Player Facts
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 220lbs.
Date of Birth: May 4, 1993
College Experience: Virginia Tech (1 year) & Florida (4 years)
Selections
All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0
Player Grades
Speed/Explosiveness: 7
Physical Strength: 8
Positional Size: 8
Positional Wingspan: 8
Paint Scoring: 8
Midrange Scoring: 3
Three-Point Scoring: 7
Dribbling: 5
Passing: 4
Perimeter Defense: 8
Interior Defense: 6
Rebounding: 7
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STRENGTHS
Intro
Dorian Finney-Smith is a rugged 6'7" forward originally out of the University of Florida. On a nightly basis, he brings a high compete level and frenetic defensive intensity. The bulk of his player value derives from that role-diverse defense.
Offensive Glue Guy
The scrappy Dorian does all the dirty work for the his squad. While past advantage-creator teammates like Luka Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie did their thing, he filled the gaps around him. Besides checking the number one/two option on defense, Finney-Smith cuts, gets on the O-boards, and screens off-ball on offense.
DFS gets right to the glass to make himself useful once a teammate launches the shot. He's quite the high-flyer and this allows him to snare boards in traffic, next to big men. 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 had him at a robust 2.5 offensive rebounds per-36, a high mark for a wing.
The former Gator can power back up for garbage buckets after the carrom. He's a firmly above-average finisher at the rack, generally speaking, connecting on 69.9% of his at-the-rim looks during the 2021-2022 season.
Timely Cuts
DFS gets inside through his punctual weakside cutting as well. His athleticism and size play in these scenarios. He can even get up to nab lobs and smash down dunks here too.
His cutting is what allows Dorian to fit so nicely alongside stars from an offensive standpoint. As soon as a second defender ditches him to go double the ball, DFS recognizes and seizes the opportunity.
All in all, he was in the 79th percentile scoring on cuts in 2019-2020. More recently, he fell only two points behind the off-ball savant Stephen Curry for total points off cuts in 2021-2022.
Improved Shooting
Finney-Smith was not always the most deadly catch-and-shoot threat. However, he managed to hit just under 39% of his spot-up treys in 2019-2020 then got that figure right around 40% for both of the next couple years. When his jumper is falling consistently, the team offense can really start clicking.
Leak-Outs
Just as he does the less glamourous within half-court sets, he energetically rim runs in transition. He can sink spot-up threes here but is at his best when jetting down the middle of the floor. 2021-2022 had him with 180 fast break points on 61.4% shooting here, good for the 88th percentile.
Guarding 1 Through 4
The former Gator can be the impact multi-positional defender he is thanks in part to his strong measurables. He stands at 6'7" with a wingspan a shade under seven feet. At 220 lbs., he can comfortably body up big wings while still being nimble enough to contain many guards.
From 2017-2018 to 2021-2022, he logged a boatload of minutes on guards. Backcourt players comprised the bulk of his defensive assignments during this run. Finney-Smith spent just over 507 minutes on guards in 2021-2022 holding them to 40.5% from the field.
The difference with Dorian is that he can go up a rung and defend power forwards. Many 3&D types do not have this wide a spectrum of players they can capably guard. He was in the 75th percentile checking all sorts of iso's in 2021-2022, finishing in the 54th percentile for post defense as well.
Deflection Collection
While not a big-time overall defensive playmaker, DFS gets his share of defections. In reality, he's more of a positional stud and a sound team defender. Still, his 161 deflections in 2021-2022 is not a trivial count by any means.
Supplemental Defensive Strengths
As a defensive jack of all trades, DFS truly does a bit of everything his team needs. One statistical example of such is his figure of 598 contested shots across 2021-2022. This was a loftier total than rangy players like Pascal Siakam, Mikal Bridges, and Chris Boucher.
As for some more miscellaneous defensive points, Dorian is a productive rebounder and transition defender. Both are again energy-based inputs, therefore it tracks that he would shine here. Moreover, he recovered more loose balls than players such as Dejounte Murray and Jimmy Butler (2021-2022).
Dorian rounds out his defense with some moderate shot-blocking ability. He doesn't get a ton of help-side rejections, instead more of a recovery-swat guy. Length, timing, and athleticism all play a featured role here.
WEAKNESSES
Semi-Inconsistent Shot-Making
He needs to be able to make more threes consistently. He has made some strides in the consistency department however DFS still goes through his lulls.
Unrefined Creation Skills
DFS could look to drive the ball more often. He fails to put steady downhill pressure on the defense and struggles with creating for himself off the bounce. He's a straight-line driver to the core, rarely if ever throwing in spin moves or Eurosteps.
Finney-Smith averaged merely 3.2 drives per contest in 2021-2022. That was less than the aging veteran guard George Hill. Dorian perhaps settles for the jumper because he gets fixated on having to stretch the floor.
In the instances when he does drive, there's not much of a floater/short jumper game. The midrange has never been a part of his offensive package either. He shot only 25% on shots from 8-16 feet in 2019-2020.
Substandard Playmaking
On his infrequent dribble drives, he's not likely to make an advanced play for others either. He's got a pretty rudimentary playmaking skillset, all things considered. Despite this uninspiring on-ball passing package, he is a relatively solid extra-passer and does repeatedly post positive AST/TO ratios.
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Players Appearing Here – Check Out Their Profiles
- Luka Doncic [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Spencer DinwiddieOpens in a new tab
- Stephen Curry [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
- Pascal Siakam [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Mikal Bridges [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Chris BoucherOpens in a new tab
- Dejounte Murray [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
- Jimmy Butler [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
- George HillOpens in a new tab
