Dallas Mavs X-Factor P.J. Washington Shines in Win: 'Confidence Growing Every Game'

In the Dallas Mavericks' 109-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night, P.J. Washington had one of his more productive shooting nights since joining the team at the trade deadline.

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After a 109-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks have now won 12 of their last 14 games with the NBA postseason right around the corner. Out of all the exciting offensive highlights the star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving provides, though, it's the team's defense that has made the biggest difference.

Before the trade deadline, the idea of the Mavs becoming an elite defensive team would've been laughable, but over the last 14 games, Dallas has the No. 1 defensive rating in the league at 105.6. The addition of P.J. Washington and his ability to guard multiple positions has been a big reason for the Mavs' defensive uptick, but now that he's starting to hit 3s, the sky is the limit for Dallas going forward.

“My confidence has been growing each and every game," said Washington after putting up 18 points on 5-8 shooting from deep to go with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in Thursday's win.

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"I’ve been in the gym working on my shot. For me, it’s just taking it with confidence, step into it, make sure my footwork is right. It went in tonight, but they won’t go in every night, so for me, just trying to be consistent doing the same thing with my footwork.”

After initially struggling with his shot, Washington is finally feeling comfortable, as he's shooting 40.4 percent on 6.5 attempts from deep over his last eight games. Washington has shot 35.5 percent from deep for his career, so given that he's only shot 31.9 percent during his time with the Mavs and Charlotte Hornets this season, there's reason to believe more positive regression to the mean could be in store for him heading into the postseason.

"When you talk about P.J., being here, we've always trusted [him], and you can see that on both ends, offensively and defensively," Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said.

"We've always graded him on the defensive end. Understanding that he's going to get good looks, he's going to put the ball on the floor. His midrange game is as good as anyone's. Tonight, the bounce back for him was being able to knock down the 3 for us. [That] helped us. We would love for him to do that every night, but we don't judge him on making 3s. We love what he does for us on the defensive end."

The Mavs still have some work to do in the final six games of the season to lock up a top-six seed in the West, but they're in good position currently, having sole possession of the No. 5 seed with a one-game cushion over the Phoneix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans. No matter what happens, though, the Mavs are at least guaranteed a spot in the Play-In Tournament after their latest win, and Washington is excited to bring his offensive and defensive versatility to the postseason.

“I feel like we’re in a good place. Everybody is buying in, everybody’s playing together, and everybody’s happy for each other. It’s great to be on a team like this, and I’m just excited," Washington said. “It feels great. I just can’t wait. I’ve been talking about it the whole time I’ve been here. I’m just excited to get a taste of postseason play. I just can’t wait for it.”