Caleb Martin wasn’t the name most Dallas Mavericks fans wanted to see carved into the starting five over the summer. Between the injuries, the uneven production and the size of the contract, he had plenty of skeptics. But a few months into the season, Martin has gone from a player many wanted moved to one of the most important pieces in Dallas’ current lineup.
He has started four of the Mavericks’ last five games, and Dallas has gone 3-1 in that stretch. For the season, the 31-year-old wing is averaging 3.6 points per game while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range on 1.4 attempts per game. He came out of the gate with 18 points across his first two appearances, but his role has shifted since he moved into the starting group.
The raw scoring numbers as a starter are modest: 1.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Still, that stat line doesn’t tell the whole story.
Martin is keeping the ball moving, limiting mistakes and bringing hard-nosed defense at the point of attack. He’s not trying to be the featured scorer.
He’s making sure the offense keeps humming around the guys who are.
That approach has fit cleanly alongside Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.
According to HoopsJunkie, that five-man group owns the NBA’s No. 1 offensive rating at 140.0 points per 100 possessions, with a minimum of 29 minutes played and low-leverage minutes removed. Martin’s fingerprints are all over that success, even if the box score doesn’t always shout it.
The shooting guard spot was the one real question mark in Dallas’ starting group. Irving, Flagg, Washington and Gafford were established from training camp, while Max Christie and Zaccharie Risacher were the names many fans expected to see in that opening. Christie got the first crack to start the year, but Martin - a player few expected to be in the rotation, much less in the starting lineup - has settled in as the glue guy.
That was on full display in Monday night’s win over the Indiana Pacers. Martin didn’t score, but he handed out five assists in 19 minutes and kept the offense connected with his extra pass and unselfish play. He’s embraced the role of connector, not the guy hunting shots.
His defense has been just as valuable. Martin has been one of Dallas’ best point-of-attack defenders, bringing physicality and energy every night.
At 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he has the kind of frame that lets him bother wings and take on tough assignments. He doesn’t shy away from them, either.
Against Indiana, that showed up in the biggest moment. With less than three seconds left and the Pacers down three, Martin broke up Andrew Nembhard’s inbounds pass attempt to Pascal Siakam and helped seal the Mavericks’ win.
This version of Martin doesn’t need to be the same player who once lit up the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals for the Miami Heat, when he averaged 19.3 points per game while shooting 60.2 percent from the field and 48.9 percent from 3. Dallas would love that player back, sure. But even in a different role, Martin is still giving the Mavericks something useful in his eighth season.
Dusty May has noticed, too. After the win over the Brooklyn Nets on November 8, he said, “We thought Caleb gives us the best chance to be elite defensively and from a toughness standpoint, and we also felt like the other four guys are scoring at a high clip, that we needed someone to kind of give themselves up and connect the group while also still being a threat,”
May later added that Martin helps the Mavericks’ starting five “to be big, to be physical, and have a real defensive presence, but also have a high basketball IQ on the offensive end.” He also pointed to the communication Martin brings on both sides of the floor.
With the numbers backing this group, it would be hard to imagine Dallas moving away from it anytime soon. Martin has leaned into the role, and in doing so, he’s helped the Mavericks take a step forward.
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