Gafford Is Learning to Read at the Mavericks’ New Speed

Daniel Gafford is learning to slow his decisions down as the Mavericks ask him to play faster. The center described that adjustment during Dallas’ Friday media update. Sprinting into the action is one job; recognizing what to do once he arrives is another. Dallas wants more from the second.

That is where the processing issue becomes more important than pace by itself. Moving quickly is useful only if the next decision is sound. A hurried pass can kill a possession; a delayed one can erase a driving lane.

Gafford’s task is to become comfortable enough with the flow of the offense that he does not confuse speed with haste. The Mavericks need him operating quickly while still seeing the next option.

May’s preferred version of Gafford is conditional and fairly practical. He can screen, dive and finish above the rim. If a defender backs away and the action produces a clean rhythm attempt, Gafford can take it.

If the closeout arrives, the better response might be a pass, a short drive or a handoff that moves the defense again. A center who recognizes that distinction can help an offense even when his name never appears in the scoring column.

Gafford supplied 1.1 assists per game last season while remaining an efficient interior finisher. His 65.5% shooting accompanied averages of 9.5 points and 6.9 rebounds, with 44 starts across 55 games. May is exploring how that established player can help the possession continue before it reaches its finish. Passing and recognition can make that contribution possible without requiring a dramatic increase in Gafford’s own scoring.

The change asks Gafford to evaluate more than the distance to the rim. A defender’s position can leave an open teammate, an available lane or a chance to return the ball and keep moving. Those are different opportunities, and choosing among them is the point of his Friday comments about slowing his processing.

Dallas needs a center who can find the useful one before it disappears.

A separate Friday example showed what the coaching staff appears to value. May assessed that Zaccharie Risacher made excellent choices in about five open-court situations during that practice. The coach pointed to changes of speed, drive-and-kick decisions, lane-running, offensive rebounding and open-shot choices.

Those were not five assists or game statistics. They were snapshots of whether a player understood what the possession required before the final action.

That adjustment deserves as much attention as a new shot. Gafford is willing to try rhythm 3-pointers when the offense gives him one, but coach Dusty May’s broader ambition is to make him useful as a connector without taking away his value around the rim. The shot is an option. The decision that precedes it is the actual project.

Gafford’s perimeter value will be measured in the same way. A quick pass to a teammate, a controlled handoff or a drive that forces a rotation may create more than an ill-timed 3. At the same time, passing up every open look would let defenses shrink the floor and crowd the Mavericks’ primary creators. Good processing includes knowing when restraint becomes its own mistake.

There is a small, specific reason to believe Dallas is exploring the outside shot, though it should remain small. May said Sunday that Gafford could take rhythm 3s if he earned them and reported that the center went 1-for-1 in live play that day. Gafford’s Friday commitment to trying the shot adds a possibility to those reads.

His entire NBA history contains one three-point attempt across 433 games, so treating it as an established weapon would skip most of the experiment.

The first serious test will come against Houston in Macao on Oct. 9 and 11. May has identified the Rockets’ athleticism, physical play and switchability as qualities capable of exposing offensive weaknesses, while also wanting Dallas to find dependable answers when possessions slow down.

That environment should offer a better test of Gafford’s reads than a practice setting, though it still will not settle his long-term shooting role.

The sensible target is narrower than turning Gafford into a stretch five. Dallas needs him to recognize the space, make the appropriate choice and preserve the finishing threat that made him valuable in the first place. If the 3-pointer becomes part of that package, good. It should be earned by the read, not used to replace it.

Sources

Dallas Sports Journal: Friday camp report

Dallas Sports Journal: Friday camp report

Dallas Sports Journal: Friday camp report