Dante Exum Shows Major Value Helping Mavs Close Out Win Over Heat
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks made various changes after entering Thursday's 114-108 win over the Miami Heat having lost five of their previous six games. Among those adjustments was having Dante Exum close out the game, which he provided a needed impact next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving while doing so.
Exum totaled 13 points, five assists, and four assists in 17 minutes of action, proving to be the needed spark for the Mavs. After playing in just three games between New Year's Day through the NBA All-Star break due to multiple injuries, Exum had to work through a challenging process, but he's confident and ready to impact the game.
“It’s tough coming back," Exum said. "But I think definitely, with the trades that we made, and the team was rolling when I came back, so I think it’s just trying to find my minutes, stay confident and be ready.”
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Mavs coach Jason Kidd emphasized the value of having another ball handler on the court to help push the pace or to initiate the offense to take pressure off of someone like Doncic when they are the only superstar on the court.
"His importance — when you look at his calmness, he doesn't panic. I thought the pace in the second when he came in to be able to help Luka not have to bring the ball up," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "He also found Luka, got Luka easy shots, and also give his teammates easy shots. His pace is something that we've missed here, and you can see that today. Maybe one flaw is the layup, but I think with the long stretch that he had there, he was playing at a high level for us.
"Then, the trust that Kai (Kyrie Irving) and Luka have late in the game with double teams, being able to knock down the 3, and him being able to knock down a jump shot. Then, the most important part of all that was being able to make the free throws. He was good on both ends. We've missed him."
The Mavs started the game off poorly, trailing 21-7 at one point, including giving up multiple backdoor cuts for finishes at the rim. After a letdown loss giving up 137 points to the Indiana Pacers the game prior, Dallas needed to tighten up on defense, but looked as though that was not going to happen until the bench came in.
“I think it’s just the easy points, too many back doors, too many layups, things that we can control," Exum said. "I think once we stopped that, the game went down.”
With Exum providing a needed impact throughout the flow of the game, whether in the second quarter next to Irving or in the third alongside Doncic, Dallas went with all three guards to maximize off-the-dribble impact in clutch time — putting pressure on Miami when trying to blitz by having Exum be a screener in the action.
“I think it’s always about being ready. You know obviously, I haven’t closed a game in a long time but I’m always ready – that’s the biggest thing. I know they are gonna double both of them [Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic] so it’s better for me to come back to the ball and when I get the free throws just be confident on them.”
One of the intriguing elements about Exum is his willingness to do whatever it takes on both ends to fit with whatever personnel he's playing with. When playing next to his superstar teammates, he knows he has to be ready to hit open shots, make re-drives, get the offense moving, and be a pest on defense.
“Yeah, you can see it in a lot of situations when they get downhill and me being able to knock down shots too, but it’s just being able to play of different plays and scenarios.”
There was a time earlier in the season when Exum's impact was described as being that of a "max player" by Kidd. He was praised by Doncic in December after a road win against the Golden State Warriors when Irving was still finishing out a lengthy injury absence. At one point, Exum had solidified himself as a starter before dealing with injuries that caused him to miss a lot of games.
“He was great. [It was an] amazing performance, especially down the stretch," Doncic said of Exum. "He was out for a lot of games. It’s tough to come back, but he was amazing. That was special.”
For the Mavs to do damage this rest of the season, it's clear that Exum will factor into the equation as an important piece. He says he's "past" a minute restriction at this point, indicating a readiness to take on an expanded workload, even if the team chooses to be cautious to ensure durability.
