Shane Larkin Impresses In Dallas Mavericks Debut

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY

It’s been a long time coming for the tiny point guard out of Miami, but Shane Larkin finally made his NBA debut with the Dallas Mavericks against the Philadelphia 76ers. While it was an incredibly limited sample size, he showed flashes of why the Mavericks were so high on him going into, and especially after they drafted him with the 18th pick.

Larkin only logged about nine minutes of court time, but he made sure that his impact was felt in what little time he had. He amassed three each of points, assists and steals, while avoiding turning the ball over at all. He only dropped in one out of his three shots, but his shot looked solid for a player who is just returning from being away from basketball for a couple of months due to injury.

Making plays and getting assists is what the Mavericks brought Larkin here to do, especially off the pick-and-roll. He made crisp passes in his debut. He was able to showcase his ability to create turnovers for the other team to make up for his lack of size on defense.

More than anything, he showed his unreal quickness; it was apparent from the moment he stepped on the court. In the third quarter, there was a jump ball at center court that was tapped back to the 76ers, but Larkin used his electrifying speed to steal the ball and take it to the basket for an easy layup. It was the type of play that only a player with his speed could make.

Going forward, he’ll need to continue to build on this type of performance in order to secure more minutes in the rotation. Either way, his first nine minutes in the NBA went about as well as anyone could hope for.

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