DALLAS — Nobody said being a teenager in the NBA was going to be easy. But Dennis Smith Jr., the Dallas Mavericks’ 19-year-old rookie point guard, sure made it look like a breeze in his professional debut against the Atlanta Hawks, tallying 16 points (on 6-of-12 shooting), 10 assists, three turnovers and three rebounds in the team’s 117-111 loss—baptism by cannonball Dallas is using to get, and keep, his feet wet.

The 19-year-old displayed his mystical athleticism in the game’s first sequence, passing to shooting guard Wesley Matthews, cutting towards the basket off 39-year-old teammate Dirk Nowitzki’s screen and throwing down a two-hand slam on Matthews’ pass:

From there, Smith kept his red-hot teammates involved while remaining incredibly poised and working for his own shot, including this nifty fake-spin pull-up jumper that left Dennis Schroder in the dust:

In the end, he became the youngest player to register a point-assist double-double in his NBA debut.

Recognition and accolades are not collected after singular performances, though. The youngster experienced the harsher side of sports over his next two outings, as he sat out with a knee injury.

Smith has now played in seven games this season, notching averages of 12.3 points, a team-leading 5.1 assists  and 2.9 rebounds. And as the sample size swells, we’re learning more about his game and how it translates to the NBA.

Who is DSJ?

The Mavericks selected Smith with the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, just after he’d finished his lone season at North Carolina State. During that one year, the 6’3″ guard put up 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game en route to ACC Freshman of the Year and All-ACC Second Team honors.

He entered an unstable and uncertain situation in Dallas—a rarity for a franchise with Rick Carlisle in his 10th year as head coach and Dirk Nowitzki playing out his 20th. Smith was its first selection in the top 10 since 1998, when they chose a certain 7-footer from Germany.

The Mavs missed the playoffs during Nowitzki’s first two seasons, but since then, they’ve been left out of the Western Conference’s final eight just twice (’12-13 and ’16-17). Though the current iteration isn’t supposed to win a ton of games and will likely add a third omission to that resume, Smith is their stopgap.

Their future.

This may well be Nowitzki’s final season, and it’s quite poetic that the franchise’s most iconic player is over twice the age of its expected future star. For perspective: Smith was born in November ’97, while Nowitzki was drafted in the summer of ’98. Billboard 100’s top song in ’97 was Elton John’s rewritten version of “Candle in the Wind.” The top grossing movie was Titanic. So, yeah…a long time ago.

In 1998-99, Patrick Ewing was the NBA’s highest-paid player at $18.5 million. This year, 48 men, including role players like Allen Crabbe, Enes Kanter and J.J. Redick make at least that much. What’s more: Just 13 players earned at least $10 million in ’98-’99. In 2017-18, 125 players will collect eight figures.

Smith will mature in an NBA that is much different than the one Nowitzki joined, and that includes his early influence on the court.

The most notable thing about his age: how rare the combination of impact and adolescence is in the NBA—or at least used to be. He’ll be in his teens until November just about draws to a close, and if he averages 10 points and five assists while playing in at least 50 games, he’ll join a pretty exclusive club. Only 18 players in NBA history have notched such numbers during their age 20 season:

Take a look at that list again. Nine of the 18 seasons have occurred in the past 10 years, with 13 taking place this century. Some of that has to do with players spending less time in college and working tirelessly on their craft from a younger age, but  greatness is continually being expected from these guys at an early age.

At least three 20-and-under rookies (Smith, Lonzo Ball and De’Aaron Fox) should put up the same averages this season. But, as teens, the process won’t always be pretty. Most rookies don’t average 20 points per game and dazzle crowds like LeBron James and Kevin Durant did in their debut campaigns. They show flashes of what they might become, with their fair share of bumps along the road.

Through seven games, Smith has already been exposed to both sides of that coin:

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What We’ve Seen So Far

Shooting

Two chief components help us gauge Smith’s early contributions: shooting and turnovers.

In his third career contest, against the Memphis Grizzlies, the lottery pick tallied five assists and a career-high 19 points (on 8-of-12 shooting), including 14 in the second half. He also shot 3-of-6 from downtown, easily his best output on the year. But, despite his proficiency in that particular appearance, Smith has connected on just 25.9 percent of his deep balls overall.

So, what’s up? The easy answer: Tiny sample sizes stink, and we cannot gain anything from them. But we can still glean substance by taking a closer look, even if he has attempted only 27 three-pointers and made seven.

First, let’s focus on a few of the makes:

When his shot is falling, Smith looks balanced, under control and ready to launch. And as such, most of his makes come off catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Now, the misses:

When Smith doesn’t have it going, he’s off-balance, hesitant or just simply misses. That feel for the game comes with time, as does better shot selection. Smith has also been forced to hoist last-resort looks at the end of the shot clock and has launched a few meaningless ones at the final buzzer. These attempts will always creep in, but four or five heaves out of 27 attempts is a big deal. Take five shots out of the equation, and he’s suddenly at a more respectable 7-of-22 (31.8 percent).

During his one season at N.C. State, he drilled 36 percent of his three-pointers but was wildly inconsistent. Smith made between three and five triples in 10 of his 32 games, then had nine appearances without a single make from distance. We have seen more of the same in the NBA, but signs of improvement exist. He has shown comfort shooting off the catch, and once he adds a quick-trigger pull-up and ditches his ill-advised attempts, he’ll be just fine.

His woes from the charity stripe are more troubling. He has mustered a measly 52.0 percent success rate from the line. This might be early-season noise, but that low clip is hardly encouraging. Smith shot 71.0 percent from the free-throw line in college—not elite but a decent sign he can turn it around.

Attacking the Rim

When Smith entered the league, we were sure of one thing: his athleticism. The man is a Pogo Stick. He dunks in warmups. In games. He tried to dunk on the entire Atlanta Hawks organization.

Hell, he even tried to stuff one on reigning Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green:

Saving this one

Dennis Smith Jr. tries to dunk on Draymond, Draymond says: “You aint ever gonna dunk on me. You’re a boy. Never!” pic.twitter.com/mwEHiKfQ0R

— Kyrie Fandles Club (@World_Wide_Wob) October 24, 2017

Watching Smith play basketball often feels like Isaac Newton wrote a new set of laws on his behalf. He defies gravity, often outlasting the defender’s time in the air while still getting the shot up. But his explosive assaults on the basket aren’t everything.

Smith actually hasn’t been that masterful at the rim, according to Cleaning the Glass. Yes, he is getting to the cup with ease, attempting 42 percent of his shots at the rim (95th percentile for point guards). But he’s connecting on just 53 percent of these attempts, landing him in the 47th percentile. His relentless approach is part of this relative inefficiency; he has been blocked thrice in three separate games this year.  His effectiveness at the rim will skyrocket once he begins picking his spots a bit better

Taking Care of the Ball

The aforementioned 19-point, five-assist detonation against the Grizzlies remains Smith’s most efficient game thus far. Not only was he dialed in from deep, but he maintained control while initiating pick-and-rolls, finding teammates for threes and dunks alike:

His counterpart, Mike Conley, ended up with 21 points, but his team ultimately fell short. After the game, the veteran point guard was complimentary of his rookie rival, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): “I love his game. He plays with a great pace, very patient. He’s going to be something special.”

In a true test of progression, the Mavs had to take on the Grizzlies again the next night. Conley and crew came out on top this time, as he scored 22 points and dished out four assists. Smith ended up with nine points and a career-best nine dimes, but coughed it up four times as well. Memphis was more focused on defending the rookie coming off picks, and Smith forced actions a few too many times.

In the Mavericks’ next game, the long limbs of the Philadelphia Sixers’ defenders clogged the lane for Smith, forcing him into turnovers that stemmed from attempted passes in traffic. But after some early struggles, he never started forcing his shot. Instead, he was patient, picking his spots and deciding when to attack or facilitate. He did end up with a season-high six turnovers, but that came along with eight assists and a 5-of-12 showing from the field—not great overall, but an improvement over a rough opening half.

Though the Mavs ended up losing by two, Smith played better in the second half. He had nine of his 12 points in the latter frame and was much steadier with the ball. And that’s what matters most: progress. It won’t be visible every game, but tangible evidence of improvement from road trip-to-road trip and month-to-month will be paramount to his overall development. Little by little, Smith seems to be on his way.

“He’s growing as a player,” Devin Harris, the last rookie before Smith to start a season-opener for the Mavericks, told NBA Math after the loss. “He’s reading situations. Understanding when to be aggressive, when to get his teammates involved.”

To Harris’ point, Smith has assisted on 31.9 percent of his teammates’ shots while on the floor (95th percentile for point guards, per Cleaning the Glass). But he’s also has turned it over on 19.5 percent of his possessions, leaving him all the way down in the 8th percentile.

That care for the ball and vision are elements of the game veteran teammates J.J. Barea and Harris are trying to emphasize.

“Just trying to help him see the floor a little bit better—understanding time [and] score,” the latter explained. “How to manage the game and how to be more than just a scorer and be an all-around player.”

That growth won’t come overnight. Bumps in the road are inevitable. Two days later, Smith folded to the Utah Jazz and the defense of Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell. They limited him to two points (on 1-of-7 shooting), one assist, four turnovers and three rebounds in 17 minutes.

This marked the first time Carlisle played his rookie less than a full workload; the coach was justifiably riding the hot hand. Smith’s poor shooting and sloppy play didn’t help, but Barea and Harris combining for 32 points made the real difference. Not all lessons can be verbal. Sometimes coaches have to step in and prove a point.

The truth of the matter is it doesn’t get easier night-to-night in the NBA. Next up was Patrick Beverley and the Los Angeles Clippers, against whom Smith regained his shooting stroke but couldn’t solve his turnover problems. And the gauntlet continues throughout the schedule, with defensive-minded floor generals like John Wall, Marcus Smart and Chris Paul waiting for cracks at the rookie.

But Smith will be ready. As Draymond Green said after that aforementioned ill-fated dunk attempt, “This ain’t summer league, bro.”

Smith, still a teenage point guard finding his footing in the NBA, knows that. His feet are now soaked.

Follow Michael on Twitter @mbrock03.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball Reference or NBA.com and are accurate heading into games on November 3.