supporting a potent three-point shooter: Tim Hardaway Jr.

In Hardaway's five full seasons with Dallas, he averaged 7.5 three-pointers per game, shooting 37.5 percent, making him one of the NBA's most accurate long-range and bullpen bombers. Through the schemes of Rick Carlisle and Jason Kidd, Hardaway became a lethal volume shooter alongside Doncic in the Mavericks' offense. According to NBA.com, Hardaway ranked in the 70th percentile or better in spot-up possession efficiency and was 94.7 for the 2021 season. percentile. On possessions considered to be coming off the screen, Hardaway finished two seasons in Dallas with a shooting percentage above 90% (2023 and 2021).

Take a look at Thompson's memorable three-pointer from that win against the Spurs – the reason it may look familiar is because it's the same move the Mavericks have made for Hardaway several times in the past.

(Thanks to the incredible Panda Hank for the side-by-side look)

According to NBA.com tracking data, Thompson is averaging 3.7 wide-open attempts per game in four games in Dallas. Attempts are classified as wide open when the nearest defender is six feet or more away. At Golden State last season, Thompson averaged 2.3 of those wide-open attempts. One could argue that some of the Mavericks' stagnation tendencies over the years were less due to Doncic's tendencies and more due to the situation and the roster – when the Mavericks had a high-volume three-point shooter (Hardaway), he thrived! The problem, of course, was that Hardaway wasn't a sure-fire closer due to the negatives in the rest of his game, and the Mavericks simply didn't acquire many quality shooters in the early seasons of Doncic's career.

The key caveat to all of this is that it's still very early in the NBA season, but it should come as no surprise to see Thompson finding early success alongside one of the NBA's greatest three-point shooters. He's made 17 of 40 (42.5) percent of his threes so far, and none of it feels particularly unconventional, especially since Thompson has continued to be an accurate shooter at high volume over the last three seasons, all after his two heavy ones Precipitation physical injuries.

There are still concerns that Thompson and the Mavericks will need to address – chief among them is how Thompson and the Mavericks will fare defensively – but offensively that hasn't been too hard to figure out. Thompson is still an elite shooter, the Mavericks have an elite three-point shot creator and experience supporting a high-volume shooter. Thompson's offensive fit with the Mavericks should have been the last thing questioned when the Mavericks acquired him, but the question was asked anyway. The answer can be short and sweet: it works.