Dorian Finney-Smith's Career High Shows Growth For Mavs

Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith breaks out with career-high 28 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the Dallas Mavericks' 120-112 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, Dorian Finney-Smith set a new career high in scoring with 28 points. Only Luka Doncic, who scored 35 points, finished with more. 

With 90 percent of Finney-Smith's field goals coming off assists, he did his damage by simply excelling in his role. An important part of his output was tying his career high for 3s in a game with six.

Finney-Smith credited Doncic's playmaking for his hot shooting night from deep. He explained how the Cavaliers opted to leave him open to send pressure at different spots, resulting in plenty of open looks and opportunities to score. 

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

“Shout out to Luka,” Finney-Smith said. “He kept finding me and everybody kept yelling at me to shoot it. In the first half I turned down one in the corner and they were on me.

“[Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers] it was [Reggie Bullock’s] night. Tonight it was my night. [Defenses have] got to make a decision. They’ve got to pick who they’re going to trap, who they’re going leave — either me or Reggie.”

With the Cavaliers often using slow-footed frontcourt personnel, using Finney-Smith as a ball screener for Doncic proved to be successful. Often times it was Kevin Love who was brought into the play for Doncic to pick apart, sometimes with flashy behind-the-back passes.

With the Cavaliers being forced to play Moses Brown due to injuries to Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the Mavericks often forced helped rotations on drives. A prime example of those limitations came on a Finney-Smith corner 3 after Lauri Markkanen rotated to help but wasn't quick enough to impact the shot on the close out. 

Doncic often made the Cavaliers pay for sending two defenders, and Finney-Smith was able to benefit. With Maxi Kleber playing the center position to maximize the floor spacing of the half-court offense, the Mavericks created a variety of clean looks for shooters.

On the play below, Doncic used Finney-Smith's re-screen to come off wide and draw two defenders to set up a ball reversal. With Cleveland using an X-out, a simple chain of ball movement resulted in an open look for Finney-Smith at the top of the key. 

Finney-Smith was on the receiving end of a ball reversal from Doncic after he drew two defenders. With the Cavaliers staying home on Kleber throughout the play below, they needed one of the two defenders pressuring Doncic to run out to the weak-side corner on the pass. 

The biggest shot from Finney-Smith came late in the shot clock after the Mavericks came up with an offensive rebound midway through the fourth quarter. With two Cavaliers defenders pressuring Jalen Brunson, he dished it to Finney-Smith with 1.4 seconds left on the shot clock. He converted despite having a hand in his face. 

To reach 28 points, Finney-Smith went beyond perimeter shooting. Being on the receiving end of a transition alley-oop helped, but he was able to get to the rim numerous times within the half-court in ways Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has sought. 

“I know defensively we talk about him a lot, but offensively him and Reggie have been able to shoot the ball,” Kidd said. “And I thought he just didn’t shoot it from the corners, but he was able to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, and that’s something that we’ve talked about expanding his game.”

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

A few hustle plays from Marquese Chriss presented chances for Finney-Smith to gain possession of the ball with momentum going toward the rim. Among those plays was a poster dunk on Brown after he was unable to recover in time to pressure at the rim. The aggression in the middle of broken plays was impressive. 

One play that showed growth from Finney-Smith attacking the lane was his final field goal. After relocating out of the corner, Finney-Smith used a pause on the catch to throw off the defender's closeout to create a drive. Even after Brown rotated over to alter the finish, Finney-Smith navigated through it for a left-handed finish. 

Finney-Smith's career-night capped off the best month of his season with averages of 13.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He's shown continued improvement on offense since agreeing to a four-year, $55.6 million contract earlier this season 

As the Mavericks continue to shape the roster around Doncic, Finney-Smith's value is growing on offense, while his defense has remained instrumental. His versatility has enabled the team to deploy small-ball lineups with strong success ahead of the playoffs.