The Long-Awaited Rise of Chandler Parsons

Throughout the first half of the season, the Dallas Mavericks have been missing a consistent scoring option to help take the offensive load off of Dirk Nowitzki’s 37-year-old hands. Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews and even J.J. Barea would come up with the occasional big game to lead the charge. This collaborative effort has helped the Mavericks outperform expectations, giving them meaningful games to play down the stretch.

The problem is even with the occasional hot shooting nights from the secondary players, Nowitzki was still being relied on heavily to be the focus of the offense, something his aging legs can’t handle. If the Mavericks are going to continue the positive momentum going in the second half, they need Chandler Parsons to step up and be the offensive weapon he has the potential to be. Lucky for Dallas, it looks like that time has come.

After undergoing offseason knee surgery, Dallas knew Parsons would need some time before being able to go full speed. His early-season averages reflect the limited minutes and poor timing that come from having your knee cut open. Posting only 8.9 points and 1.0 three-pointers per game on 43 percent shooting from the field over his first 28 games played, it looked like 2015-16 could end up being a lost season for the small forward. Parsons’s rehab and recovery were taking much longer than expected.

Parsons wasn’t worried about his slow start back in September, as he told ESPN.com, “I think my real season starts in January once I’m full strength and playing my normal minutes…”

True to his word, since the calendar flipped to 2016, the 27-year-old has put up very solid numbers with averages 16.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 three-pointers per game while playing over 33 minutes per game. Over his last 13 games, though, Parsons has begun to reach the heights expected of him when Dallas signed him away from Houston in 2014.

Since Jan. 6, Parsons is averaging over 18 points a game on 55.6 percent shooting. During those three-plus weeks, he’s had six games with 20-plus points and 50 percent or better field goal shooting, tying him for third in the NBA behind only Stephen Curry and LeBron James.

Narrowing it down to the last six games, Parsons has taken his game to even another level, as he’s putting up offensive numbers comparable to the NBA elite. With an average of 24.3 points per game, the Maverick is the ninth-leading scorer in the NBA since Jan. 20.

Feeling his groove and fully recovered from his surgery Parsons is finally knocking down shots as he’s known to do. In the past six games, the former Florida Gator has been putting on a shooting clinic, going 29-for-58 on all his jump shots, including 52 percent of all mid-range shots (15 plus feet).

Now that he can connect on his jumper with regularity and with confidence, teams have had to show him respect and close out on him more. That, in turn, has allowed Parsons more opportunities to use his deadly pump fake, show off his quickness and blow by his defender and drive to the hoop for an easy bucket. That kind of versatility, the ability to kill you from inside or deep, is precisely why the Mavericks signed Parsons to a $46M contract.

Following this season, Parsons holds a player option on the three-year contract he signed back in the summer of 2014. That means if he wants to, Parsons can take a gamble that he’ll receive an even larger contract from Dallas or another possible team as the salary cap makes its much-expected jump this summer.

However, for a 27-year-old less than a year removed from knee surgery, leaving $17M on the table would take a lot of faith. Being in Dallas, Parsons has the chance to be the new face of the franchise, too, which is something he welcomes with open arms.

After signing with Dallas, Parsons let it be known that he made the move to take a more prominent position. He didn’t view himself as a role player like his ex-Rockets teammate James Harden did. During an interview on FOX Sports Radio back in 2014, Parsons told Jay Mohr:

“That’s part of the reason I wanted to go to Dallas, because I’m ready for that next step. I’m ready for a bigger role, and I’m ready for more leadership. If anybody should understand that, it’s James, because he was in the same situation in Oklahoma City and then he got his chance to come to Houston and shine.”

For Parsons, these final 30-plus games can determine not just how well the Mavericks do, but the potential size of his next contract. If he keeps up the blistering scoring pace he’s been on as of late, the five-year veteran could prove his worth at a most crucial time.

At the start of the season, no one expected Nowitzki to be playing as well as he has. If you told the team the 37-year-old would be the team’s leading scorer come the All-Star break, they’d’ have been surprised and a bit scared. Counting on a player with over 50,000 minutes on his legs to carry his team isn’t smart.

With the emergence of Parsons, though, the Mavericks finally have the youthful weapon they desperately need.