Mavericks preview
Solid win against a bottom feeder but tonight will be much tougher. Player spotlight: Jalen Brunson. While Jalen Suggs is supposed to be the next Lowry, it is Jalen Brunson who is having a Kyle Lowery mid 20s ascension right now both production wise and stylistically. If your first impression is that his moderate free throw rate means he doesn’t seek contact then you need to know that FTr has a flaw which devalues players like Brunson. FTr is FTA/FGAs, so and-1s which add only 1 FTA against 1 FGA are devalued against missed shots when fouled which grant you 2 (or 3) FTs against 0 FGAs. Jalen Brunson has been a monster at generating and-1s this year (85th percentile) and was solid last year (59th percentile). His strength and body control allow him to finish through contact, and finish in a variety of contorting positions, and he has been 92nd percentile at finishing at the rim the past 2 seasons for guards at 72% there. Brunso...