Step aside, Wilt Chamberlain. Here comes Daniel Gafford.
Gafford may not be a household name, but he is on the cusp of some NBA history. In his last four games, the Mavericks center scored 65 points on a perfect 28-of-28 shooting. Now he’s one or two perfect games away from breaking a record owned by Chamberlain, who once made 35 consecutive shots.
Whether he lands Chamberlain or not, it’s an impressive streak for Gafford, who has played well since being traded to the Mavericks midseason. His streak is also a testament to the brilliance of Luka Doncic, the man often tasked with setting up Gafford for his scoring opportunities.
There was one particular possession from Dallas’ win over Chicago this week that tells you everything you need to know about the chemistry between Gafford and Doncic.
You know what that means: to the movie theater!
The chemistry of Luka Doncic and Daniel Gafford in a single work
? The work
✏️ Breakdown
Doncic, Gafford, Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr. are the five Mavericks on the court.
Washington and Jones stand in opposite corners as Irving heads to the left wing to clear space for Doncic and Gafford to run a pick-and-roll at the top of the 3-point line.
Gafford sets a screen on Alex Caruso, who has the unenviable job of chasing Doncic. With the way Caruso and Nikola Vucevic are positioned, it appears Chicago’s plan is to prevent Doncic from using Gafford’s screen.
Doncic has Vucevic’s full attention, so Gafford wisely heads toward the basket.
Both Julian Phillips, guarding Jones in the left corner, and DeMar DeRozan, guarding Washington in the right corner, drop into the paint to prevent Gafford from dunking.
This is where Doncic works his magic.
There is a very brief window for Doncic to take advantage of Vucevic being in no man’s land while getting Gafford back in the paint, which would allow both Phillips and DeRozan to return to their corner duties.
Doncic has three passing options:
- Pass to an open Jones in the left corner.. Jones has logged in 34.3 percent of his 3-point attempts from that spot this season.
- Pass to an open Washington in the right corner.. Washington has gone online 25.8 percent of his 3-point attempts from that spot this season, but he is a career 35.6 percent three-point shooter.
- Pass to Gafford in the paint. Gafford has made a fool of himself 77.0 percent of his field goal attempts in the restricted area this season, but he has a defender on each side.
Statistically, the best outcome for the Bulls would be for Jones or Washington to make a contested 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, but Doncic tricks Phillips into thinking he’ll take the No. 1 option by looking directly at Jones and throwing a no. – Gafford viewpoint.
It doesn’t lead directly to a layup or dunk, but the result is still an easy basket for Gafford.
? Why it is important
If Doncic passes the ball to Gafford, it should be expected to lead to points.
Gafford has made 59 field goals since being traded from the Wizards to the Mavericks, and 23 of them have been created by Doncic. Gafford has made a huge 71.4 percent of his shot attempts to passes from Doncic.
That, my friends, is efficient basketball.
It helps that almost all of Gafford’s shots are around the basket, but there’s something to be said about someone who is aware of his strengths and weaknesses and plays to them. Additionally, Gafford’s willingness to block, roll and cut are necessary skills for a non-shooting center to thrive under Doncic.
When Doncic goes to work in isolation, making it near the highest rate in the league, Gafford is a huge target at the dunk spot. In addition to being 6-10 with a 7-2 wingspan, Gafford is a vertical threat similar to Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II.
Only nine players have more dunks in the season How lively. One of those players is Gafford.
Doncic creates from the pick-and-roll in one of the highest rates in the league, also. The bigs’ role on those plays may seem easy: set a hard screen, move into the paint and wait for a basketball expert to spoon the ball to you, but there are some nuances to doing it right.
There are times when the big ones have to hold the screen before rolling, even if it is brief:
There are times when the big thing should slide off the screen, like this:
There are even times when the best screen is… no screen:
Doncic is, of course, the one who stirs the drink in each of those situations. His ability to score efficiently from almost anywhere against almost anyone leads teams to shoot two (and sometimes three) defenders towards him and there is no pass he cannot make.
The key for the Mavericks is to surround Doncic with role players who can punish teams for overloading him. There’s no better example of how well Gafford does just that than his current streak.
