‘He’s Doing Everything’: Bullock is Living Up to Mavs Expectations
After missing out on their pursuit of Kyle Lowry in free agency, the Dallas Mavericks shifted their attention to Reggie Bullock. He was signed using the mid-level exception to a three-year, $30.5 million contract after coming off a strong 2020-21 campaign with the New York Knicks.
It was an underwhelming start to the 2021-22 season for Bullock with his new team. Before entering the NBA health & safety protocol in mid-December, he averaged 5.6 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting just 35.4 percent from the floor and 27.4 percent from the perimeter in 27 games.
For a player coming off a season as a full-time starter on a playoff team with averages of 10.9 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 41.0 percent from three-point range, the lack of production coming from Bullock was a bit perplection.
“Being with the Knicks last year - we made it to the playoffs - but I see (the Mavs) as a team that has taken that next step to be in the postseason,” Bullock said in his introductory press conference about joining the Mavericks.
“I felt like the skill set that I have was easy for me to be able to make this move to be able to come back down here and be around a great organization and a great city around great fans and just bring my game here.”
Bullock ended up missing six consecutive games due to being inserted in the NBA health & safety protocol back in December. Since making his return (19 games), he's averaged 11.0 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. More recently, he's taken his game even further.
With Tim Hardaway Jr. suffering a fracture in his foot that will keep him sidelined for likely the remainder of the regular season, Bullock has been needed more than ever by the Mavericks. He's provided a needed sharpshooting presence alongside playmakers Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson.
“He’s doing everything,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said about the recent impact Bullock has provided. “We’re asking him to guard. We’re asking him to rebound. We asked him to start the first play in the pick and roll. He’s answered the call for us.
“We know he had great looks early in the season that didn’t fall. And you can see our quarterbacks are trying to find him, which is kind of cool. He’s getting a lot of looks because of Luka and JB finding him.”
It has been six games since Hardaway Jr. went down with injury and Bullock has stepped up in a major way—averaging 18.8 points while shooting 49.0 percent from three-point range. His impact hasn't been limited to just knocking down catch-and-shoot looks, he's been defending the point of attack and rebounding effectively.
While Bullock is not expected to be scoring 20 points on a nightly basis, he's raised his impact to the level he was signed to play at as of late. There were nights when open looks weren't falling for much of the Mavericks roster despite being on the receiving end of some great passes by Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson.
It's not necessarily rocket science to think that when shots are falling for key players that a team would be successful. However, it's clear that Bullock converting from deep helps to elevate the Mavericks' offense in a needed way—posting a 16-4 record when he records multiple made three-pointers.
