There’s no question that Maxi Kleber has been struggling offensively as of late. In the last five games, Kleber has shot a combined 3-19 from the three.
But that’s not to say Kleber won’t be a steady offensive contributor come playoff time. What makes shooters great is the ability to step into every shot with the confidence, which Maxi continues to do. It’s that classic idea that shooters shoot.
Thankfully, Maxi is more than ‘just a shooter’. Coach Kidd stated, “He means so much to us because he can block shots, he can rebound, and he can guard one through five… I’m not judging him on makes”.
This is not to say that Maxi missing shots is to be minimized, but rather that this Mavericks team will be just fine offensively. Playing with guards who are elite at creating (Luka, Dinwiddie, and Brunson) is going to continue to get Maxi and friends those open looks.
The Mavs have a handful offensive weapons at one of greatest facilitator in the league’s disposal. We all know that being teammates with Luka is every shooter’s dream.
In the meantime we can thank Mr. Nico Harrison for bringing in guys like Bullock and Bertans, both of whom have been knock down from behind the arc. Let’s not forget to give Ferrari Doe his flowers either. It didn’t take a new contract for Mavs fans to understand the value of Dorian Finney-Smith on both ends of the floor (even if Durant wants to point to the contract as the reason why the Mavs shouldn’t double him).
You may think that Maxi hitting his shots is a key factor in the Mavs making a deep playoff run, which wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. I just believe that it’s not the key factor in a deep playoff run.
