Feature Story: Dennis Smith Jr.

By Will Salter

This season, the Dallas Mavericks have been going through a transition period with rookie Dennis Smith Jr. at the forefront of it. Tim MacMahon touches on this transition, along with Smith’s season so far in a feature he wrote for ESPN.

MacMahon talks in detail about the Mavericks’ current rebuilding season. He gave us enough background information to let us as the reader know exactly what is going on.

I like how he draws comparisons between Smith and Dirk Nowitzki, whose role Smith is transitioning into. I also like how MacMahon uses statistics in the feature to back up the claims he is making about Smith, Nowitzki, and other players.

McMahon also uses quotes throughout the feature which makes it more official, especially the ones he got from Nowitzki. Hearing his thoughts on the transition makes the feature less one dimensional.

The story could improve with more quotes from Smith. There is a lot of talking about Smith and his subpar season thus far, but hardly any quotes directly from Smith himself. This makes me believe that Smith did not want to talk about it, or MacMahon did not ask Smith about it. There could also be some quotes from other players. While Nowitzki’s quotes were good, the feature is too reliant on them. He offers most, if not all, of the quotes.