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Leading into the playoffs, Washington had 11.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest with Dallas after his trade arrival from Charlotte. In that time, he had a true shooting rate of 52.2 percent, and shot 31.4 percent from three-point range.
Washington’s traditional offensive splits were naturally going to decrease a bit in that time, though, given he was in a new situation mid-season, and with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving then in the fold with him at his new club. Having said that, Washington proved to be a quality pickup early on in his time with the Mavericks, and looked to be a two-way player that would know how to fit with Dallas’ stars.
Washington gave the Mavericks another impactful defensive presence in their forward rotation that is capable of defending multiple positions, and his ability to defend both on the perimeter and also bigger players gave Dallas more lineup versatility.
With his defensive skill set in mind, and him finding ways to pick his spots offensively, run the floor and help in the hustle areas, it was not shocking that he was part of the winning formula in the closing stretch of the regular season. Dallas’ regular season record with Washington on their squad was 21-8, and he’s played quality ball to this point in the playoffs.
Washington had more modest offensive splits in Dallas’ first-round win over the L.A. Clippers, largely because of deep shooting woes, but he was holding his own defensively, and he came up with some timely plays on offense.
Something that’s been underrated has been Washington’s ball movement feel making decisions after traps of Irving and/or Doncic, and paired with that, Washington has exhibited a nice touch on floaters and short pull-ups at times.
