Should Reggie Bullock be Full-Time Starter for Dallas Mavs?
DALLAS — The clear-cut top offseason acquisition made by the Dallas Mavericks was the signing of Reggie Bullock, who is signed to a three-year, $30.5 million contract.
Much of the appeal for the addition of Bullock was the thought he would thrive with his '3-and-D' skill-set alongside Luka Doncic — one of the NBA's top playmakers and highest usage talents.
Early in Bullock's tenure with the organization, he had logged fewer than 20 minutes in each of his initial three regular-season appearances. Questions became raised about Bullock's outlook truly is with Dallas given the initial expectations.
Bullock struggled in his opening two performances but was aggressively from beyond the arc against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. He finished with 16 points while converting 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
“Yes, it’s one of the reasons I was brought here – to shoot the ball," Bullock said. "It was good. It was a great confidence builder to be able to get some shots going in front of fans tonight. The fans were in the stadium supporting tonight so it was good to get some shots going.”
With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined for the Mavericks' 104-99 against the San Antonio Spurs, an opportunity was presented for Reggie Bullock to enter the starting lineup. He finished his performance against the Spurs with seven points in 23 minutes.
Regardless of whether Bullock starts or comes off the bench, he understands what needs to be done when he does see the floor. It starts with making a defensive impact with his activity level along with converting from beyond the arc.
“They know exactly what my role is," Bullock said. "As coaches, they know exactly what I bring to the team. So it is all about finding my groove, finding my shots, knowing where those will come from every night, and playing active on the defensive end. I know what I am capable of and I just need to be aggressive and knock down shots.”
The Mavericks' decision to start Kristaps Porzingis at the power forward position has restricted the outlook for Bullock to find his way into the first group. If Dallas were to go smaller by bringing Dwight Powell off the bench, going with Bullock or Maxi Kleber would make plenty of sense.
Going with a smaller group appears to be what's best for the Dallas Mavericks given how teams deploy typically one big man in today's NBA, Fully spacing the floor around Doncic offers the team its greatest chance of high-octane offensive output while maximizing speed defensively. It doesn't have to be with Bullock, but given his contract, he should rank atop the list.
