Mavs want Finney-Smith to start initiating their offense

Dorian Finney-Smith joined the NBA in 2016 as an undrafted free agent with a penchant for being a pit bull on defense. Since then, he’s also become a nifty catch-and-shoot three-point specialist.

Now, the Dallas Mavericks are asking Finney-Smith to put the ball on the floor and initiate the offense. It’s a challenge coach Jason Kidd believes the 6-7, 220-pound forward can handle.

“If you look at what we were asking him to do when we started the season was to put the ball on the floor and become a playmaker,” Kidd said after Monday’s practice. “We had one dribbler out there (in Luka Doncic), and then we added JB (Jalen Brunson) to the lineup and that helped us.

“And then we wanted (Finney-Smith) not just to be a catch-and-shoot (player), but to be able to make plays, and so he accepted that. He’s working on that.”

While Finney-Smith is working on bringing the ball up the floor and perfecting his version of Doncic, he also hasn’t forgotten the old adage that defense wins championship. He saw Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Kidd and the crew use a defensive culture that helped the Mavs capture the 2011 NBA championship.

And he saw the Los Angeles Lakers dominant on defense – with Kidd in the role of an assistant coach – and win the 2020 NBA title in the bubble.

“I think defense won the Lakers that championship two years ago in the bubble,” Finney-Smith said. “Actually, coach saw how defense can win you a championship, because you’re going to have bad shooting games in the playoffs.

“The game slows down, the shot selections get tougher, the teams know your schemes, and defense win games. I know it’s going to come down to it. We’ve got a good staff who has been having us prepared. They’ve been doing a good job getting us prepared and having us some great schemes.”

Thus, with the playoffs set to start on April 16, Finney-Smith is steadfast in his assessment of the defensive buttons Kidd has pushed in this his first season coaching the Mavs.

“We’ve got a championship culture because coach won a championship here – and as a coach,” he said. “Bringing that (defensive) attitude here has leveled up our locker room since he’s been here.

“We feel like we can play with anybody.

In explaining what he meant by “leveled up,” Finney-Smith said: “The mentality. I feel like everybody was dialed in since Day One. Even though we made the (Kristaps Porzingis for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans) trade – even before the trade I think coach had the ears of the locker room.

“He made us talk and he made us closer, too. Brothers get into it, brothers say stuff, because we care, and it made us closer on the court.”

It’s that closeness which has the Mavs (46-29) on the verge of having homecourt advantage in a playoff series for the first time since they faced Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2011 Western Conference Finals that Dallas won in five games.

“Coach has been doing a good job of keeping us together and keeping us in the moment,” Finney-Smith said. “Even when we’re winning, he still lets us know the real.

“We know what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get homecourt advantage and hopefully keep (the) fourth (seed) or move up to third and play good basketball going into the playoffs.”

And part of going into the playoffs playing good basketball will hinge on the play of Finney-Smith, who is shooting around 45 percent from the floor on corner three-pointers. But as Kidd said:

“I think it’s just the total package. He’s not just on defense, he’s not just on offense. He’s doing everything that we’ve asked him to do. (The Mavs need him to) be able to start the offense, get a rebound, bring the ball up and start the fast break, because if he can do that it just gives more value, but it also makes the team even that much better.

“Because it’s not just Luka or (Brunson) or Spencer that can bring up the ball. We’ve got Dorian who can bring it, Josh (Green) who can bring it and hopefully we’re working with Maxi (Kleber) on bringing the ball, too.”

However, transitioning from being a flat-out defender to having to also facilitate the offense comes with some challenges.

“I don’t know if it’s hard,” said Kidd, whose team play host to the Lakers on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. “Everybody wants to participate, everybody wants to be able to be a point guard.

“But I think a lot of times you are put in a box because you can do one thing. But I think the more things that you can bring to the table the better the team will be.”

Still, Finney-Smith is averaging a career-high 10.7 points while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Meanwhile, Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder said the improvement by Finney-Smith at the offensive end of the court has made him change the way they game plan for the Mavs.

“That feels good,” Finney-Smith said. “The work has been put in.

“It feels good to hear guys like that giving me some praise and trying to see the work I put in.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice