Speaking of turnovers and assists, the Mavericks currently rank 20th in the league in assists―and that's with Dirk's assists going way up this year to a career-high 4.0 per game. The Mavericks average 20.1 assists per game as a team on 37.1 made field goals per game. Part of the reason is that the Mavs make a lot of free throws―they rank fifth in the league in made free throws made per game with 22.5.
But the lack of assists is indicative of something else. The Mavericks just don't seem to be moving the ball well. Watch the games and you'll see a lot dribble pounding and guys pulling turnaround jumpers instead of passing to the open man.
Another reason their assists are low is because you see the Mavs slashers finishing at the basket more than you see them passing off to the man on the weak side. The offensive deficiencies of Gana Diop and Erick Dampier, as well as the ability and quickness of Devin Harris and Josh Howard help contribute to this aspect.
Despite all this, the only thing that really matters offensively at the end of the day is whether or not their baskets are going in or not. And, in that respect, the Mavericks have been just fine. The Mavs rank seventh in league in field-goal percentage, eighth in points and sixth in overall efficiency. So, even though the Spurs may best them in assist-to-turnover ratio, the Mavs are doing just fine scoring.
-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd
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