Remember in Forrest Gump when middle-aged Forrest, for no particular reason, decides to run across Greenbow County.
And then he figures, since he’d gone that far, he might as well run all the way across the “great state of Alabama.”
The Mavericks are nearing the county line. Which is both great news and a statement that they still have oceans to go.
But they’ve come this far. They have put themselves solidly in the playoff picture in the Western Conference at 27-20. They have won 11 of their last 13 games. There are only 35 games left this season. The All-Star break will be here in a heartbeat and it will pay off for the Mavericks that they are in good jockeying position for the stretch drive.
And they clearly are growing as a team, getting better and, by all appearances are primed to go farther than maybe people think they are capable of going.
Good health has returned. They have (hopefully) navigated past their COVID-19 outbreak. And they are branching out in terms of becoming a more diverse team.
Dorian Finney-Smith is the latest example of that.
The sixth-year forward has developed into a valuable asset for the Mavericks. He’s their best defender. And he’s become a dependable 3-point shooter.
Now, he’s adding a little ballhandling ability to his arsenal. Finney-Smith has been bringing the ball up the court occasionally for several games. It’s a skill that still needs work, but one that coach Jason Kidd believes this team needs.
“If we can’t develop another dribbler, it’s going to be hard for (guards Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson) to bring up the ball,” Kidd said. “In the playoffs, they’re going to take away your best and your second-best (options).
“If we don’t have a third guy that can dribble the ball past half-court, we’re not going to go too far. So what Doe has done is incredible. His teammates trust him to bring the ball up. It’s just growth on his part, gives him more value. And he’ll be able to make more money, so it goes hand in hand.”
That last comment is in reference to the fact that Finney-Smith is a free agent this summer and will be in line for a major raise from the $4-million he is making this season.
And Finney-Smith sees the value, so to speak, in improving his ballhandling skills.
“I feel like I have always (been able) to do it, but since everybody went down with COVID, I kind of was forced into that position,” he said. “It’s been working for us.
“It’s happened slowly. This year, I felt I started dribbling more and more. Coach Kidd said that’s the next step in my game.”
And there is an ancillary benefit, the former Florida Gator said.
“Sometimes, when you bring it up court, that’s all the feel you need to make a shot,” he said. “It’s hard to shoot the ball when you ain’t touching it. Just touching the ball I feel like helps my shooting.”
Finney-Smith is on track to raise his scoring average for the sixth consecutive season, averaging 10.3 per game. And while he’s been handling the ball more, his turnovers haven’t gone up much. He hasn’t had three turnovers in a game since before Christmas.
That stretch coincides with their rise in the West standings.
The Mavericks are closer to the No. 4 seed (and a home-court first-round advantage in the playoffs) than they are the seventh seed, which requires enduring the play-in tournament.
And while easing the burden on Dončić and Brunson is important, the Mavericks still want to hang their hat on the defensive end of the floor. Finney-Smith has no problem with that.
“Our shots come and go,” he said. “But defense is just want-to. That’s what I call it. Either you feel like doing it, or you don’t. And I feel like we’ve been stepping up to that challenge.”
Briefly: When Dončić had 37 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists on Sunday against Memphis, it marked the 17th time in his four-year career that he’s finished either one rebound or one assist from a triple-double. That is in addition to actually having 41 of them . . . Finney-Smith and several of his teammates had a good time razzing Luka about a layup on a breakaway he got late in the romp over Memphis. They expected him to add to his season total of dunks, which is one. But the needling only went so far. “For some reason, he feels like he’s going to have more dunks than me,” Finney-Smith said. “I try to stay on his good sign so he’ll find me in those corners.” It’s just good business.
Twitter: @ESefko
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