Max Christie is the lonely light among the dark

We interrupt your regular planning dose of Maverick’s pain and anger with hopefully a cheerful alternative: Max Christie is sure of fun, right?

If you are not in the mood to participate in any Maverick’s joy, it is understandable. Mavs Moneyball has lots of stories to act as business for your anger, sadness and rage. For now, we will focus on the latest Maverick that not only plays but plays well, and that is Christie.

When the trade with Luka Doncic for Lakers was first announced, it is understandable that Christie’s name was swept under the rug a little. After all, this was the first trade in the NBA story, where recent all-NBA players were traded for each other. Doncic and Anthony Davis stole the headlines, but calmly Christie’s inclusion was interesting. I don’t know how interesting, but that was I promise! It was interesting enough that some adorable lakers fans (*clapping their head gently*) wondered if Los Angeles could have traded for Doncic without including Christie in the deal. Almost every fan base on the planet exceeds their young, homework talents, but Christie showed promise in his third season, finally getting minutes and paid these minutes with legitimate production (8.5 points per game of 36.8 percent shooting from three) .

Even the most optimistic of prognosis or even the most Die-Hard Laker’s faithful could not have expected what has happened now: Christie has legally claimed to be the second or third best healthiest maverick. In four games with Dallas, Christie is an average of 17 points, 5.3 rebounds and four assists per year. Fight and shoot 58 percent on three pointers. He has hit both 15-point marked and The 30-minute brand in every game he has played in a Mavericks uniform so far, debuted with a 32-minute, 15-point performance in a loss in Philadelphia last week.

He has hit 11-of-19 from three in his four Dallas games, and he has not even been a corner three grocery store two of his 11 made three pointers with Dallas has been from the corner. He is a sparkling 9-of-15 on the more difficult triangles over Break, which may show that his shooting is a little more sustainable for this Mavericks list that needs as much distance as it can get with how big the team projecting to be when healthy. Christie is not much of a self-starter (19 of his 21 made field goals have been helped in Dallas), but for a Mavericks team that just needs something, it can get right now to have a super-role player who can hit shots Down shots down is crucial. Kyrie Irving has seen a lot of double teams since Doncic was injured for Christmas, so Christie will have to continue to pay these options.

Defensively, he has also been fun with three blocks and three steals in the four matches. Christie is not big on 6’5, but his reach is remarkable with an almost 6’9 wing buckle. It explains how he is able to pick up the three blocks despite the fact that he plays most on the perimeter. Christie’s physical profile is actually reminiscent of being a lot of former Mavericks Great Josh Howard, another long -lasting wing with range to block shots. In Christie’s 129 minutes played with Dallas so far, the team is a plus-21 in these minutes. It’s the third highest plus minus for someone on the team, and Christie is in second place in all the game on the team since his debut. He literally became an almost indispensable player as soon as he went to the uniform showing the level of trust that Jason Kidd has in him.

Who knows where this Mavericks season will go from here. Davis’ return to health is murky, Mavericks suffered just another loss with Daniel Gafford, and the fan base is to be kind, unwell. Christie was just 22 years old, has only been on the team in four games, but he may have found himself as one of the most important basic pieces for this Mavericks list in the next few seasons. Crazy how much can change in a week.