Coming off a much-needed 115-90 victory over the Miami Heat at American Airlines Center on Friday night – a win that snapped a three-game losing streak – there were many positive takeaways for the Dallas Mavericks. However, the biggest positive of all might be Reggie Bullock's continued surge when it comes to his 3-point shooting.
After shooting an abysmal 19.6 percent from deep in November, Bullock has slowly-but-surely improved and rediscovered his stroke again. The 31-year-old veteran is shooting a sizzling 47.5 percent on 3s in January and looking like the player who helped the Mavs get to the Western Conference Finals last season.
In the Mavs latest slump-busting win, Bullock put up 15 points in 28 minutes off the bench while shooting 5-6 from deep. He also recorded two steals and was a team-high +33 on the night as well.
"Just continue to keep believing in my shot," said Bullock of his resurgence. "I believe in the work that I continue to keep putting in. It was a very slow start for me, but the organization, the team, every day they’re telling me ‘shoot the ball, shoot the ball, shoot the ball.’ It’s all about me continuing with that confidence and continuing to believe in my reps and keep it going.”
Even before Bullock's shot started falling, his lack of defense was also a concern, but that might have been a case of the Mavs suffering a handful of unfortunate injuries at one time. The absence of Josh Green and Dorian Finney-Smith for more than a month surely added an extra strain on Bullock, but those guys are back now, and the pressure has been alleviated.
"We believe in him," said Luka Doncic after Friday's big win. "He believes in himself. ... Just keep shooting. You're not always going to make all the shot. Just got to keep believing and keep shooting."
If Bullock continues to play the way he has been, the Mavs' ceiling will be closer to what it was during last season's playoff run. He has been the subject of some trade rumors ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline, but if another team wants to snatch him, his price might be going up in real time.
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