Walter Clayton Jr. has quickly become one of the more important pieces in Dallas, and that rise is telling on the Mavericks’ roster. Since signing a two-way deal on October 21, he has put up 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from deep.
The former Florida Gator has brought exactly what Dallas has needed: 3-point shooting, on-ball playmaking and scoring at all three levels. His role keeps expanding, too. Clayton has played more than 20 minutes in each of the last two games, including 11 minutes in the fourth quarter of Dallas’ narrow loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
That kind of workload says plenty about how much Dusty May trusts him. It also says plenty about the Mavericks’ lack of backcourt depth.
Fans worried all offseason that Dallas didn’t add enough creation behind Kyrie Irving, and the current guard rotation has only sharpened that concern. Outside of Irving and Clayton, the only other true point guards are Marcus Sasser and Sergio De Larrea.
Clayton’s late-game impact in San Antonio showed why he’s earned the trust. He scored a smart layup after looking off Victor Wembanyama, pulled down four rebounds, including two on the offensive glass, and handed out four assists in the fourth quarter alone. But even with all that production, the bigger issue remains: Dallas should not need him to carry this much responsibility this soon.
It would be easier to justify if the Mavericks were dealing with multiple injuries at the position. Instead, De Larrea is the only true point guard currently sidelined, and even his role once he returns is uncertain. Clayton appears set to stay ahead of him in the pecking order.
Sasser’s situation isn’t helping. May’s confidence in him seems to be fading, and his minutes have dipped to 10.3 per game over the last three contests. In that stretch, he has averaged 1.3 points on 28.6-percent shooting after a blazing start.
De Larrea has already had his moment, too. He broke out with 21 points against the Spurs on October 24, but that opportunity came when Irving was out. In the three games he has played with Irving in the lineup, he has totaled just 13 minutes.
May has also turned to Naji Marshall as a point guard option, and Marshall nearly swung Wednesday’s game with a 13-point fourth quarter. Still, the fit remains uneven. He was shooting 20 percent from three before going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc against the Spurs, and with Irving and Cooper Flagg needing spacing around them, Dallas can’t count on that kind of shooting every night.
Marshall’s value depends heavily on the ball being in his hands when his jumper isn’t falling, which makes the arrangement fragile if the shot cools off again.
Clayton has shown enough to suggest he could be part of the Mavericks’ young core alongside Cooper Flagg. But the fact that he is already being leaned on in crunch time against one of the Western Conference’s most dangerous teams points to a roster built without enough reliable creation. Dallas needs another point guard who can score at all three levels and set up others, because right now Clayton’s workload is exposing that gap in a hurry.
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Cooper Flaggs Historic Start Just Got More Complicated
Cooper Flaggs first month in the NBA has already pushed him into rare company, and the early numbers are still striking for a 19-year-old trying to find his footing in Dallas. Entering the recent game against the San Antonio Spurs, he was averaging 25.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists, production that has helped him move into the conversation with some of the best teenage scorers the league has ever seen.
The recent scoring dip has made the climb a little more complicated, even as his place on the all-time list continues to grow. With 17 games left before he turns 20, Flagg still has time to add to that standing, but the next few weeks will say plenty about how high he can rise before this chapter closes. [Read more 🡒]
Cooper Flaggs Scoring Slump Is Becoming A Real Mavericks Concern
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Dusty May and Kyrie Irving both addressed Flaggs performance and the challenge he is working through, a sign that this is becoming more than a one-game issue. For a Mavericks team trying to steady itself in close games, Flaggs production matters, but so does the way he responds when the scoring comes harder than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Naji Marshall Just Showed Dallas An Offensive Option It Desperately Needed
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Marshalls value may be even greater if Dallas keeps leaning into smaller, more flexible lineups around him. With his pick-and-roll comfort and efficiency at the rim and in the mid-range, he looks like the kind of secondary creator who can make the offense less predictable, which is exactly the sort of option the Mavericks have been trying to uncover. [Read more 🡒]