Offseason questions: Can Mayo become Mavs' No. 2 option?
Earl K. Sneed writes that when you consider his history against his new team and the void left by Jason Terry, O.J. Mayo seems like the logical choice to become the Dallas Mavericks' No. 2 scorer.
Offseason questions: Can Mayo become Mavs' No. 2 option?
It’s something Dallas Mavericks fans grew accustom to seeing for eight seasons: Dirk and JET running the pick-and-pop to perfection at the top of the key in the late stages of games.
Now, with sixth man extraordinaire Jason Terry migrating to Boston in free agency this summer, the Mavericks will have to find a stand-in for what has been their bread and butter for many fourth quarters.
But they might not have to look too hard for Terry’s replacement.
Enter new addition O.J. Mayo, who like Terry may be just the man to assume the No. 2 scoring responsibilities behind 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki.
The 6-foot-4 Mayo will look to recapture the form he displayed as a rookie, when he posted a career-best 18.5 points a game and connected on 38.4 percent from the 3-point line while starting all 82 outings for the Memphis Grizzlies. That season Mayo had stardom written all over him, finishing as the runner-up to Derrick Rose in Rookie of the Year voting.
The durable young guard has played in 301 of a possible 312 games in four seasons, starting 181 times for Memphis before playing solely as a reserve last year. For his career, Mayo holds averages of 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 32.8 minutes per game, showing he can do far more than just score.
As Bryan Gutierrez wrote for Mavsfastbreak.com, Mayo has also shown the ability to produce in the fourth quarter. And with the subtraction of Terry, the Mavs will be in need of a constant offensive threat on the perimeter that Nowitzki can defer to with regularity, making Mayo the logical choice when you consider his history against his new team.
Mayo has had his fair share of success versus the Mavericks in his first four seasons. His best game in three appearances against the Mavs last season was a 17-point outing in just 23 minutes off the bench, knocking down 6-of-10 from the field and 4-for-5 from behind the arc before Dallas claimed a 95-85 win on April 4. Before that he torched the Dallas defense as a starter on March 31, 2009, when his 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 3-of-4 from deep came in a 106-102 overtime loss.
Expected to close what has been a revolving door at starting shooting guard in the Dallas backcourt, Mayo will not only be asked to produce instant offense a la Terry but he will often share the ball-handling duties will fellow newcomer Darren Collison. That could mean playing the two-man game with Nowitzki in the fourth quarter, a role Terry starred in during his tenure with the Mavericks.
But there’s no question that a starring -- and for that matter a starting -- role better suits Mayo, after his shooting percentage dropped from 45.8 percent from the field in Year 2 to just 40.8 percent last season after being pushed to the bench. And with plenty of opportunities to come while playing off of a surefire Hall of Famer in Nowitzki, you can expect Mayo to reap the benefit from several open looks this upcoming season.
