Mavs Stat of the Week: Dallas ‘Differentiating’ with Dinwiddie

As the Dallas Mavericks progress through the season, DallasBasketball.com picks a weekly stat that tells the story of how the team is performing.

"Our defense is there. Now we need to get there offensively,” Mark Cuban told Dallasbasketball.com in late January. 

Less than a month later, Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison made a trade that addressed a much-needed addition to the Luka Doncic heliocentric offense.  

Spencer Dinwiddie is not only outperforming his subpar Washington Wizards tenure, but he's also playing a pivotal role in the Mavericks' post-All-Star game surge. 

This week's stat of the week shines a light on the Mavs backup guard and his sudden contributions. 

Dinwiddie postgame

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Dinwiddie celebrating with Finney-Smith

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Dinwiddie driving past Sabonis

Efficiency Differential: +15.9

Although Washington's "hurtful" comments affected Dinwiddie, the trade was a blessing in disguise for him. It only took two games before the alleged "shell of himself" veteran molted into a ball-handling, scoring supplement to the Mavs offense. 

Although Dinwiddie scored 20 points on an efficient 3-4 mark from distance, the Mavs lost to Utah Jazz in February. Since then, though, Dallas has had a five-game winning streak, with Dinwiddie averaging 22.8 points on 67.2 true shooting. 

Efficiency is one of the pillars of what makes a player, but dependence and consistency with that also matters. 

His usage rating ranks higher than Jalen Brunson in only eight games with the team. With a 22.6 usage percentage, it's apparent that Dallas trusts Dinwiddie with both the starters and backup unit. 

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Dinwiddie and Doncic showing love

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Dinwiddie and Doncic react to call

Dinwiddie, Doncic, and Brunson

A scheduled loss seemed imminent when Doncic missed Dallas’ contest vs. the Sacramento Kings on March 5. However, the Mavs have evolved from their former ‘Doncic-or-nothing’ selves. Dinwiddie showcased why the Washington front office might have jumped the gun on trading him, as he exploded for 36 points and seven assists in the Mavs’ thrilling 114-113 win over the Kings. 

In his short time with Dallas, Dinwiddie has already surpassed everyone’s expectations. Digging deep in the statistical cupboard, Cleaning the Glass provided an eye-popping metric that points to Dinwiddie's efficient contributions. 

Dinwiddie has the second-highest efficiency differential on the Mavs with a +15.9 mark. 

What is efficiency differential? You calculate it by taking a team's points scored per 100 possessions subtracted by the points allowed per 100 possessions. 

While it's still early in the Dinwiddie era, the backup guard is already paying dividends to a high degree. That “gamble” Nico Harrison spoke of when he made an appearance on the Mavs Step Back Podcast is making the new front office regime look smart.