After losing four of their last five games, it's clear that the Dallas Mavericks will need to make some adjustments if they have any hope of making a big splash in this year's playoffs. The Mavericks have struggled defensively recently, despite acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline.
Jason Kidd has become the scapegoat for many Mavericks fans when it comes to Dallas' continued defensive and rotational struggles, as Dallas has a much more talented defensive roster than they had before the trade deadline.
Dallas' recent struggles can't just be attributed to head coach Jason Kidd's rotation and tendency to overextend certain players with playing time, but the Mavericks' players will have to live up to expectations on the court as well. It's obvious that it won't.
But given the draft capital they gave up the past two trade deadlines and the fact that Kyrie Irving has very little money, Dallas will do anything they can to put themselves in position to contend for the playoffs. Must. After this season, his contract with Dallas is guaranteed for one more year.
With that said, here are five things Jason Kidd must fix within the Mavericks' rotation.
Dante Exum has only played three games since returning from right knee bursitis, but the Mavericks and Jason Kidd need to figure out a way to fit him into Dallas' rotation. Exum hasn't played much in the three tournaments he's played in since returning from injury, and his impact on the court is orders of magnitude greater than in December, when he played most of the time in Dallas.
Given the new additions to the team and the fact that the Mavericks' roster is much healthier than it was when Exum was a starter together, it's likely that the Mavericks will return to Exum's productivity level starting in December. It would be unrealistic to expect that. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
However, Exum still shot 47.8 percent from the 3-point line (albeit on a limited number of attempts) and proved himself to be a good wing/point-of-attack defender for Dallas early in the season. did. The elevation of Josh Green as a pseudo-offensive creator in the Mavs' lineup has derailed the importance of Exum's creativity in Dallas, but given Exum's defense along with his threat as a driver and shooter, it's at least a He should be guaranteed to play about 20 minutes a night for Dallas.
Kidd recently said he hopes to keep Exum under 20 minutes for the time being, as the Mavericks plan to be cautious with Exum's recent injury, but the Mavericks will follow the trend and rotate Exum. He said we need to find ways to incorporate more into He was so good that he was only seen fully healthy for a few minutes in a game heading into the playoffs.
