Mavs Shooting Stat to 'Make or Break' Season

Although the Dallas Mavericks are known for the 3-point shot, they aren't exactly a glowing representation of efficiency from such a distance. According to a stat calculated by DLLS Mavs Podcast co-host Bobby Karalla, the Mavs need to improve drastically on a shooting metric they struggled heavily to convert last season.

"The only team that even made the Play-In with a lower catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage was the Chicago Bulls," Karalla said on the DLLS Mavs Podcast. No team that made the top 12 (in the NBA), even Orlando, with the caveat that's built on 'that if only Orlando could shoot, they'd be really good.'"

Karalla then rattled off the teams that led the league in catch-and-shoot 3s and discovered a theme: the top four teams in the NBA led the league in the aforementioned stat.

The Mavs converted only 36.7 percent of catch-and-shoot 3-point shots. Furthermore, Dallas attempted 25 catch-and-shoot 3s per game last season, which ranked below average. Even the Brooklyn Nets finished higher than the Mavericks in terms of attempts per game.

However, with Klay Thompson on the roster and Spencer Dinwiddie's return, the Mavericks have two players known for taking advantage of catch-and-shoot situations.

Yet, Mavs beat writer and DLLS Mavs Podcast co-host Tim Cato pointed out that the Mavericks beat out the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves on catch-and-shoot-3 percentages.

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Dallas stepped up when necessary in the postseason in those catch-and-shoot scenarios, except for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Thompson offers Dallas the opportunity to right its wrong regarding 3-point shooting stats.