Dusty May is walking into Dallas with a clear idea of what he wants his offense to look like, and he isn’t being subtle about it.
The Mavericks’ new head coach said he wants the team to become a force in transition and a nightmare to guard once the ball starts moving. In an interview on the Mavericks’ YouTube channel, May laid out the standard in plain terms: "As far as the offense, the unselfish piece," May said in an interview on the Mavericks' YouTube channel.
"I want us to be the best passing team in the NBA. I want us to play with a top-five pace and effort to get it up the court quickly before the defense gets set."
That’s a pretty ambitious target for a team that already played fast. Dallas finished 5th in total pace last season, so the tempo part is already in place. The bigger issue was everything that happened after the ball crossed half court.
The Mavericks were 27th in offensive rating, 28th in true shooting percentage, 27th in assists per 100 possessions, 26th in three-point percentage, and 29th in three-pointers made. In other words, they got the ball up the floor quickly, but the offense didn’t deliver much once it got there.
May’s challenge is turning that speed into something that actually produces points. And that starts with the passing game, which is where his comments leave some room for interpretation.
Does he mean total passes? Assist-to-turnover ratio?
Assist rate? Assists per game?
However he measures it, the Mavericks have a long way to go.
There are pieces to work with. Kyrie Irving’s return from injury should help, even if he has never been known as an elite passer and has mostly been a score-first guard throughout his career.
The Mavericks also drafted Sergio De Larrea in the first round of the most recent draft, and he put up strong assist numbers in Summer League. Whether he can contribute right away remains to be seen.
There are other passers on the roster, too. Cooper Flagg and Naji Marshall can both make plays, Dereck Lively II is effective in the short roll, and the trade for Marcus Sasser gives Dallas another player who can help with playmaking.
Still, if May wants the Mavericks to become one of the five best passing teams in the league, they probably need more than that. Luka Doncic is no longer on the roster, and there isn’t anyone there now who comes close to that level as a passer.
May arrives in Dallas after a highly successful run in college, taking Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2022 and then winning the national championship at Michigan this season. He’s also brought in former New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green as part of his staff, another sign that he’s serious about reshaping the way this offense functions.
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Anthony Davis Trade Looks Smarter As Mavericks Avoid One Huge Risk
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The bigger picture now looks even cleaner for Dallas because the Wizards are not racing into extension talks with Davis, despite his eligibility arriving earlier than that. For the Mavericks, that matters: it means they avoided the kind of long-term risk that can hang over a team if a stars next deal becomes the central question, while Washington is left to navigate a far more complicated timeline with one of the leagues most expensive potential next contracts looming. [Read more 🡒]