'Triple Threats': Doncic, Brunson & Dinwiddie Could Be Mavs Playoffs X-Factor Combo

The Dallas Mavericks are experiencing success with the three-guard lineup of Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie. Could this trend carryover into the NBA Playoffs?

The Dallas Mavericks' decision to part with Kristaps Porzingis at the trade deadline afforded them the opportunity to add Spencer Dinwiddie into the mix. He has since made a strong impact in the early part of his Dallas tenure. 

Primarily serving as a key cog for the bench unit alongside Jalen Brunson in plug-and-play lineups, the Mavericks have significantly bolstered their depth of initiators in their half-court offense. This gives Dallas multiple options to rely on in crunch time.

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Dinwiddie has also shown some encouraging signs playing alongside Brunson and Luka Doncic in part of a three-guard lineup being implemented by Jason Kidd and his coaching staff. His ability to fit in with Doncic, but also make a key impact without him, was instrumental in him playing all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter of the Mavericks' epic 107-101 comeback win over the Warriors. 

In the 31 minutes the Mavericks have deployed Doncic, Brunson, and Dinwiddie on the floor together, the team has produced a 119.7 offensive rating, a 101.6 defensive rating, and an 18.1 net rating. It's a small sample size, of course, but it's certainly something to monitor. 

In the 31 minutes the Mavericks have deployed Doncic, Brunson, and Dinwiddie on the floor together, they have posted a 119.7 offensive rating, 101.6 defensive rating, and 18.1 net rating.

Having multiple threats to attack when teams load up on Doncic has been quite helpful.

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 28, 2022

“We’ll probably use it a lot, but also I want to make sure that we always have two ball handlers out there,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said when asked about the three-guard lineup. “We’ve got to look at that as a staff and we’ll talk about that with those three on how we can be better.”

With Doncic and Dinwiddie both being bigger guards, the Mavericks do not have to give up the size most teams would be leaving on the table by playing three guards at the same time. With teams tending to switch often, the offense gets their pick of matchups to exploit.

On offense, by playing their three-guard lineups, the Mavericks have three players on the guard that can make plays off the dribble as opposed to having multiple 3-and-D wings and a play-finishing center that relies on the playmaking of others.

Among the key reasons for Dinwiddie experiencing success with the Mavericks, in general, but particularly alongside two other playmakers is his self-awareness and acceptable of his role on this team.

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

“I think in terms of watching basketball and the position I’ve played my entire career, that part comes natural,” Dinwiddie said about fitting in with the Mavericks. “But in terms of soaking up the Dallas system and being able to play with Luka and JB, obviously as (Doncic and Brunson are) the first and second playmakers, that credit goes to those two."

When teams decide to blitz Doncic early in a possession, the Mavericks have multiple options to attack a defense scrambling to recover by deploying Brunson and Dinwiddie together. Teams could look to deploy such a strategy in the playoffs.

If Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans can build on what they've shown capable of achieving early in his Mavericks tenure, Dallas could have some intriguing pieces at their disposal come playoff time to help get over the hump of winning a series.