Hey Wilt Chamberlain, move over. Daniel Gafford is here.
Although Gafford may not be well-known, he is about to make NBA history. The Mavericks big has scored 65 points on perfect 28-for-28 shooting during his last four games. He’s now just one or two flawless games away from tying Chamberlain’s record of 35 straight made shots.
It’s an amazing run for Gafford, who has performed well since being moved to the Mavericks in the middle of the season, regardless of whether he ends up catching Chamberlain. His run is also evidence of Luka Doncic’s genius, who is frequently in charge of creating the openings for Gafford to score.
There’s a specific play from Dallas’ victory over Chicago this week that reveals all the details of the dynamic between Gafford and Doncic.
The five Mavericks on the court are Doncic, Gafford, Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, and Derrick Jones Jr.
Irving moves to the left wing to create space for Doncic and Gafford to run a pick-and-roll at the top of the 3-point line, while Washington and Jones spot-up in opposing corners.
Gafford positions himself in front of Alex Caruso, who has the difficult task of pursuing Doncic. Chicago appears to be positioning Caruso and Nikola Vucevic to prevent Doncic from using Gafford’s screen.
Given that Vucevic is entirely focused on doncic, Gafford proceeds to the hoop with caution.
In order to stop Gafford from scoring a basket, both Julian Phillips, who is defending Jones in the left corner, and Demar Derozan, who is defending Washington in the right corner, descend to the paint.
This is where Doncic’s magic happens.
Doncic has a very small window of opportunity to capitalize on Vucevic’s lack of experience as he heals to Gafford in the paint, which would free up Phillips and DeRozan to resume their cornerback duties.
Doncic has three choices for passing:
The Bulls’ greatest chance, according to statistics, would be for Jones or Washington to make a contested 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring, but Doncic deceives Phillips into believing he’s going to go with option No. 1 by glaring at Jones and dishing the ball to Gafford.
