Mavs Preseason Profile: Reggie Bullock is All About Perseverance

Reggie Bullock was ended up have a great first season with the Dallas Mavericks, but it came after experiencing some bumps in the road early on. We'll see if Bullock and the rest of his teammates can hit the ground running this time around.

Author:
Dalton Trigg
Publish date:
Oct 13, 2022 11:30 AM EDT

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Dallas Mavericks

One of the biggest reasons for the Dallas Mavericks' success last season was the two-way play of Reggie Bullock, who was signed to a three-year, $30 million contract a little more than a year ago. Alongside Dorian Finney-Smith, Bullock helped provide a defensive toughness that hadn't been seen in Dallas since the 2011 championship season.

In 68 regular-season games last year, Bullock averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 28 minutes per game. After starting the season shooting just 27.4 percent from 3-point range through his first 27 games, Bullock took his game to a completely different level when the calendar turned to 2022, as he shot 39.6 percent from deep in his remaining 41 games.

“It’s always going to be like that at the beginning of the season,” said Bullock after Wednesday's scrimmage. “There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs throughout the season. It’s about what team can persevere through it."

His perseverance enabled his hot shooting in the second half of last season to be carried over into the postseason as well, as the Mavs advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors. Though 18 playoff games, Bullock shot 39.7 percent on 7.3 attempts from deep per game.

“Reggie did a lot for us last year. You look at the end of the season, he was running a lot of miles chasing the best offensive player on the opponent," said coach Jason Kidd. "The guys saw that the marathon is long if you get to May and June. If you’re lucky enough to get that far, and you still have a lot to give, you understand what it means to be in shape.”

In order to survive that marathon, the Mavs must hit the ground running this season and rack up as many wins as possible so they're not fighting to avoid the Play-In Tournament at the end of the year. Can Bullock get off to a better start than he did in his first season in Dallas?

Call us optimistic, but we think the answer to that is "yes," given how many different issues plagued the Mavs last season that shouldn't be a problem this time. Bullock, as well as the team overall, had to deal with the league implementing a new ball, Jason Kidd implementing his system in his first year as head coach of the Mavs, Bullock getting acclimated in his first season with Dallas after coming from the New York Knicks, COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and nagging injuries.

Although the Mavs made it within three wins of reaching the NBA Finals, they know many people around the league think it was a fluke due to the Western Conference being injury-plagued. Because of this, Dallas is entering the new season with a chip on its shoulder. Once again, they'll have to prove themselves to the rest of the basketball work, but Bullock believes they'll be up for the challenge.

“I feel like overall, we have a group of guys that have one goal in mind," said Bullock. "We just have to go out and protect each other. It starts in practice where we’ve all been competing.”

Check out the rest of our Mavs Preseason Profiles: