Dallas at Pacers GAMEDAY: A Look at The Thoroughly Modern Mavs

Dallas at Pacers GAMEDAY: A Look at The Thoroughly Modern Mavs - In Particular Regarding Their Offensive Style and Pace

We’ve talked a lot about the historic efficiency of this year’s Dallas Mavericks offense. As the season evolves - an evolution that continues tonight in Indiana against the Pacers - there are some raw numbers that are pretty noteworthy as well.

Game Time: 6 p.m. CT

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

TV/Radio: FSSW, 103.3 FM, Univision, 1270 AM (Spanish)

Records: Mavericks (30-19), Pacers (31-18)

Before the Rockets played New Orleans on Sunday, the Mavericks had a temporary edge in total made three-pointers for the season. They’ve made 737 of their 2011 attempts. 

The Mavericks have increased the number of threes they’ve taken every season since 2011-2012. Strangely enough, the 2010-2011 championship team took 1,768 threes (making 645 of them). That was an outlier because the year before that they’d gone 558-of-1,498 and the year after they went 497-of-1464.

For more context, in 2011 (again, an outlier in which the Mavs shot nearly 300 more threes than the years sandwiching it) the team with the most threes made and attempted was the Orlando Magic, who shot 2,103 three-pointers, and knocked down 770 of them.

There is a real chance that the Mavericks will surpass both those totals this week, starting tonight in Indy. Amazing to think that the Mavericks had never even taken 2,000 threes in a season until 2014-2015.

If you needed more proof that the Mavericks are running a thoroughly modern offense, consider that they drive 48.5 times per game (and this number has climbed as Luka Doncic has settled for fewer jumpers over the course of the season). That’s top-ten in drives to the basket where they are fourth in FG percentage on drives (50.5 percent).

One of the downsides to this potent offense, especially down the stretch of games, is the not-so-elite 76.5 percent free-throw shooting (only six teams are worse). They figure to need every such edge tonight at Indy, one of the few really good teams Dallas will face this month.

The Mavericks and Houston are jostling in the standings over the 5 seed and the 6 seed. The margin for error is thin. non-existent right now because the West is so competitive from 2-through-7.

The Mavericks are down Luka but should have Porzingis back in the lineup. Meanwhile, though the Pacers recently got back Victor Oladipo after a long rehab, they also lost TJ Warren to a concussion, and they're coming off an ugly 92-85 loss to the Knicks - a feeling the Mavs know well.

We don't know that three-pointers rate as a specific way to beat the Pacers tonight. What we do know is that The Thoroughly Modern Mavericks will be more than happy to try that.