Move over, Wilt Chamberlain. Here comes Daniel Gafford.
Gafford might not be a household name, but he's on the cusp of some NBA history. Over his past four games, the Mavericks center has scored 65 points on a perfect 28-for-28 shooting. He's now a perfect game or two away from breaking a record owned by Chamberlain, who once made 35 consecutive shots.
Whether he catches 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 in charge of setting Gafford up 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 Gafford and Doncic's chemistry.
You know what that means — to the film room!
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Luka Doncic and Daniel Gafford's chemistry in one play
🎥 The play
✏️ Breakdown
Doncic, Gafford, Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, and Derrick Jones Jr. are the five Mavericks on the court.
Washington and Jones spot-up in opposite corners while Irving makes his way 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 around Doncic. With the way Caruso and Nikola Vucevic are positioned, it looks like Chicago's plan is to stop Doncic from using Gafford's screen.
Doncic has Vucevic's full attention, so Gafford wisely makes his way to the basket.
Both Julian Phillips, who is guarding Jones in the left corner, and DeMar DeRozan, who is guarding Washington in the right corner, drop to the paint to prevent Gafford from getting a dunk.
Here's where Doncic works his magic.
There's a very brief window for Doncic to take advantage of Vucevic being in no man's land while he recovers to Gafford in the paint, which would allow both Phillips and DeRozan to return to their assignments in the corners.
Doncic has three passing options:
- Pass to an open Jones in the left corner. Jones has connected on 34.3 percent of his 3-point attempts from that spot this season.
- Pass to an open Washington in the right corner. Washington has connected on 25.8 percent of his 3-point attempts from that spot this season, but he's a career 35.6 percent 3-point shooter.
- Pass to Gafford in the paint. Gafford has made a ridiculous 77.0 percent of his field goal attempts in the restricted area this season, but he's got a defender on either side of him.
Statistically, the best outcome for the Bulls would be either Jones or Washington taking a contested 3 with the shot clock winding down, but Doncic fools Phillips into thinking that he's going to go with option No. 1 by staring directly at Jones and launching a no-looker to Gafford.
It doesn't lead directly to a layup or dunk, but the result is still an easy bucket for Gafford.
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🤔 Why it matters
If Doncic passes the ball to Gafford, you should expect it to lead to points.
Gafford has made 59 field goals since being traded from the Wizards to the Mavericks, and 23 of those have been set up by Doncic. Gafford has made a whopping 71.4 percent of his shot attempts off of passes from Doncic.
That, my friends, is some efficient basketball.
It helps that almost every shot Gafford takes is around the basket, but there's something to be said about someone who's aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and plays to them. Plus, Gafford's willingness to screen, roll, and cut are necessary skills for a non-shooting center to thrive with Doncic.
When Doncic goes to work in isolation, which he does close to the highest rate in the league, Gafford is a massive target in the dunker spot. In addition to being 6-10 with a 7-2 wingspan, Gafford is a similar vertical threat as Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II.
Only nine players have more dunks on the season than Lively. One of those players is Gafford.
Doncic creates out of the pick-and-roll at one of the highest rates in the league, as well. The big's role on those plays might sound easy — set a hard screen, mosey on over to the paint, and wait to be spoon-fed the ball by a basketball savant — but there's some nuance to doing it well.
There are times when the big should hold the screen before rolling, even if it's brief:
There are times when the big should slip the screen, like so:
There are even times when the best screen is ... no screen at all:
Doncic is, of course, the one who stirs the drink in each of those situations. His ability to score efficiently from just about anywhere against almost anyone leads to teams throwing two (and sometimes three) defenders at him, and there isn't a pass he can't make.
The key for the Mavericks is surrounding Doncic with role players who can punish teams for loading up on him. There isn't a better example of how well Gafford does just that than his current streak.
