Return of Maxi

Boy, have the Mavericks missed Maxi. Kleber has missed the last 11 games due to COVID protocols but will finally see the floor again tonight. Maxi does it all for the Mavericks – defensive versatility, three point efficiency, and all the extra little things that don’t necessarily pop up on the stat sheet.

Speaking of three point efficiency, the Mavericks are dead last in the league in three point percentage at 32.8%. Maxi Kleber on the other hand, is shooting 47.1% from downtown.

Having Maxi back on the floor tonight and going forward should really help the Mavericks. He won’t solve every problem but the efficient, trustworthy shot from deep and his versatility on defense is surely a start.

Drought from downtown

As noted above, Dallas is currently the worst three point shooting team in the league. Outside of Maxi at 47%, Jalen Brunson and Trey Burke are the only other Mavericks shooting above 40% on the season while Tim Hardaway Jr. is making 38.8% from deep.

But when your star players, who shoot a combined 13.4 shots from three per game, are shooting south of 30%, that says a lot. Luka (29.4%) and KP (28.6%), along with Josh Richardson at 28.1%, have to be better from downtown.

They have to. Or this team will go no where.

Now, Luka isn’t a sniper from outside and we all know this. But for KP, who is a career 35% shooter from three, he must knock down his looks from deep because that’s what he was brought here to do. He spreads the floor as a serious threat from outside, which opens up the floor for Luka to penetrate.

If that’s not the case, then the Mavs are back at square one.

The Mavericks and Suns tip-off tonight at the AAC at 7:30PM on NBATV.