Dusty May's Mavericks Still Figuring Things Out After 1-3 Preseason

If the Dallas Mavericks are committing to "Dusty Ball" under new head coach Dusty May, they're hoping things will begin to fall into place as the season progresses.

The Mavs went 1-3 under the first-year coach, and his philosophy thus far has shown an obvious preference to letting it fly from behind the arc.

Dallas averaged more than 43 3-point attempts per game of their four preseason contests, which is a big jump from the 32 attempts put up per game a year ago. The Mavs shot 32.3 percent from distance this preseason, which is worse than the 34.4 percent average from last season that ranked 26th in the NBA.

The Mavericks' poor shooting was most evident in their Friday night loss to the Atlanta Hawks to close the preseason.

Dallas shot below 40 percent overall and 33 percent from 3-point range in the first half as Atlanta built a big lead on their way to a 135-111 win.

While the Mavs' stars, Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, combined to score 44 points, there was very little production from their peers.

Zaccharie Risacher got off to a slow start, but eventually picked things up in the second half to score 18 points, though the breakthrough didn't impact the overall outcome. P.J. Washington also missed his final five 3-point attempts, continuing a down year from last year.

"I thought in the second half Zac showed what we need him to be," May said about the former No. 1 overall pick in 2024, who was playing against his former team on Friday. "He settled into the game, and obviously this was an emotional game for Zac. He played there, and any time you have history with a team it’s tough to go against your former teammates. I think if you gauge it on today’s second half, he’s going to be a major rotation piece and play a lot."

Risacher and Washington were in May's starting lineup next to Irving, Flagg and Daniel Gafford, but it is expected that Max Christie will be available for Wednesday's regular-season opener at the Houston Rockets, likely taking the place of the youngster Risacher in the first five.

Still, though, May has not made that determination just yet.

"We haven’t had our lineups," May said, acknowledging the lack of rhythm in preseason. "We don’t even know what our lineups will really be. But we haven’t had our lineups, so it’s difficult to find the way you function within each group."

Dallas' main injuries concern the new-look frontcourt. Dereck Lively II, a returning piece to the young core around Flagg, is still out indefinitely while recovering from foot surgery. Stretch-big Santi Aldama is nursing knee surgery from the end of last season before he was traded to Dallas from Memphis.

Rookie forward Morez Johnson Jr. played just 14 minutes on Friday as he gets into shape after dealing with shin splints throughout training camp. May, who coached Johnson last season at Michigan, said the No. 9 overall pick "looked rusty" and didn't have great rhythm.

There's also a decision to make on the Mavs' final roster spot, likely impacting the interior. Rotational center Moussa Cisse, who tweaked his ankle in the third preseason game, is battling veteran returner Dwight Powell for the 15th spot on the roster. Cisse, or another player, would need to be cut for the Mavericks to convert Powell's training camp deal into a standard contract.

As it relates to the offense, through just two games, it is clear that Flagg and Irving will coexist fine, but the Mavs will run into trouble when those two are not supported with consistency.

"Coop and Kyrie are having to fight so hard on every catch," May said about the attention the pair faces from opposing defenses. "We have got to alleviate some pressure with some of the other guys. We’ll have to figure that one out."